Given the way in which the media in Bacolod City is seemingly under the control a force directing to only cover specific stories, for those who refer to themselves as “journalists,” it draws an appalling parallel. Reporters are instructed en masse to portray a specific perspective and dictated to withhold certain aspects of stories (something that has also been suggested by elected officials for the purposes of promoting tourism and investment), it is not a far cry from how North Korea, a country known for not having bountiful press freedom, operates their media.

According to a BBC report, “North Korea’s economic hardships or famines are not reported to the domestic audience, which is instead informed of technological advances as a result of the leader’s revolutionary thinking.” It is easy to spot the equivalence to how local media refuses to cover stories that paint a negative light on certain individuals. Not to mention, following the initial incident, one reporter expressed their fear of litigation, and even assassination – another similarity to North Korea (closer to the latter).

George Packer wrote a piece for The New Yorker and took a global perspective of press freedom, particularly about the way in which outside forces, particularly political figures, quash press freedom through the threat of violence.

“Journalists become reliably useful to governments, corporations, or armed groups,” he explained. And it is through this type of symbiotic relationship that is so common among local reporters, where it almost seems to develop into a sort of vanity – seemingly boasting about their connections and who they know; not a hallmark of an objective journalist.

Packer goes on to discuss the ways in which elected officials control the media, writing, “They do this not only by manipulating, denouncing, and jailing critical reporters but by creating an atmosphere in which a free press is considered a kind of fifth column in the body politic, an import from the West that, at best, serves as a propaganda tool for outside interests.” Given the deep chasm that continues to grow between personal observation and how contemporaries see themselves, there is clearly a divide in interpreting what a journalist is and their purpose.

Much like the assumed intentions of Kim Jong-un, the way in which local reporters collaborate to set a specific agenda, at the behest of a seemingly all-powerful organization, is driven purely by power and manipulation of the public.

Ryan Holiday wrote a piece for Forbes Magazine in 2012 discussing media manipulation, where he explained, “Media manipulation exploits the difference between perception and reality.”

The writer discussed his personal experience as a media manipulator, noting, “If we can generate enough online buzz, people will assume that where there is smoke there is fire;” along the same lines of local reporters pooling together to paint a certain picture, directing the public to look one way, while ignoring another story.

Holiday added, “Manipulators can deceive journalists.”

In many instances of media manipulation, it is done on a partisan basis as a means of protecting a certain political side. For the Bacolod City scene, it appears the protection of certain individuals does not run along party lines, but purely about the media trying to portray an ability to create a news environment, instead of reporting what is actually there.

Sharyl Attkisson is a former investigative correspondent for CBS News, who left her position after her superiors refused to air her reports on the controversial 2012 Benghazi attack, seen as a method by the network to shield then-possible presidential candidate Hillary Clinton. Following the incident, she also accused the Department of Justice, under the administration of former President Barack Obama, of hacking her personal computer, with CBS officials confirming her computer had been accessed by a third party.

She penned a piece for The Hill earlier this year about media manipulation, writing, “We in the media serve as willing repositories for propaganda,” discussing the media often regurgitating political talking points and campaign spin. For Bacolod City media practitioners, the spin is born out of their connivance in shaping a “reality” for their readers.

The former investigative reporter also managed to sum up how media is run in Bacolod City.

“The transactional nature of relationships between newsmakers and the media can make it easy for special interests to advance a narrative,” Attkisson wrote. “It’s as if the newsmakers have state-run media or free advertising at their disposal, masquerading as news.” Have said many times the media often acts as a mouthpiece for government officials, instead of getting real answers; and now, with reporters stepping back from stories because they do not want to upset elected officials, it makes the situation all the more obvious.

However, they cannot be completely at fault, with politicians having verbally vowed to sue newspapers that publish stories, albeit based on legal documentation, that portrays them negatively; which just speaks to an even worse condition of journalism in the Philippines.

Attkisson said when she views news stories, it’s not a matter of finding out if it is “fake news” or not, but instead she said she asks herself “Who wanted this story placed at this time?” and “Who wants me to believe this, and why?” Probably a good strategy for newspaper readers in Bacolod City because, as it appears, many in the news media are not providing the full story, which all originates from this strategy by local reporters to discard stories that would otherwise be newsworthy.

Peter Vanderwicken discussed the relationship between government and the media for the Harvard Business Review, where he wrote, “The news media and the government are entwined in a vicious circle of mutual manipulation, mythmaking, and self-interest.”

“The news media and the government have created a charade that serves their own interests but misleads the public,” Vanderwicken explained. “Officials oblige the media’s need for drama by fabricating crises and stage-managing their responses, thereby enhancing their own prestige and power [and] journalists dutifully report those fabrications.”

“Both parties know the articles are self-aggrandizing manipulations and fail to inform the public,” he surmised.

Another possible theory into how the media operates in the city may be suggested in the work of Philip Bennett and Moises Naim, who penned a piece for the Columbia Journalism Review about modern-day censorship.

“In illiberal democracies, how a government censors often reflects the tension between projecting an image of democracy and ruthlessly suppressing dissent,” they wrote. “Some governments are trying to reconcile this contradiction by outsourcing censorship to groups they secretly control.”

Recounted this scenario with a good friend in the United States and both she and her husband found it to be, as they described it, “insane.” It has also offered a realization into the viewpoint of many Filipinos who have left the Philippines for good, given this battle of trying to create a truly fair and diverse media environment, everything just leads to a dead end./WDJ