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Manila Bulletin in a straight news article on August 11 titled "Palace readies ‘clean’ list," Malacanang will prepare a list of government officials who are not affiliated with individuals who committed drug-related crimes and the like.
Manila Bulletin in a straight news article on August 11 titled "Palace readies ‘clean’ list," Malacanang will prepare a list of government officials who are not affiliated with individuals who committed drug-related crimes and the like.
The problem comes when Genalyn Kabiling, writer of the article, started with a lead saying "President Duterte’s war on illegal drugs is not purely a shame game after all."
As prescribed on the Society of Professional Journalists (SPJ) Code of Ethics, journalists should:
Seek Truth and Report It
- Avoid stereotyping. Journalists should examine the ways their values and experiences may shape their reporting.
Despite the depth of the news, a journalist should be cautious not to sensationalize an issue. The second paragraph says "After publicly naming and shaming government officials with suspected links to illegal drugs, Malacañang is now preparing another list – this time an honor roll of local executives untainted by the menace."
However, the writer of the news article did not clearly say what she meant by shaming, when the president named, and nothing else, public officials who may or may not be involved in the illegal drug trade. Moreover, the writer asserts that before the announcement of releasing a new list, Duterte's pronouncement of his drug list was "purely a shame game."
We believe that a responsible journalist should deliver news as it is, without expressing his or her own interpretation of the source's words.
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