Friday, July 19, 2013
I have been bombarded with the do's and don'ts of reporting ever since I became a student of journalism.
My high school journalism adviser first taught me how to safely navigate through this fiery world. This was followed and reinforced by various professors who told me the ethical guidelines journalists should learn and understand.
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I won't tell you what sufferings I have received back then, but I am certainly happy that I survived all of those (ahem, shoulder tap to my batch mates).
Kidding aside, the concepts I learned from then had proved themselves to me now. Through them, I have been able to work within the bounds of ethics which forced me to be flexible when it comes to searching and researching for a story.
But, they did not tell me to use time as an excuse for any kind of mistakes.
They most especially ingrained into my mind that plagiarism is a big no-no in this industry.
They most especially ingrained into my mind that plagiarism is a big no-no in this industry.
One of Rappler's news reporters, Lean Santos, was accused of plagiarism by one of Interaksyon.com's reporters, Ben Arnold De Vera.
It sucks when you think hard of possible stories to follow-up from a source, then another just blatantly copies when out-scooped.
— Ben Arnold de Vera (@BenArnolddeVera) July 4, 2013
Apparently, Santos was not able to attend the ambush interview that de Vera and another reporter has set up.
TO YOU "NEWS" ORG, AKO ANG NAGTANONG NUN AT WALA ANG REPORTER MO SA AMBUSH INTERVIEW. PERO WE GOT THE SAME ANGLE, ALMOST SAME QUOTES?! WOAH!
— Ben Arnold de Vera (@BenArnolddeVera) July 4, 2013
But this did not hinder Santos from publishing his story.
The problem de Vera had in Santos' story was it contained information which was lifted from the former's article.
In fact, Santos' story contained the same mistake that de Vera's article had before he updated it.
This act has sparked a heated exchange between de Vera, Santos and Santos' editor, Gemma Bagayaua Mendoza.
In the end, Rappler recognized that one of their reporters has indeed committed plagiarism against Interaksyon.com. They have since cut their ties with Santos, apologized publicly for their mistake and updated the story.
But what was the real score here? Should Rappler be burned at the stake for this kind of boo-boo?
Probably yes, as they were touted as one of the most credible sources of information in the country. And yet, they let this one run for almost a week before it was corrected.
Certainly, this kind of grave mistake would forever be engraved in their reputation.
And probably no, because even "high quality" journalism like the Washington Post and the New York Times has had cases like this in the past.
I am not saying that they should not be held accountable. But, we should really not let the whole institution be condemned over a few rotten eggs, should we?
We have to understand that journalists, whether on print or online, has always been under pressure from everyone to produce stories.
Time and workplace pressures may have ticked something in Lean Santos' mind which led him to do this.
So, was work environment a main reason for this mistake?
Yes, pressures from all sides may had been one of the causes of this regrettable mistake.
But, the challenge for journalists lied here.
Journalists should find a way to still find, create and publish stories while still being bounded by journalism ethics. They should learn how not to be fazed by all kinds of pressure so that they would not succumb to them.
Apparently, Lean Santos has failed and has succumbed to the pressures of being a journalist.
What do you think, guys? Should Rappler be burned for this boo-boo?
