Miriam wants bloggers, online journalists included in bill protecting media

Senator Miriam Defensor-Santiago on Wednesday said she wants to include bloggers and online journalists in a Senate bill filed seeking to protect media practitioners. Santiago said she wants to include bloggers and online journalists in Senate Bill 455, which seeks to amend Article 248 of the Revised Penal Code to specifically include the killing of a member of the broadcast and print media in the conditions by which murder is determined. "There is no reason why only members of the broadcast and print media should be included in the proposed law. Due regard must also be given to practitioners of the digital media," she said on Wednesday. Santiago explained that the fast and accessible nature of the digital media has encouraged traditional print and broadcast media giants to put up their own websites and mobile phone programs to disseminate information. "With the popularity of blogs and video-sharing websites such as YouTube, there are now a lot of people who regularly post sensitive political commentaries online, with content similar to those traditionally published in newspapers or broadcasted over the television. Even though they are not traditionally referred to as members of the media, they may actually be exposed to the same dangers encountered by institutional media practitioners," she said. Santiago cited the cases of Julian Assange, who was supposedly subjected to harassment and threats after he published hundreds of classified US diplomatic cables on WikiLeaks, and of an online journalist in Russia who was reportedly forced to go into hiding after receiving threats for an article he wrote that was critical of the Russian government. "It is clear that practitioners of the digital media are exposed to the same dangers that print and broadcast media practitioners are exposed to, so they should likewise be given protection by the law," she said. Santiago said the bill should likewise include in its scope more media practitioners, including photojournalists, novelists, screenwriters, playwrights, feature filmmakers, documentary makers, television production, professional photographers, professional videographers, and public relations contractors. SB 455, which was already approved at the committee level, was authored by Santiago, Senate Pro Tempore Jose "Jinggoy" Estrada, and Senators Loren Legarda, and Francis Escudero. — Kimberly Jane Tan/RSJ/KBK, GMANews.TV