PNoy to advertisers: Urge media to police its ranks

President Benigno Aquino III on Thursday took another swipe at media for sensationalizing news, and this time asked advertisers to help “by encouraging media to police its own ranks." “Unfortunately in our country, sometimes sensationalism is a lot better than spreading the truth," Aquino said during the induction of officers and directors of the Advertising Board of the Philippines (AdBoard) in Malacañang. “Sometimes the truth seems to be a forgotten concept by some of our media practitioners," he said in his speech. He also told the advertisers that “those of us [in the advertising industry] who will support them in their endeavors undoubtedly contribute to the problems we are facing and that's where we have to look beyond the confines of our needs to promote our products." Emphasizing the power of advertisers to influence people, Aquino asked them to “consider using this power for more than just commercial purposes," since their choice of where to advertise can also be used “to encourage responsible corporate behavior and improve the level of discourse in our country." The President asked the AdBoard members to advertise their products to programs promoting values of good citizenship and to networks or newspapers that uphold truth and fairness. “The AdBoard has shown us that we are capable of promoting higher standards of professionalism in the mass media. This will lead to a Filipino public better informed and enlightened on vital national issues," he said. Kahn: We also seek more balanced news In an interview, AdBoard chairman Andre Kahn said Mr Aquino’s call was valid and although advertisers are not journalists, they will discuss with mass media owners and editors the treatment of news and ask for their cooperation. “It's a fair call. Many of us in our line of business are also consumers, we read the news. We can judge it from our being private citizens as well, and most of us feel that there needs to be some tempering, some fair balance," Kahn said. “We hope that because media survives on the commercial side, we can work together with them and work into agreement where we can ask for more balanced news… on a more fair atmosphere and less of the sensationalism," he added. Kahn assured the public that AdBoard will not use advertising to get what they want from the media. “I think the writers, editors have their own principals for news and we do not use the advertising as a tool. There have been some administration that tried to do that but we in the advertising business, we do not accept that as a valid way to try and get cooperation," he said. “We'll just sit with you and we'll discuss with you if you still want to do with your way, that's fine," he reiterated. Carandang: Don’t feel alluded to Despite Aquino’s sharp barbs directed at the media, no one should feel particularly alluded to in his speech, said Secretary Ricky Carandang, head of the presidential communications and strategic development office, in a separate interview with reporters. “He’s just calling on people to do a little more for the country. He always wants to call on sectors of society to do their part. [His feeling is that advertisers can do their part] by channeling ad buys, ad spend into things that help promote good things for the country," he said. “So ang panawagan niya sa [his call to] advertisers to is put their money into media that is responsible, parang ganun lang [that’s all he’s saying]," he added. In late January, at the K4Phil Intercessors' Convergence, Aquino had also expressed exasperation over what he saw as the media’s propensity to focus on the negative issues instead of the positive ones. He cited as examples the attention given to his armored Lexus and the corruption in the military last Friday. (See: Aquino to media: Why focus on negative issues?)—JV, GMA News