Keeping press freedom on track

Media monitoring meets two editors who have been recognized for their “courageous and impactful journalism” in Asia – one in a place where democracy has been restored after authoritarian repression, the other in a historic center of media freedom that now stands in the shadow of authoritarianism.

Tom Grundy of the Hong Kong Free Press and Philippine star Ana Marie Pamintuan receive awards for courage and influence in journalism in Asia.
Photo: East-West Center

On Reporters Without Borders’ 2024 map of global press freedom, New Zealand is marked in yellow, indicating a “satisfactory situation.”

Good news.

However, New Zealand has historically been in the top 10 in the press freedom index. This year we just made it into the top 20.

Nevertheless, New Zealand is the best-ranked nation in the Asia-Pacific region.

At the very bottom in 133rd place are the Philippines, marked orange on the map for “difficult situation”.

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This led to some interesting discussions about press freedom at the recent East-West Center international media conference in the Philippines, The Future of Facts (which was also attended by several New Zealand journalists, including Media monitoringwith support from the Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono).

Philippine Foreign Minister Enrique Manalo told the meeting that freedom of the press is constitutionally guaranteed in the Philippines.

“You can also be assured that we in the Philippine government are your partners in this endeavor,” he said to warm applause.

The fact that it ranks among the lowest in the press freedom index cannot be blamed on the current government under President Ferdinand Marcos Jr., alias Bongbong.

When his father, Ferdinand Sr., was in charge half a century ago, the press was persecuted under martial law. The national television station ABS CBN was shut down in the 1970s. To resist the restrictions, the so-called “mosquito press” emerged.

But even after Marcos Sr. was deposed in 1986, the Philippine news media came under scrutiny.

According to Reporters Without Borders, at least 199 media workers have been killed in the Philippines since the restoration of democracy.

Listen to Mediawatch's report on these topics in this week's broadcast

The world's worst media scandal occurred in Ampatuan in the southern Philippines in 2009, when 32 journalists were among the 58 people killed.

Media freedom in the Philippines suffered another blow in 2016 under the regime of President Rodrigo “the Punisher” Duterte. Among the targets was popular online news site Rappler, known for its blunt and outspoken reporting on controversial issues such as President Duterte's deadly “war on drugs.”

Earlier this month, a court finally overturned a 2018 government order aimed at shutting down Rappler.

Rappler founder Maria Ressa was also prosecuted, but in 2018 she told me that she was not the only one.

Rappler’s Maria Ressa explains “patriotic trolling” in the Philippines.
Photo: East-West Center

“Duterte first attacked the Philippine Daily Inquirerthe largest newspaper in the Philippines because they had a “kill list” that recorded every death. President Duterte threatened not to renew the licenses of the three largest media groups. “This is a methodical approach to paralyze news groups,” she said. Media monitoring in 2018.

In 2019, Ressa's former television station ABS CBN was shut down again. Ressa received the Nobel Peace Prize in 2021 and both Rappler and ABS CBN TV survived the presidency of Rodrigo Duterte.

In mid-2022, he was replaced by Ferdinand Marcos Jr., the son of the president who was overthrown 36 years earlier. (His running mate was Rodrigo Duterte's daughter Sara. Philippine politics is quite dynastic.)

Nevertheless, the situation is still complicated for the media there.

Ana-Marie Pamintuan.
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When the editor of the Philippine Star Although Ana Marie Pamintuan received an award for courage and influence in journalism in Manila last month, she has faced her 35th libel suit against the newspaper where she started as a teenager nearly 40 years ago.

As is often the case, the application was submitted far away from Manila, increasing the costs and inconvenience.

“It was filed by a politician. One of our columnists wrote about … a corruption case involving the politician and his wife, a famous actress in the Philippines. He filed it in his home country, so you have to take a plane and then drive over winding mountain roads,” Pamintuan said. Media monitoringwhile she puts on makeup for her daily live appearance on Channel One TV News.

“We consider it a form of harassment… and it has been going on for so many years.”

“Not all presidents are like Rodrigo Duterte and the media is free, but there are many restrictions on the practice of our profession,” Pamintuan said Media monitoring.

“The government has numerous tools to crack down on media companies it considers to be overly critical. Those in power can use their friends in business to persecute the media through advertising boycotts.”

“Look at it positively, at least I was just sued. I was not murdered,” Pamintuan said Media monitoring with a wink.

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The Star has its printing press right next door and also publishes four other newspapers there.

“Last year I was named 'Journalist of the Year.' I said, 'Thank you for choosing a print journalist, because everyone keeps telling me I'm a dinosaur now.'

“I believe journalism as we know it and journalists will never die. The platform will change and evolve. We have a digital version. We are online. We work with TV and radio. Even AI – we are exploring it.”

“I have been recognized for my courage and my impact. But you know what they say about courage? It's not about not being afraid. It's about carrying on even when you want to run for your life. That's all I can say,” she said Media monitoring.

Hong Kong – from media location to branch

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The same award for “courage and impact” was also received in Manila by Tom Grundy, editor-in-chief of Hong Kong Free PressIt is a non-profit online news portal that he founded in the wake of the Umbrella Movement democracy protests ten years ago.

Before Hong Kong became part of China in 1999, it was an important hub for the international press, but it now ranks only 135th in RWB's World Press Freedom Index.

Last Monday HKFP reported that the local journalists' association's annual survey had produced the lowest press freedom score since it was first conducted in 2013. On the same day, a Chinese journalist working for the international news agency Bloomberg was denied a visa to work in its Hong Kong office. She was arrested by Chinese authorities in July 2021 on suspicion of crimes endangering national security.

“I think it helps to be in English and to be impartial, transparent and very cautious. Our team of nine people decided to stay here. We moved forward together, one day at a time,” he said. Media monitoring.

“If you are a public figure and have a more critical mindset, you will not want to talk to the press, but even people who are part of the establishment or on the government and Beijing side will not take any risks and talk to people they consider unfriendly and unfriendly. They will stay in their comfort zone so as not to say anything wrong.

“It's still better to be in than out, but things can change in a day, a week, a month or a year. But I would say there is no local, serious news that we haven't been able to cover. We need to be more concerned about how the government is reacting, how it's processing things and what headlines it's making.”

Tom Grundy believes that national security laws have made journalism a lottery for HKFP as well.

“All of these points are being examined in a case against Stand News, a digital news channel not unlike our own, albeit with a 'democratic' leaning. You will hear a verdict shortly and in my opinion this is a case of normal reporting being put on trial.

“Of course we have the security law in mind, and we have the journalistic tradition and our code of ethics in mind. And if you mix them up, you can end up self-censoring and going crazy.”

“Every time you publish something, you're not really sure if you've done something that might break the law. We attend workshops and talk to legal experts and sometimes send emails to the government to get clarity on what is allowed and what isn't. [under the security laws].

“I was told, 'You have to follow the law. No one is above the law. You have to follow the rules and regulations that are in place.' And lawyers said there are no precedents.”

Paying the bills

“I am pleased to say that Hong Kong people's willingness to pay for news is among the highest in the world. We are supported by nearly a thousand monthly donors who give an average of HK$200 (NZ$40). That is virtually our entire income,” Grundy said.

HKPF practices what Grundy calls “militant transparency.”

“We put all our audits, inputs and outputs online… as the most transparent news source in Asia. I want to show [to] the public, government and donors what we're about, what we do and where our money comes from. You can see pie charts going back to our founding showing what we do to pay journalists and keep the business running.

“This is important for a donation-based, independent media without shareholders. From a press freedom perspective, it is better if many readers donate smaller amounts. I am not really accountable to any tycoon or donor or anything like that.”

Mediawatch, with the support of Asia New Zealand Foundation Te Whītau Tūhono, participated in “The Future of Facts”, an international media conference in the Philippines hosted by the East-West Center.