When I grow up, I would like to set up a non-profit and a website that will harness multimedia and social networking tools to promote transparency, anti-corruption and good governance in my home country, the
After some research and interviews, I have gained a bit more confidence that this goal is possible. I want to start taking action but the next steps are fraught with challenges and risks.
In many ways, the biggest challenge is the multimedia concept itself and putting up (for lack of a name at this point) my “anti-corruption” website. The substance of what to put in the website will not be a problem. There are already decades of academic research and journalistic debate on how citizens who do not know their rights can be easily exploited by corrupt elites who operate outside the rule of law.
Moreover, Filipinos who are trying to deal with the scourge of bad governance have churned out a lot of multimedia products already: short videos, full-length films, comic books, radio programs, protest songs and poems, theatrical plays, newspaper and magazine articles, and countless text messages. A bit of these are already posted on websites, some of which I will be studying and learning from during this course.
The daunting task will be how to pull these all together -- how to give people who want to do something about corruption a voice, a safe space to speak out, a seat at the table. And more fundamentally, if many people are doing it, what difference can I make? Is it too crowded already?
This brings me to the real-world problems of using multimedia and the Web to concretize my vision.
User-generated products will come mostly from young people (as in 14 to 24) who are likely to be altruistic and perhaps careless about evidence, truth and journalistic ethics. A baseless accusation could go viral and bring legal action against my website. If I restrict access, I may end up with users mainly from the educated elite, and thereby risk political capture. And how will I finance this whole venture? Foundation money could help at least for the start-up, but that may have dried up in the current financial crisis. I could take advertisements, but that may compromise my journalistic independence, and make the capture of my website not only political but commercial as well.
And there is the issue of safety and security. Globally, the
My greatest fear is that although I started off wanting to give voice to the voiceless, I get stuck managing these risks instead and end up as my democracy website’s most ruthless censor.
Are there any other issues I forgot?
I started by referring to “growing up”, which explains my interest in this course. I do not have a background in journalism and multimedia, but I do believe in their power to convince and orient behavior.
Through the workshop approach in our class, I hope to sprout new cerebral neurons and acquire new skills. But I am still in a box. If our exchanges could help me open wedges and chart pathways toward more satisfying life engagements, I would have gained very much from this course.
Fernando Manibog
First, bravo to you, Fernando, for having what must be the most noble goals of anyone in the Georgetown program -- hoping to spread sunshine on corruption and what could be considerable risk to yourself. Which brings me to my bigger point...While it's easy, especially for someone like me, to dismiss Facebook and other such "new media" as just so much blather by the self-absorbed, we shouldn't lose sight that there could still be real danger in unearthing controversy or publishing opinions, no matter the venue. And the point "behind" that is that new media can still be outlets for serious journalistic work such as holding public officials and other influential people accountable. I'm not fully aware of how much really serious digging is being done "out there," so maybe you (Fernando) can set the benchmark in the next couple years. Good luck!
ReplyDeleteI definitely think that this is something within your reach. If you look at the precedence that the Obama campaign set in terms of organizing people online to take action offline, the tools are definitely available. People often talk about how the Internet has disconnected people. But, movements like the Obama Campaign prove that when used to their fullest potential, these multimedia tools can work to reconnect people.
ReplyDeleteGreat that you´re into this: there is a new group of journalists in my home country (Chile) doing exactly what you want to do, and I´m trying to learn more about how they do things, ´cause they´re just amazing.
ReplyDeleteI get your point: there are experiences that separate not-developed countries from everything that has been done in the U.S in terms of investigative reporting. Coming from a South American country, I can relate to your fears
This new group in Chile is called "CIPER". What they are doing is just good investigative reporting!! I mean, they have confronted the same evils that all the previous journalists have faced, but they are winning the battle!!
Going back to one of yur lines: they have young reporters but they picked THE BEST reporters of the country. Plain and simple.They just don´t have average people.And actually, maybe they are picking young reporters because, as they are just entering the marketplace, they don´t have previous work relations and compromises: they are more independent. They also have Facebook presence (I actually learned about them because a guy I trust was a "fan" of them, so I started to read their stuff and became a "fan" too) they give you their new stories on your INBOX if you signed up for it, but the main thing is, always, the accuracy of their reporting.
As I understand, you read some Spanish,so here goes the link: http://ciperchile.cl/
As you´ll see, they are reporting on what happened during Pinochet´s dictatorship. I just don´t know how have they been able to get this info they report on!!!
I´m seriously interested on what they are doing, and they are an example of what you want to do, so I promise to let you know any findings I may have on how they do things. On this class, we´re supposed to actually talk to professionals in the field, so who knows, I might be able to contact them!
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ReplyDeleteI think it's a legitimate fear to say that if you set up a big multimedia platform, the govt officials may come and target you.
ReplyDeleteBut then that's the beauty of the internet. You can totally set up MULTIPLE websites, or encourage each person to spread it ....that's essentially how social networking works....I mean yes, the govt would try to stop it but if you have a critical mass online, you won't be afraid b/c it would be unrealistic to stop EVERYONE at once.
mmmm, I´m sorry, but I disagree: you can´t protect yourself by relying on a critical mass. It´s not safe enough and, probably, your oppositors would mediatically campaign against you saying you need people to hide behind in order to do your work, they would probably use this critical mass that you are backing up your job with to question the legitimity of that work. I think what you need is law. If the laws of your country can´t provide you the protection you need, then you should consider to run your org as internationally based, and then penetrate your country and do your thing. And we can name a lot of crap about D.C, but there isno better place when it comes to international orgs, I bet there is a bunch of lawyers here who would tell you how to run your org in a safe way
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