Hit them where it hurts?

Words are very revealing, and in journalism, for example, questions will lead to more questions as the interviewer reads between the lines and perhaps finds potential new meaning in some words used by the interviewee.

Reading about that troubling remark by President Rodrigo Duterte a week ago — “Sorry, don’t expect franchise renewal,” it was blared — is a similar thing.

One notes the rancor in the tone (if there is such a thing in written text). One may get curious enough to look into the reason for this perceived annoyance, leading one to that issue that arose soon after Duterte became the prime resident in Malacañang.

Duterte had accused ABS-CBN of “swindling” him for supposedly not airing his paid political advertisements during the 2016 presidential campaign. On several occasions after that, he spoke about it in his speeches. Then on 3 December, once again brought it up, saying he would block the renewal of the giant network’s franchise.

Well, if the intention was to weaken the “power” of a media giant, the President seems to have succeeded. Since he stepped into power in 2016, it has been reported that shares of ABS-CBN had been falling.

An all-time low was noted the day after Duterte declared his intention — “at P16.96, lower by 0.46 points from its previous end price of P17.72 on Tuesday. The price is a six-month low since June 2019,” goes a Rappler news.

Speaking of the latter, Maria Ressa had also been the target of Palace’s wrath. Media freedom became the subject of contention as Rappler’s “hard-hitting” stories on alleged human rights abuses under the drug war in the Philippines clashed with the Duterte administration’s hardcore stance against the ruination of people’s lives due to the illegal drug trade.

Obviously, that scuffle had succeeded in both raising attention on a thorny issue without affecting both the online portal’s readership or Duterte’s immense popularity. One can look at it as an exercise of freedom either way, and if we are to take a step back to assess the matter, we would see that such struggles are part and parcel of democratic exercise.

What many fail to see amid the public rancor and knee-jerk reactions is the need to fight this battle well. Sometimes, actions can make one suspect low blows and high pride — a definite imbalance in the game.

And how does one tell if these unfortunate elements exist?

Words are very telling.

Should one speak of a “personal complaint” against the opponent for some perceived unfairness of treatment, for example, then one should ask, is it a personal fight then? If so, how will one use one’s power and influence to gain control of the situation?

Then again, should one speak of fairness — in deliberations among solons, for example — then why is it that some of the members of Congress talk of “toeing the line”?

As a member of media, these words are troubling in the extreme because they imply an imbalance. In the spirit of fair play and freedom, let us rethink the scenario and look back at times when balancing power had only succeeded in making the greater public the sad victims of a bloody battle.

In the case of ABS-CBN, a potential non-renewal of franchise can send its thousands of employees nationwide out on the streets, screaming for justice.

Definitely a power struggle, this tug-of-war between media and government leaders, anywhere in the world where democracy is still held up, will never end. It is a war that can never be won.

“A

potential non-renewal of franchise can send its thousands of employees nationwide out on the streets, screaming for justice.

“If

the intention was to weaken the power of a media giant, the President seems to have succeeded. Since he stepped into power in 2016, it has been reported that shares of ABS-CBN had been falling.