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BY LUIS BUENAFLOR JR.
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Friday, March 16, 2018
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PERHAPS the most maligned, abused and misunderstood profession in the spectrum commonly known as mass media is the columnist. And when moi says abused it is not only verbally but in most cases physically i.e. manhandled, punched, kicked and in worst cases shot.
It is to be expected as they are the most visible component of a newspaper. Check out the Opinion and Editorial pages or as it is called in journalistic parlance, the Op-Ed, and you will see the “mug shots” of that newspaper’s columnists.
Sometimes the pictures don’t do justice to the columnist but moi prefers to refer to all columnists as “photogenic” at least in their own way.
The most common or preferred derogatory slur the uninitiated would throw at the columnist is, “you’re biased” or “you did not present the other side.”
And anybody who accuses a columnists any or all of the above mentioned slurs instantly shows that person’s ignorance or he or she is just your plain and simple idiot.
And why is that so?
A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions.
Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the form of a short essay by a specific writer who offers a personal point of view.
In simpler terms, a columnist only writes about his/her personal (take note personal) view, commentary and opinion of his/her take on certain issues.
A columnist does not write the news but about his/her opinion about the news.
Meanwhile, a journalist is a person whose job is to collect news and write about it for newspapers, magazines, , television, or radio.
Spot the difference: a journalist is someone who writes the news while a columnist is one who writes about his/her opinion of the news.
So if you say a columnist is biased, yes you are correct; a columnist is always biased, his/her opinion or comment on anything under the sun be it about “I Am Iloilo City” suspended congressman Jerry Treñas or dismissed mayor Jed Mabilog, it will always express his/her bias whether he/she is “in love” with them or not.
On the other hand, a journalist or a newspaper, radio or television reporter will only write or present the “why, what, where, who and when” but not his/her opinion. In an ideal world the journalist has to be as neutral as much as possible.
A journalist can be a columnist or vice versa but in most cases a columnist is not a journalist.
Do not show your ignorance or stupidity when you accuse a columnist of spreading “fake news” because what the columnist is writing about or expresses is his/her opinion and not news.
The opinion expressed by the columnist might not be always true but then again that is his or her opinion and if you do not agree it is not necessarily “fake news.”
Take the case of that “property development and investment company” pretending to be a news media outlet aka Rappler, now that is your perfect example of purveyors of “fake news.”
They churn out the most slanted and crooked “news” stories that are not even news but figments of their imagination.
Of course, the sensible and discerning natives of the archipelago are fully aware that the ultimate purpose of Rappler is simply to put President Rodrigo Duterte in a bad light that will hopefully destabilize his government and bring it down.
Which brings us to the other “object of desire” of the Rapplettes and their CEO Maria Ressa; Mocha Uson aka Esther Margaux Justiniano Uson who is currently the Assistant Secretary of the Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO).
Mocha, as she is more popularly called, has been accused particularly by Rappler of spreading “fake news.” The funny thing there is that Mocha is not even a member of mainstream media.
And in her own words, “I am not a journalist.” Of course she’s not; she is, in the strictest sense of the word, a columnist.
For someone who says she is not a journalist, Mocha Uson is far better than those who claim or pretend that they are journalists. Her blogs/articles are honest with no pretensions; she speaks from the heart and is the voice of “everyman/woman” who wants change and to break free from the hypocrisy of the oligarchs.
Mocha Uson is a blogger and a columnist in the newspaper The Philippine Star. She writes about her opinion and comments mostly about her undying support for President Rodrigo Duterte and that makes her biased. But then again she’s columnist and not a journalist.
Moi was journalist decades ago, now “don’t shoot me, I’m only a columnist” and if that line sounds familiar, it’s an adaptation of Elton John’s album “Don’t shoot me, I’m only the piano player.” (brotherlouie16@gmail.com/PN)
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