UPHOLDING the truth is not the sole responsibility of journalists but a shared duty with the communities they serve, a Philippine Daily Inquirer editor said in a forum on March 19.
Inquirer sports editor Francis Ochoa, a UST journalism alumnus, stressed the need for collaboration between journalists and communities.
“Truth-telling is a community — it does not consist only of the truth-tellers but also the people you tell the truth to,” Ochoa, a former Varsitarian features editor, said. “The truth only survives in the community.”
While it’s the journalist’s duty to seek and disseminate the truth, Ochoa said fulfilling this responsibility will be pointless if readers consciously avoid the truth and opt for “fake news” that align with their views.
“My appeal is that in this community, as we strive to uphold truth, let’s make it a community that works hand in hand. We cannot do it alone,” he said. “If no one helps us disseminate the truth against all the fake news, then that’s the difficult burnout.”
While optimistic about the younger generation of readers, Ochoa acknowledged emerging threats to journalism such as the rise of artificial intelligence.
Countering this threat requires journalists to step up and tell more human stories, he said.
“The only solution is really we tell stories better — with perspective, with empathy, and with curiosity…in a context that matters to the audience,” Ochoa said. “We have to learn to see beyond our own perspective.”
The Inquirer Campus Talks forum also featured the paper’s executive editor, Volt Contreras, a UST alumnus who had served as editor of the Faculty of Arts and Letters’ student publication, The Flame.
Contreras highlighted the need to remain in the loop of current affairs amid rapidly changing times, warning that disinterest in news, like politics, will become a disadvantage for an aspiring journalist.
He also urged journalists to dig deeper than the story at face value.
“You discover things by preparing your questions or being ready with probing questions that don’t settle for simple answers,” the Inquirer editor said.
The forum was organized by the UST Department of Journalism, UST Journalism Society, and Inquirer Campus Talks. It tackled field coverage, campus media reporting, and challenges to journalism practice in the digital age.
The department gave awards of recognition to the two Inquirer editors, for rising to the top of their newsrooms and for serving as role models to journalism students and alumni.
Inquirer Campus Talks is a series by the Philippine Daily Inquirer, focused on igniting conversations on pressing matters and inspiring students. Micah G. Pascua
