Media as catalyst for change, progress
PDI President Alexandra Prieto talks about media’s role and the importance of human rights resource officer in empowering employees.
RESPONSIBLE media should mirror the need for change in society in order to jumpstart it and keep the momentum going.
Philippine Daily Inquirer (PDI) President Alexandra Prieto-Romualdez reiterated this in a speech during the Public Sector Human Resources Symposium and Philippine Society for Training and Development National Convention yesterday.
“Our main mission in the Inquirer is, in fact, to be a catalyst for social progress and change,” Romualdez told 1,800 HR, and workplace learning and performance professionals at the Waterfront Hotel and Casino in Cebu City.
At the start of her speech, she asked the participants to raise their hands if they thought the nation has undergone needed changes in its economic, judicial, social, and political aspects.
Majority of them did not raise their hands, which Romualdez said translated to a shared belief that there is still more that needs to be done in order to achieve change.
Responsibility
Romualdez then showed a video documenting a local Russian blogsite’s efforts in 2012 to spur politicians to fix potholes on the streets of Yekaterinburg, the fourth largest city in the country.
Local blog URA.RU, which writes about life in the city, turned to advertising agency Voshkod to paint the faces of the governor, mayor, and vice mayor on the most unsightly potholes and potentially shame the politicians into action.
News on this campaign was released on at least 300 media outfits, the website traffic on the blog doubled, but most importantly, the politicians did their jobs and the potholes were fixed.
“The video captures what Inquirer aims to do and the kind of responsibility media outfits should have. That’s what we want to do,” Romualdez said.
Over the years, Romualdez said PDI has chronicled stories that created significant change in the nation.
These include the impeachment of former Chief Justice Renato Corona, the appointment of Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno, the 2013 midterm elections, and the pork barrel scam, among others.
Romualdez admitted that many people think that the paper is an antagonist, only delivering news which are “negative.” But work needs to be done and change has to transpire, she said.
She said she could not imagine what the local Russian blogsite might have gotten from politicians for spurring them into action.
The lack of appreciation and understanding for what an organization does, battles with its own values and core issues, she added.
“Despite going through all the pressure, whether it be economic or political, I think we should always go back to that line constantly of being a catalyst for social progress and change,” Romualdez said.
She said this is where the training landscape kicks in. The event which started last Wednesday and ended yesterday highlights the role of leaders in inspiring the transformation of others resulting in organizational and societal transformations that could create great impact.
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