News media must be ‘beacon of light’ for verified info – ABS CBN digital news head

NEWS media should guide the public towards verified information amid attacks from trolls and fake news websites, Karen Puno, ABS-CBN Digital News Media head, said.

“[T]here’s so much fake content out there online, [so] news media must become the beacon of light that guides the public to the safety of verified information,” Puno said in a lecture series on media leadership in the digital world held last Sept. 20 at the Buenaventura Garcia Paredes, O.P building.

Puno said the rise of social media has paved way to varied platforms for publication but has exposed the public to misinformation and disinformation.

“[M]edia organizations all over the world are fighting the war against misinformation and disinformation,” she said. “We simplify this…by calling our enemy as fake news. But this term doesn’t properly cover the entire range of content from the mischievous type…to the opposite side of the spectrum which can be called the malicious type of content… which are meant to harm [and] deceive.”

News media must also adjust with the rise of social media and look for ways to cater to the demands of the audience in different social media platforms, she said.

“The reason [why] we are [adjusting with the technology] is because we understand that there are different types of people in every platform especially in the digital platform. There is a different type of person on Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter—we want to know how to communicate with you,” Puno said.

“We have to experiment to find out what kind of story-telling style best suits the audience in [every] specific [platform],” Puno added.

Puno also said the audience’s demands must come first in deciding on the contents to be published.

“[The audience’s] needs and interests come first…[this is] what the public expects from us and [this is] what the public deserves,” she said.

Puno emphasized that media practitioners should do their jobs “courageously” and “relentlessly” to overcome the proliferation of fake news websites.

“[A]ll of the content that [fake news websites] create are meant to prey on the public’s curiosity and hunger for information. They are taking advantage of that,” she said. Gabrielle Janathan Castro—with reports from Bea Nicole Amarille