PH Media Columnists – Where Is Your Vision And Mission

PH Media Columnists – if you are our modern intellectuals trying to teach us, at least learn not only to speak the truth but to situate it in a larger context of development, not simply contempt! Much better if you learn to demand that these government agencies display for the public their Vision and Mission for their departments.

Today, what the columnists are doing is simply Truth Journalism. Truth Journalism is to satisfy only your ego and readers, not the welfare of the vast majority of the people that the government department is trying to serve! Truth Journalism fails even the Rotary 4-Way Test!

I say: If a government agency is not pursuing a publicly stated Vision and Mission, then it is not serving the public the best way it can!

The Vision is what you want to see in the near future; the Mission is how you are trying to achieve such Vision.

Let us take the example of rice – since the abrupt assumption of PH President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr as Secretary of Agriculture, and up to now, bringing down the price of rice is not DA Vision and Mission!

I must blame the DA, whoever is the titular head, for that huge overlook, in which the media people can concentrate on coming out with their comments, and stop being personal. This modus operandi of journalists has been going on since time immemorial, and there has not been any Nobel Peace Prize winner for (1) a government agency who knows and pursues its Vision and Mission without fail, or (2) a media columnist or reporter who consistently follows up an agency’s success or failure with its Vision and Mission.

What kind of intellectuals are they, if ever?

Today, Tuesday, 04 Feb 2025, I am looking at the Facebook post of 28 Aug 2024 by “English Literature” titled “Responsibility Of Intellectuals.”  And the nearest thing I can think of are the modern media columnists who come out regularly with their opinions that most of us take as “bread & butter” – we eat heartily!

Their journalism is known as “Truth Journalism” that, if you have doubts about its importance today, please be reminded that the CEO of Rappler, who is Maria Ressa, won the 2021 Nobel Peace Prize.

Suddenly, coming across the above post, I realize that in this digital age, by reason of insistence and persistence, our columnists in all the modern media serve as modern intellectuals!

Noam Chomsky says, “The responsibility of intellectuals is to speak the truth and expose lies.” With that perspective, I look at the more popular Philippine journalists as intellectuals who constantly wish to speak the truth and expose lies, especially from government.

Unfortunately! I can see that none of the PH Government Department Heads speak in terms of Vision and Mission that power their programs for their agencies, because they have none!

Now then, following what Chomsky says, above: “The intellectuals have so far failed to speak the truth and expose lies to the public, except in unrelated truths and un/limited lies!@517