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A... blifim It ‘1 .{5 , 5‘5’23‘ —- I Anxu. . 5:..- . .‘ xx ,. ; :E. .x... .2. 1.19.5.1)! t... 1.34; ; x 5». 2113... ii. . wfih 53mg”?! . : .. 3.3 :1 24.1.. {:1 :3 3‘5: . 18.3%”. 1...... , .a . 34?“? y 11...; ‘ ,. 3. .. $5.3}, .n C In ‘54! . 1o. nut? .N... 5.... ‘5- 3.. ..\. . kit 51-92»? , I. r) . xi: .1. .161 S... .1: 4 ‘nf .wfi_$emmfi._ an mam-Wadmwwmm ..> THESlS 2200 J Illiliiilililllli 3 1293 ANNE-{WWI LIBRARY Michigan State University This is to ertify that the dissertation entitled Church and Press Interactions in the Philippines: The case of the 1986, 1992, and 1998 Presidential Elections presented by Geraldine M. Alumit has been accepted towards fulfillment of the requirements for Ph.D. degree“, Mass Media-Journalism Wrfifi Major professor Date 2‘ Jd’l 1 v MS U is an Affirmative Action/Equal Opportunity Institution 0-12771 PLACE IN RETURN BOX to remove this checkout from your record. TO AVOID FINES return on or before date due. MAY BE RECALLED with earlier due date if requested. DATE DUE DATE DUE DATE DUE 11m muse“ CHURCH—4’ CHURCH—PRESS INTERACTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE CASE OF THE 1986, 1992 AND 1998 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS By Geraldine M. Alumit A DISSERTATION Submitted to Michigan State University in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of DOCTOR OF PHILOSOPHY Department of Journalism 2000 WCHJRI i This is 3‘ Philippine press at how the cthC 19305. Ang Pah considered the a was ouned by 0 and reflected co This stuc .iledia Content ‘ editors. and om elections. Resu content analei< ABSTRACT CHURCH—PRESS INTERACTIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE CASE OF THE 1986, 1992 AND 1993 PRESIDENTIAL ELECTIONS By Geraldine M. Alumit This is a case study that explores how the Catholic Church influenced the Philippine press during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. The study looks at how the church influenced two newspapers that were ideological opposites in the mid- 19803. Ang Pahayagang Malaya newspaper led the way for other newspapers that were considered the alternative press, and reflected liberal ideals. Manila Bulletin newspaper was owned by one of Marcos’ cronies during most of the martial law years (1972-1986), and reflected conservative ideals. This study used Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content to examine the interactions of the church with reporters, upper level editors, and owners of these newspapers during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. Results are derived from interviews, Observation, documentary research, and content analysis. I dedic I dedicate this work to my dad, mom, Gennie, Gladys, Greg, Steve and Tux. iii l in journeyed I you dad an feasible. T the countle family. Th Sue Caner. to this poin To l M your fr. Steve. thanj siblingg_ GE kindness. ,: Else “Ould 3 To 1 flowers On I knocked at I ACKNOWLEDGMENTS I immigrated to the United States when I was two years old. In May 1998, I journeyed to the Philippines for the first time, using this dissertation as a vehicle. Thank you dad and mom, and Michigan State University, for making this trip financially feasible. Thank you Teh family for allowing me to stay in your beautiful home, and for the countless meals, laughs, gifis... Thank you for making me feel like part of your family. Thank you Dr. Bella Mody, Dr. Steve Lacy, Dr. Folu Ogundimu and Professor Sue Carter, for guiding me through this process. I hope one day, I too, can bring students to this point. To Cathy Fleck, my Writing Center consultant, thank you for your editing skills and your friendship. To Dr. Mody, thank you again. Remember all those tears? To Steve, thank you for pulling me out of sadness. To Tux, my cat, we made it! To my siblings, Gennie, Gladys, and Greg, thank you for exchanging my meanness with kindness. And to my dad and mom, thank you endlessly. Without you, this, and nothing else would have been possible. You are my heroes! To the blind, the handicapped, and the children selling cigarettes and sampaguita flowers on the streets of Metro Manila, I’m sorry I couldn’t help all of you when you knocked at my taxi cab window. iv LIST OF TA LIST OF FlC LIST OF AB CHAPTER 1 Focus Orgai CHAPTER I BACKGROI Intro< Shoe:- Gerb: Theo An lI Histc SUIT TABLE OF CONTENTS LIST OF TABLES ..................................................................................................... ix LIST OF FIGURE ..................................................................................................... x LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS ................................................................................... xi CHAPTER 1. INTRODUCTION ............................................................................. 1 Focus and Rationale of Study ........................................................................ 1 Organization of Study .................................................................................... 4 CHAPTER 2. THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND ....................................................................................................... 5 Introduction .................................................................................................. 5 Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) theory .......................................................... 5 Gerbner’s (1967) framework ......................................................................... 7 Theoretical Rationale ..................................................................................... 9 An Introduction to Philippine National Politics, Church Politics and Press History ........................................................................................................... 10 Post WWII (1946-1965) .................................................................... 10 Philippine National Politics ................................................... 10 Church Politics ...................................................................... 12 Press History .......................................................................... 13 The Marcos Years (1965-1983) ......................................................... l4 Philippine National Politics ................................................... 14 Church Politics ...................................................................... 17 Press History .......................................................................... 20 Up to the Snap 1986 Presidential Election (1983 to 1986) ............... 25 Philippine National Politics ................................................... 25 Church Politics ...................................................................... 29 Press History .......................................................................... 31 1992 Presidential Election (1986-1992) ............................................ 32 Philippine National Politics ................................................... 32. Church Politics ...................................................................... 35 Press History .......................................................................... 37 1998 Presidential Elections (1992-1998) .......................................... 39 Philippine National Politics ................................................... 39 Church Politics ...................................................................... 41 Press History .......................................................................... 43 Summary ........................................................................................................ 44 (EMU Inn 3h Su CHAPTEI Int Per CHAPTER 3. RESEARCH QUESTIONS, HYPOTHESES AND METHODS ..... 45 Introduction .................................................................................................. 45 Research Questions ........................................................................................ 45 The Catholic Church’s influence on its own portrayal ...................... 46 Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayal of the Catholic Church ...... 46 Story Categories and Characteristics ..................................... 47 Sources ................................................................................... 48 Tone ....................................................................................... 48 Themes ................................................................................... 48 Similarities and Differences in Coverage .............................. 50 Relationships Between Perceived Church Influences and Coverage 50 Method ........................................................................................................... 5 1 Interviews .......................................................................................... 51 Observation ........................................................................................ 52 Document Research ........................................................................... 5 3 Quantitative Content Analysis ........................................................... 53 Operationalization Measures ................................................. 55 Story Source Categories and Characteristics ............. 55 Source ........................................................................ 57 Tone ........................................................................... 58 Validity and Reliability ......................................................... 59 Data Analysis ......................................................................... 6O Qualitative Content Analysis ............................................................. 60 Summary ........................................................................................................ 61 CHAPTER 4. FINDINGS ........................................................................................ 62 Introduction .................................................................................................. 62 The Catholic Church’s Influence on Media .................................................. 63 Background ........................................................................................ 63 Church Influence on Media Before Martial Law (1966-1971) ......... 65 Radio Veritas ......................................................................... 66 Church Influence on Media from Martial Law to the Snap Presidential Elections (1972-1986) ................................................... 67 Emergence of Alternative Catholic Media. ........................... 67 Snap Presidential Election ..................................................... 70 Church Influence on the Media Leading up to the 1992 Presidential Election (1986-1992) ..................................................... 72 Fr. Reuter as CBCP Media Spokesperson ............................. 72 Cardinal Sin and the Media .................................................. 73 The CBCP and the 1992 Presidential Election ...................... 73 Cardinal Sin and the 1992 Presidential Election ................... 74 Church Influence on the 1998 Presidential Election (1992-1998).... 75 CBCP Media Office ............................................................... 75 The CBCP and the 1998 Presidential Election ...................... 76 Cardinal Sin and the 1998 Presidential Election ................... 78 Perceived Church Influences on Malaya ’s Coverage .................................... 79 vi Perceiv .llalqi'a {It Malaya ’s Background ........................................................................ 80 1986 Presidential Election ................................................................. 81 1992 Presidential Election ................................................................. 83 Ideological Change ................................................................ 84 1998 Presidential Election ................................................................. 85 Malaya in 1998 ...................................................................... 86 Perceived Church Influences on Manila Bulletin .......................................... 87 Manila Bulletin ’3 Background ........................................................... 88 1986 Presidential Election ................................................................. 89 1992 Presidential Election ................................................................. 90 1998 Presidential Election ................................................................. 92 Erosion of the Church’s Political Power ............................... 92 Covering the CBCP ............................................................... 93 Covering Cardinal Sin ........................................................... 94 Manila Bulletin in 1998 ......................................................... 96 Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’3 portrayal of the Catholic Church .................. 99 Story Categories and Characteristics ................................................. 100 Sources ............................................................................................... 102 Tone ................................................................................................... 104 Themes ............................................................................................... 106 Malaya-1986 .......................................................................... 106 Malaya-1992 .......................................................................... 108 Malaya-1998 .......................................................................... 110 Manila Bulletin-1986 ............................................................. l l 1 Manila Bulletin-1992 ............................................................. 1 l3 Manila Bulletin-1998 ............................................................. 1 14 Similarities and Differences in Coverage .......................................... 116 Story Categories and Characteristics ..................................... 116 Sources ................................................................................... 117 Tone ....................................................................................... 118 Themes ................................................................................... l 19 Relationships Between Perceived Church Influences and Coverage ............ 119 Malaya ............................................................................................... 1 l9 Manila Bulletin .................................................................................. 124 Summary ........................................................................................................ 127 CHAPTER 5: THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS ............. 128 Introduction ................................................................................................... 128 I. Church’s Involvement in Media. ............................................................... 128 11. Newspapers’ Perceptions of Source of Church Influences on Coverage 129 Similarities and Differences in Newspapers’ Perceptions of Source of Church Influences on their Coverage ............................................ 130 III. Coverage of the Catholic Church during Three Presidential Elections. 132 Similarities and Differences in Coverage by Malaya and Manila Bulletin during Three Election Periods ............................................. 132 IV. Conclusions ............................................................................................ 135 vii APPENDIX ..... l. Inter 2. L'CF 3. Com REFERENCES Scope and Limitations ....................................................................... 138 More Recommendations for Further Study ....................................... 139 APPENDIX ................................................................................................................ 142 1. Interview Questionnaire ........................................................................... 143 2. UCRIHS forms ......................................................................................... 150 a. UCRIHS Approval Letter ............................................................. 150 b. Interview Consent Form .............................................................. 151 c. Observation Consent Form .......................................................... 152 3. Content Analysis ....................................................................................... 153 a. Coding Sheet ................................................................................. 153 b. Coding Protocol ............................................................................ 155 REFERENCES .......................................................................................................... 159 viii Iablel: Young Table 2: Study Table RQla: .\ Media d‘ Table RQZa: I Table RQZb: I Table RQSa: .' 1998 Pr: Table RQSb; , and 199 Table RQ63; 1 Election Table RQ6b: . Cited in Table RQ782 . and 199 Table R07b: 1992 an Table RQ3a: ' and 199 Tab'eRst- - LIST OF TABLES Table 1: Youngblood’s Findings Table 2: Study Periods for Each Newspaper Table RQla: Means by which the CBCP and the Archdiocese of Manila Influenced Media during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Table RQ2a: Perceived Church influences on Malaya Table RQ2b: Perceived Church Influences on Manila Bulletin Table RQSa: Malaya ’s Story Categories and Characteristics during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Table RQ5b: Manila Bulletin ’s Story Categories and Characteristics during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Table RQ6a: Frequency of Sources during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Cited in Malaya Table RQ6b: Frequency of Sources during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Cited in Manila Bulletin Table RQ7a: Tone of Catholic Church’s Coverage in Malaya during the 1986, 1992, and 1998 Presidential Elections Table RQ7b: Tone of Catholic Church’s Coverage in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Table RQ8a: Themes of the Catholic Church’s Coverage in Malaya during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Table RQ8b: Themes of the Catholic Church’s Coverage in Manila Bulletin during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections ix Figure 1: Shoe LIST OF FIGURE Figure l: Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theory of Influences on Mass Media Content ATP CBCP 4 COMELEC l COOL-MM I cam . ECSCMM EDSA nII‘ LABAV Lakas-Ntco MAC mu MNLF NAMFREL .VPA NRA 0m 0? 00C AFP CBCP COMELEC COOL-MM CMM ECSCMM EDSA IMF LABAN LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS Armed Forces of the Philippines Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines Commission on Elections Core of Leaders for Morals in Media Committee on Mass Media Episcopal Commission on Social Communications and Mass Media Epifiano de los Santos Avenue International Monetary Fund People’s Power Movement Lakas-NUCD Lakas ng Edsa-National Union of Christian Democrats MAC MILF MNLF NAMFREL OMI OP OQC PACC Mass Media Advisory Council Moro Islamic Liberation Front Moro National Liberation Front National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections New People’s Army Nationalist Revolutionary Alliance Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate Order of Preachers (Dominicans) Operation: Quick Count Presidential Anti-Crime Commission xi PAME PC IJ PD PDP RAVI RV RVA l-NIDO PAME PCIJ PD PDP RV RVA UNIDO Philippine Association of Media Education Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism Presidential Decree Philippine Democratic Party Reform the Armed Forces Movement Radio Veritas Radio Veritas-Asia Society of Jesus (Jesuits) United Nationalist Democratic Organization xii The P Philippines if Presidentiall e Particular Cas‘ Onap not Na‘fled b; Philippines' It. Ithich has pm" On a SC the power struC this case stud.V ' influenced med actively particip Philippines is re Church‘s) clout 1 building" (“Rosa Im'llion Filipinos [CBCP]. 2000d) CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION Focus and Rationale of Study The purpose of this study is to understand how the Catholic Church in the Philippines influenced its own portrayal by the media during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential election campaigns. This work presents a grounded inductive study of a particular case. The findings will be used to illuminate differences from the US. norm. On a personal level, I immigrated from the Philippines at a young age, and had not traveled back since. This study allowed me to fulfill my desire to travel to the Philippines, where I was born, and to explore an institution, the Roman Catholic Church, which has played a key role in my family life On a scholarly level, this dissertation intends to contribute to the literature on how the power structure in a country conditions media performance. The particular focus of this case study is how one very powerful institution, the Roman Catholic Church, influenced media in the Philippines. First of all, the Catholic Church in the Philippines actively participates in political, cultural and societal affairs. The Catholic Church in the Philippines is reputed to make and break presidents (Agpalo, 1992). “Its (The Catholic Church’s) clout is seen in the poorest village, where the church will be the best-kept building” (“Rosaries and Revolvers,” 1996, p. 71). As of 1997, 82 percent of the 70 million Filipinos were Catholic (Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines [CBCP], 2000d). In the Philippines, the Catholic Church runs “17 universities, 151 colleges. and 3 students" (Tim This ca: Philippines infl Conference of I Manila. The C ecclesiastical te regional represi and most influe was more than ”299 priests. 55 breakdovm of ( SChOOls. hi gh St hOSPitaIs. 13 di Jaime Cardinal Catholic hierar Second Changing dynai Philippines mii Ethnic group Cc colleges, and almost 400 secondary schools with a total enrollment of more than 670,000 students” (Timberman, 1991 as cited in Kunio, 1994, p. 83). This case study looks at how two organizations within the Catholic Church in the Philippines influenced the press. The first organization is the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), and the second organization is the Archdiocese of Manila. The CBCP represents the bishops, archbishops and cardinals that lead 80 ecclesiastical territories or dioceses in the Philippines. Elected CBCP officers and regional representatives serve two year terms. The Archdiocese of Manila is the largest and most influential diocese. As of 1994, the population of the Archdiocese of Manila was more than eight million, 90 percent of whom are Catholic. The Archdiocese has “299 priests, 55 religious institutes for men and 130 for women” (CBCP, 2000d). The breakdown of Catholic schools in the Archdiocese is “4 universities, and 132 elementary schools, high schools, and colleges.” The Archdiocese also oversees six Catholic hospitals, 13 dispensaries, two seminaries and 14 catechectical centers” (CBCP, 2000d). Jaime Cardinal Sin heads the Archdiocese of Manila. The CBCP works on behalf of all Catholic hierarchy, including Cardinal Sin. Second of all, the Philippine press itself is worthwhile to study because of the changing dynamics of its organizational structure. Ownership of the press in the Philippines mirrors the socio-economic hierarchy of the country. The elite minority ethnic group controls a significant chunk of the business sector. After the Spanish- American War, Spanish mestizo families, who were sugar plantation owners, also owned newspapers. Today, the minority ethnic group is of Chinese descent. Many of these Chinese-Filipino tycoons use their publications for personal gain. Some content in their newspapers b( political and 5' influence the I This is members of th newspapers th. study is Ang P and led the “'3 .l/ani/a Bill/ell mined by one (Coronel. 199‘ similarities an. ”NSPaPerS ac This di other qualitati‘ P‘Omaya] at Cr Presidential e1. Span of time “ More than One Carnpaign is a WEIRD-0n: C ArchdiOCeSe C Date fill hang newspapers boosts their business holdings, attacks their competitors, and heightens their political and social influences (Coronel, 1999; Maslog, 1994). The Church’s ability to influence the Philippine press further extends the power of the Church. This is a multiple method case study designed to examine interactions between members of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines, and upper level editors of two newspapers that were ideological opposites in the mid-19803. One newspaper under study is Ang Pahayagang Malaya, (formerly We Forum), which reflected liberal ideals, and led the way for other alternative newspapers (Maslog, 1988). The other newspaper is Manila Bulletin, (formerly Bulletin Today), which reflected conservative ideals, and was owned by one of Marcos’ cronies during most of the martial law years (1972-1986) (Coronel, 1999; Maslog, 1988). Comparisons between the two newspapers illuminate the similarities and differences in how the Church influenced two ideologically divergent newspapers across three study periods. This dissertation used quantitative and qualitative content analysis, and several other qualitative methods to explore how the Roman Catholic Church influenced its own portrayal at crucial points in Philippine press history, the 1986, 1992, and 1998 presidential elections. These study periods were chosen because they provide a 12-year span of time where the Church interacted with the press to establish political change. More than one study period was desirable for purposes of comparison. The 1986 campaign is a useful starting point because it highlights a particular church and press interaction: Collaborations between Jaime Cardinal Sin of the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila, clergy, Catholic laity, and alternative media, contributed to the peaceful transition of presidential power in 1986 (J. Burgos, personal communication, JMylS.l998 of dictatorial Aquino. is kn Epifiano de lc Obser between the C presidential C: people who c. 1992 or 1998 monsignors, 1 Catholic Bish- observed and Bulletin (of 5 This < ChaPIET two Provides Tese b." Chapter fi July 15, 1998; Gonzalez, 1988; Tiglao, 1997). The four days in 1986 that mark the ouster of dictatorial leader Marcos, and the installation of the democratic leadership of Corazon Aquino, is known as the People Power Revolution, or EDSA Revolution, which refers to Epifiano de los Santos Avenue, the main site of the peaceful protest (Youngblood, 1990). Observation, interviews, and documentary research illuminate interactions between the Catholic Church and the Philippine newspapers. During the 1998 presidential campaign, and for several months afterward, I observed and interviewed people who could speak about any, or all of the three time periods under study, the 1986, 1992 or 1998 presidential campaigns. My respondents consisted of archbishops, monsignors, priests, and laypersons who worked for the Archdiocese of Manila, or the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP). During that period, I also observed and interviewed reporters, editors and managers at two newspapers, Manila Bulletin (or Bulletin) and Ang Pahayagang Malaya (Malaya). Organization of Study This dissertation consists of six chapters. Chapter one is the introduction. Chapter two presents a literature review and historical background. Chapter three provides research questions and methods. Chapter four provides the findings, followed by chapter five, which consists of theoretical implications, conclusions, and recommendations for further study. C HA Shoe ("Figure l) is content. Thi developing C C ommunicat Reese in the \yithin Shoer research app] chmch politic This intrOduc Press dufing 1 Shoen dra“'s mere 1} aniCUlaIES the h is graphiCa]; CHAPTER 2: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND HISTORICAL BACKGROUND Introduction Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content (Figure 1) is used to understand the Catholic Church’s influence on mass media and its content. This is the first time to my knowledge that this theory has been applied to a developing country context. Gerbner’s (1967) “Institutional Approach to Mass Communications” is presented below in the absence of research that used Shoemaker and Reese in the Philippines. Gerbner’s framework has theoretical components embedded within Shoemaker and Reese’s theory. An overview of both frameworks and their research applications are followed by an introduction to Philippine national politics, church politics and press history, beginning with the Post World War 11 car (1945-1965). This introduction contextualizes the discussion of the role of the church in relation to the press during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theory Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content draws more than 50 years of communication research into a comprehensive model that articulates the sociological processes that influence mass media content. (See Figure 1.) It is graphically presented in the form of concentric circles or foci of influences. The central core is the individual level, followed by outer rings occupied by media routines, extra media, organization, and ideology, respectively. The simultaneous interactions of these levels produce media content. Each level consists of various influences: 0 individual: “a communicator’s characteristics, backgrounds, experiences, attitudes, values, beliefs, roles, ethics, and power on mass media content” (p. 65). 0 media routines: “patterned, routinized, repeated practices and forms that media workers use to do their jobs” (p. 105). For example, “gatekeeping, the beat system, pack journalism, reliance on official sources...” (p. 8). ' organization: “political endorsements, editorial positions, corporate policies, organizational roles, structures and policies, patterns of ownership and how the economic goals of the organization as a whole affect news content” (p. 8). 0 extra media: “sources of the information that become media content, such as special interest groups, public relations campaigns, and even the news organizations themselves; revenue sources, such as advertisers and audiences; other social institutions, such as business and government; the economic environment; and technology” (p. 17 5). ' ideology: “relatively formal and articulated system of meanings, values and beliefs, of a kind that can be abstracted as a ‘world-view’ or a ‘class outlook’” (Williams, 1977, as cited in Shoemaker and Reese, 1996, p. 222). G Indiv. Reporter . l Media Routines Extra media / % Organization Ideology Figure l: Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theory of Influences on Mass Media Content Research using Shoemaker and Reese (1996) in the US. studied the relative importance of the levels of influences on media content. Studies using surveys and interviews show that the individual journalist level, consisting of the psychological make-up and background of people creating the content, is the most powerful influence on media content, followed by media organization and other levels. In the 19705, Flegel and 6 cmfirfl5 IICWS much opinions (C journalistic audience re newsworth judgement media) tha Re: levels. and are the mo analysis oi routines. 5‘ balance in Lac}; C on RES IS being We Chaffee (1971) found reporters’ own personal biases (individual level) influenced the news much more than their perceptions of editors’ (organization level) or audience opinions (extra media level). In the 19803 and 19905, Weaver and Wilhoit (1996) found journalistic training (individual), editors (organization) and peers (media routine), then audience research and public opinion polls (extra media) in descending order, influenced newsworthiness decisions. In their 1994 study, Powers and Fico found that personal judgements (individual) more powerfully influenced reporter’s use of sources (extra media) than organizational pressures in routine and conflict circumstances. Research conducted recently addressed the relative influences within and between levels, and challenged the finding that the individual then the media organization level are the most powerful influences on media content. F ico and Cote’s (1997) content analysis of nine Michigan dailies’ coverage of the 1996 presidential election found media routines, such as story sourcing (extra media), had more of an influence on fairness and balance in stories than organizational influence of circulation, and use of AP wire copy. Lacy, Coulson, and St. Cyr’s (1999) survey of hundreds of city hall reporters at dailies throughout the US. found newspaper competition (extra media) was more influential than TV competition (extra media). Editors (organization) discussing competition with reporters had more influence than other factors such as “years on the city hall bea ” (individual) and paper’s circulation (organization). The mixed findings indicate the difficulty in determining a hierarchy of influences on media content. Gerbner’s (1962) framework Research on Gerbner’s (1967) “Institutional Approach to Mass Communications” is being presented because Shoemaker and Reese’s theory has not been applied to media content in t Shoemal'“?r mass comn relationship logistical re groups. we organizatio: to serve sor command. ( (l 996) wou 3 and 6 und that mOdific orsanizarior The-r Syste 0Uth (13. 4; According It and Chair of Philippines\ content in the Philippines. Gerbner’s theoretical propositions are located within Shoemaker and Reese’s framework. Gerbner’s framework posits that decisions made in mass communication organizations are subject to six types of constraints: “1. client relationships (investors, advertisers, sponsors...),2. patron relationships (audiences), 3. logistical requirements (resources and facilities), 4. leverage (pressure fiom non-client groups, such as blacklists, strikes, legislation...), 5. legal requirements (media as business organizations and licensed and licensed carriers), and normative expectations (obligations to serve some socially valued functions), and 6. supervisory relationships (chain of command, or administration, internal to institution)” (p. 442). Shoemaker and Reese (1996) would classify constraints 1, 2, 4 and 5 under its extra media level and constraints 3 and 6 under its organizational level. Like Shoemaker and Reese, Gerbner also claims that modifications in the constraints alter the message or content of the mass media organization: There is significant change in the nature and functions of that process (message system process) when there is change in the technology, ownership, clientele, outlook or other institutional characteristics of dominant communication agencies. (p. 434) According to Jose Lacson (personal communication, July 27, 1998), Associate Professor and Chair of the Communication Research Department at the University of Philippines—Diliman, Gerbner’s framework is the most widely used perspective in content analysis studies in the Philippines. Research using Gerbner (1967) (e.g. Cordova, 1987; Corpuz, 1988; Dizon, 1990; Panzo, Sanchez and Uy, 1998; Quimson, 1987; Sy, 1991; Tan, 1977; Victoriano, 1988) applied to the two newspapers under study, Malaya and Manila Bulletin, show that the “supervisory relationships,” or organizational influence, is powerful and apparent in media con!i (1991). and relationshij coverage 0 Shc model is ti Approach sociologic. COmmunic of Shoeme deVElOpln! breaks TIE\ this study- analyze UT media YOU lnfl uenceS IDore SUIta Ge the PhilipI i’afiable‘s iiiii resean iiie COVEI‘a: media content in the Philippines. For example, Cordova (1987), Corpuz (1988), Sy (1991), and Victoriano (1988), used content analysis and found a newspaper owners’ relationship with Marcos loyalists, or government institutions, determined the extent of coverage of those sources. Theoretical Rationale Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content model is theoretically viable because it incorporates Gerbner’s (1967) “Institutional Approach to Mass Communication,” as well as other micro and macro levels of sociological influences on mass media content brought on by the body of work on mass communication research compiled over the last half century. First of all, the application of Shoemaker and Reese is advantageous to this study because it is being applied to a developing context like the Philippines for the first time; this theoretical application breaks new ground. Second, Shoemaker and Reese is an appropriate explanatory tool for this study because it is a flexible, non-hierarchical model that allows a researcher to analyze up to five levels of influences that eventually lead to media content: individual, media routine, organization, extra media and ideology. It is this sweeping typology of influences and its visual form that makes Shoemaker and Reese more comprehensive and more suitable than Gerbner’s framework. Gerbner’s (1967) perspective has been used by mass communication scholars in the Philippines to flame content analysis inquiries that depend upon the organizational variable’s bias toward the extra media level’s source as a predictor of content; the goal of this research is to use these influences and various other levels to chronicle and examine the coverage of Catholic Church in Malaya and Manila Bulletin newspapers. The applicalll organilfil indiy'iduz Reese‘ s t that assis An Intr @2911 JE Decembe Davao Ci I999; Zai In Februa the US. a Philippim JaPi’lIlese : nan-Ira] re; and killed Japanese } On Country Sir Zaide, 199 iii” Presid application of this model lays groundwork for future inquiries regarding not only the organization and extra media influences, but other influences comprised among the individual, media routines and ideology levels. Moreover, the beauty of Shoemaker and Reese’s theory and the reason for its use in this project is that it offers a visible model that assists in categorizing influences whereas Gerbner’s does not. An Introduction to Philippine National Politics, Church Politics and Press History Post WWII (1946-1965) Philippine National Politics Japan bombed Pearl Harbor December 7, 1941, at 7:55 am. U.S. time. It was December 8, 1941, 2:30 am. Philippine time (Zaide, 1999). At 6:30 am., Japan bombed Davao City in Mindanao and then proceeded to Clark Field, north of Manila (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). By January 2, 1942, Japanese troops invaded and pillaged Manila. In February, the US. military transported Philippine President Quezon and his family to the US. at the request of President Roosevelt (Zaide, 1999). By April, more than 80,000 Philippine-American troops surrendered to the Japanese. The Philippines was under Japanese martial law for the next three years. The Japanese plundered the country’s natural resources, controlled all of its businesses and educational institutions, and tortured and killed many of its citizens (Zaide, 1999). By the time the war ended in 1945, the Japanese killed more than one million Filipinos. On July 4, 1946, the Philippines regained its independence, becoming the first country since World War II to be de-colonized by an industrialized power (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). With the help of Gen. Douglas MacArthur, Manuel Roxas was elected the first president of the republic since the Japanese occupation. MacArthur imprisoned 10 Roxasi pc EmmoQ ekamnl (Caspar. l hnmnt' bhds.bee W91p.3 ln melapan. 1999. p. 9 Nauonal] HUR'S mil joined the bureaucra Afimnku KSJogh Ehmun; 3S9j I\It I999IZaic' \iic ianunderr Dar-5'10 m». Garcia nOte Roxas’ political rivals. In 1948, Roxas died of a heart attack, leaving Vice President Elpidio Quirino as his replacement. The following year, Quirino won the presidential election, but allegedly 20 percent of the votes were as a result of fraud and intimidation (Caspar, 1999). This was known as the “dirtiest and bloodiest election” in Philippine history: “In faraway Lanao Province in Mindanao, for instance, it was reported that the birds, bees, monkeys and the dead cast their votes for the Liberal (Roxas’) party” (Zaide, 1999,p.359) In the early 19505, the Communist-led Hukbalahap (The People’s Army against the Japanese) or “Huks” revolted because of widespread corruption and inflation (Caspar, 1999, p. 918). In 1953, Quirino appointed Congressman Ramon Magsaysay Secretary of National Defense. Magsaysay, a former guerilla fighter, successfully weakened the Huk’s military capabilities (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). In 1954, Magsaysay, who had joined the Nationalista party, defeated Quirino for the presidency. Magsaysay reduced bureaucracy and corruption, established the National Resettlement and Rehabilitation Administration, the Presidential Complaints and Action Committee, and convinced the US. to give the Philippines sovereignty over the US. bases (Caspar, 1999). Magsaysay is known as the “Savior of Democracy,” and the “Man of the Masses” (Zaide, 1999, p. 359). At the height of his popularity, Magsaysay died in a plane crash in 1957 (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). Vice President Carlos Garcia assumed Magsaysay’s post. Later that year, Garcia ran under the Nationalista party and was elected despite defections of members of his party to two new parties, the Progressive party, and the Grand Alliance (Caspar, 1999). Garcia notably revived Filipino culture and fostered goodwill with other countries by 11 encouragi1 Macapaga ierminatin Code (C as ordered th subsequer Ferdinand M TI percent R Protestant Roman C; Philippine dominatet 1565. PM CalhOllCis Calholic c (Caspar. 1 Al Church is 5 Part of Sec considered of ChUI‘Ch c encouraging cultural exchanges (Zaide, 1999). In 1961 , Vice President Diosdado Macapagal, a Liberal, defeated Garcia for the presidency. Macapagal won praise for terminating the foreign-exchange controls and enacting an Agricultural Land Reform Code (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). His popular support eroded however, when he ordered the arrest of American entrepreneur Harry Stonehill for alleged tax evasion, and subsequently deported him instead of trying him. In 1965, Macapagal was defeated by Ferdinand Marcos, his former campaign manager (Caspar, 1999). Church Politics The Philippines is the only predominantly Christian country in Asia with 83 percent Roman Catholic, 3 percent Aglipayan (Philippine Independent Church), 8 percent Protestant, 5 percent Muslim and 1 percent animist (Caspar, 1999; CBCP, 1999d). The Roman Catholic Church has a long history of being a strong political force in the Philippines. During the Spanish regime (1521-1900), the Roman Catholic Church dominated in the church-state government (del Pilar, 195 8 as cited in Agpalo, 1992). In 1565, Philip II of Spain sent a fleet to settle Cebu to convert the people into Roman Catholicism. Spain’s authority in the Philippines were represented by five Roman Catholic orders: “the Augustinians, Franciscans, Dominicans, Jesuits and the Recollects” (Caspar, 1999, p. 900). Although an 1899 constitutional provision separated the church and state, the church is still a powerful influence in the Philippines. The Catholic Church is an integral part of secular life. Fiestas are celebrated during holy days and the local priest is considered a leader in many communities. Civil code that pertains to the family grew out of church canon law. For example, divorce has always been illegal except when the 12 Japanese OCC president. ey is seen in the and Rey'olye body." espe 83). The C colleges. 4( 700,000 511 runs “hosp period afte Upper clas POPE eley: Philippine (CaSpar, ] \\ the? shirt the Philip momhpie newspapi heir to a 1 He al So e the li’eek Japanese occupied the county in World War 11. Until 1992 when Ramos became president, every president has been Catholic (Agpalo, 1992). “Its (Catholic Church) clout is seen in the poorest village, where the church will be the best-kept building” (“Rosaries and Revolvers,” 1996, p. 71). The Catholic Church is known as the “most effective civic body,” especially in the area of education (Timberman, 1991 as cited in Kunio, 1994, p. 83). The Church owns and operates 1,300 schools, including 17 universities, 151 colleges, 400 secondary schools and seminaries. The total enrollment in 1991 was nearly 700,000 students (Caspar, 1999; Tirnberman, 1991 as cited in Kunio). The church also runs “hospitals, leprosaria and welfare Shelters” (Caspar, 1999, p. 900). During the period after World War II, the masses considered the Catholic hierarchy as part of the upper class and were suspicious of the Church’s ties with foreign countries. In 1960, the Pope elevated Rufino Santos, Archbishop of Manila, as the first Cardinal in the Philippines, dispelling beliefs that the Catholic Church was under foreign control (Caspar, 1999). Press History When the Japanese occupied the Philippines during World War II (1942 to 1945), they shut down all mass communication outlets except for a Tagalog (the main dialect in the Philippines) magazine called Liwayway. The Japanese used this publication as their mouthpiece. After the war, two out of the three national broadsheets that were morning newspapers, Manila Bulletin and Philippines Herald resumed publishing Joaquin Roces, heir to a newspaper chain, replaced the other broadsheet, Tribune, with Manila Times. He also established another broadsheet that published in the afiemoon, Daily Mirror, and the Weekly Women ’s Magazine. In 1945, several newspapermen started publishing 13 Manila C hr 0 doun. Duni“ at 250.000 cc forging its na Philippine N Durin; constructing r stabilizing the getting loans t yielded more 1 president. During MaTCOSi re—ele. deValuation, L‘ 1999). Marcos Manila Chronicle. Meanwhile, several tabloids began publishing, but quickly closed down. During this period, as the Manila Times became the highest newspaper circulation at 250,000 copies, Manila Chronicle was developing the offset printing process and forging its name as a newspaper of quality (Maslog, 1994). The Marcos Years (1965-1983) Philippine National Politics During his first term as president, Ferdinand Marcos gained popular support for constructing roads, bridges and schools (Caspar, 1999). He is also noted for financially stabilizing the government by “effectively collecting taxes, imposing new tax laws, and getting loans from foreign banks,” and for promoting the use of “miracle rice” that yielded more produce (Zaide, 1999, p. 364). In 1969, Marcos became the first re-elected president. During Marcos’ second term his popularity eroded. The $100 million spent on Marcos’ re-election campaign and a global economic crisis caused a currency devaluation. Unemployment and the costs of goods skyrocketed (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). Marcos also broke down the holdings of wealthy families and transferred their wealth to his family and friends. The New People’s Army and Muslim separatists in Mindanao became more radical a5 a result of widespread corruption. This economic situation coupled with his dispatching of a civic-action battalion to Vietnam caused civil unrest (Caspar, 1999). College students rallied in the streets, demanding a government free of graft and corruption, land reform, lower prices, more jobs, improvement in education, and a new constitution to replace the obsolete 1935 Constitution. In January 1970, students “stormed” Malacanang place, which resulted in the deaths of six students 14 (Zaide, 199 called a C011 delegates to presidential Philippines. detained. A In J u and struck d Marcos prim August 21. 1 Party. was ar Unidentified and injured 1 The assailant leaders Order: outrage. Klarc [hi . S suspensm (Zaide, 1999, p. 365). In response to these rallies and constant media criticism, Marcos called a constitutional convention. On November 1970, an election was held for delegates to the Convention. Half of the delegates ended up being political allies and presidential relatives (Zaide, 1999). Later that month, Pope Paul VI visited the Philippines. A Bolivian painter attempted to assassinate the Pontiff and was quickly detained. After the Pope’s visit, civil unrest intensified (Zaide, 1999). In June 1971, the Constitutional Convention created a parliamentary government and struck down the 1935 constitution’s presidential two-year term limitation, giving Marcos prime minister status and the power to rule indefinitely (Caspar, 1999). On August 21, 1971, the Liberal Party, which was the chief rival of Marcos’ Nacionalista party, was announcing their candidates for local elections in Plaza Miranda in Manila. Unidentified people hurled two grenades toward the platform, which killed eight people and injured 120 (Zaide, 1999). Senatorial candidates were among those seriously injured. The assailants were never caught, and Marcos critics believed either Marcos or military leaders ordered the grenade attacks (Zaide, 1999). That evening in response to public outrage, Marcos suspended the “writ of habeas corpus” (Zaide, 1999, p. 368). He used this suspension to send Communist sympathizers to detention camps where they were tortured. On January 11, 1972, Marcos restored “habeas corpus.” On September 21, 1972, Marcos declared martial law and ordered his military to arrest those who opposed him, and to seize transportation and communications facilities (Caspar, 1999; F lorentino— hofilena, 1998; Maslog, 1994). Two days later, after his military had made thousands of arrests, Marcos appeared on national television and radio to inform the country about his declaration. Among those arrested were “politicians, student activists, suspected or real 15 communists. law ended C tonard the g The l November 1' allowing Ma is called “cor to call a pleb Assemblies t plebiscite bei 1999). DeSp and created e economic grc 5‘3 Percent. created a Net "disciplined. DOIabIe aChie (Zaide, 1999 lllVestOrS and communists, media critics, intellectuals, and professionals (Zaide, 1999, p. 374). Martial law ended Congress and established military tribunals to try cases involving subversion toward the government (Zaide, 1999). The Constitutional Convention reconvened and finished the constitution in late November 1972. In January 1973, the constitution was approved, but suspended, allowing Marcos to continue to rule as both a prime minister and president; this situation is called “constitutional authoritarianism” (Zaide, 1999, p. 378). Congress was supposed to call a plebiscite to ratify the constitution. Instead, Marcos organized local Citizen Assemblies that voted to pass the constitution; the Assemblies were preferred over a plebiscite because voting occurred by a Show of hands rather than secret ballots (Caspar, 1999). Despite the criticisms of martial law, the first five years restored peace and order, and created economic prosperity. From 1972 to 1977, the Philippines experienced an economic growth of 6.9 percent, and the unemployment rate dropped from 7 percent to 5.2 percent. From 1972 to 1980, tourism increased ten-fold (Zaide, 1999). Marcos created a New Society Movement, which wanted to create a society that would be “disciplined, self-sufficient, peaceful and self-reliant” (Zaide, 1999, p. 385.) His most notable achievement during this period was enacting a land reform that abolished tenancy (Zaide, 1999). These achievements hid the massive debts the Philippine owed to foreign investors and a tax structure that levied the poor more heavily than the wealthy. In 197 8, when an interim National Assembly was established to replace Congress, Marcos appointed his wife, Imelda, as minister of human settlements. That year, Benigno Aquino, who led the opposition party Lakas ng Bayan (Laban or People’s Power), unsuccessfully ran for the Assembly from prison (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). 16 Aquino‘: prison. 1 Society I mayors I by the I\' Despite I under 511: event as govemar S to the 19 President year [em $25 bi Ilic 9% Ir. 19705, 1h, Vallejos ( SOCiO‘POII Soda] iUSI P6 Philip] Theo/0gp ' fits “beta Aquino’s wife, Corazon, and his daughter, Kris, campaigned for him while he was in prison. In 1980, when Aquino was undergoing heart surgery in Texas, Marcos’ New Society Movement held the first local election under martial law for governors and mayors (Caspar, 1999). In January 1981, Marcos lified martial law, in the face of threats by the New People’s Army and the Muslim-separatist Moro National Liberation Front. Despite the lifting of martial law, Marcos was still able to imprison and detain people under suspicion (Caspar, 1999). Those who opposed the government referred to the event as a mere “face-lifting” of martial law rather than a return to a democratic governance (Zaide, 1999, p. 391). Shortly after the lifting of martial law, the national plebiscite passed amendments to the 1973 Constitution. The Amendments basically strengthened Marcos’ hold on presidential power (Zaide, 1999). In June 1981, Marcos was re-elected to another six- year term. At this point, foreign debt had grown from $60 million in the early 19705 to $25 billion (Caspar, 1999). Church Politics In 1969, the Pope elevated Julio Rosales to the College of Cardinals. In the early 19705, the clergy led small protests in Manila against the Marcos regime. According to Vallejos (1987) these protests were encouraged by liberation theology, a mixture of socio-political theories and Christian principles, which had the common goal of achieving social justice for the poor. Vallejos (1987) traced the beginning of liberation theology in the Philippines to Fr. Edicio de la Torre, who circulated Gustavo Gutierrez’s The Theology of Liberation throughout his seminary. Fr. de la Torre, who is considered the first liberation theologian in the Philippines, formed a group of seminarians and religious l7 women c Hberatior Catholic organize of Marcc preyentir media. I Opponen I Second ‘ Work IO\ liberatio 1963). p to the tir as inflm the Van ‘iiaglistr II 'or/d_ women devoted to social justice for the poor. Vallejos concluded that the spread of liberation theology failed to reach a national scale because of the polarization of the Catholic Church toward the theory, the lack of coordination by liberation theologians to organize and to use mass media to spread liberation theology thinking, and the emergence of Marcos’ authoritarian rule. Marcos’ authoritarian regime manipulated the press, preventing voices, such as those coming from liberation theologians, from entering the media. His regime also used the military and judiciary branches to threaten or repress his opponents. In Marcos Against the Church, Youngblood (1990) cited the influence of the Second Vatican Council teachings, which advocated that the Roman Catholic Church work toward social justice for the poor among other things, as a contributor to the rise of liberation theology in the Philippines. Vatican 11, called by Pope John XXIII (1958- 1963), produced 16 documents focused on making the institutional church more relevant to the times. Coquia (1989) specifically cites several documents published by Vatican II as influential in the Catholic Church’s call for social justice during the Marcos regime: the Vatican II Decree on the Church in the Modern World, the Papal Encyclicals Mater et Magistra and Populorum Progressio and the Vatican Synod Document Justice in the World In 1976, Rufmo Cardinal Santos of the Archdiocese of Manila died. Archbishop Jaime Sin was named his replacement and was soon after elevated to the College of Cardinals. During his first year as head of the archdiocese Cardinal Sin had a harmonious relationship with the government. The clashes between the Cardinal and the Marcos regime began the following year when Cardinal Sin refused to allow Imelda 18 Marcos Rome (I the C atb of the di I uamm diverse i Philippii In his bc relations “moderr three cat generall" "ecclesi; IhOSe set Marcos to build a multi-million dollar basilica, which was to rival St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome (Bautista, 1987). From 1977 to 1981, Cardinal Sin also served as the President of the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), which represents the heads of the dioceses and archdioceses of the Philippines (CBCP, 1995). It would be remiss to characterize the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines as a monolithic body with one voice, without mentioning that the church consists of diverse ideologies. A schism exists between conservative and liberal clergy in the Philippines, who vary in the degree of political involvement allowable (Romero, 1982). In his book, Youngblood (1990) surveyed orders and organizations about their relationship to the Marcos regime and their perception of the role of the church in the “modern world:” Based on their responses he divided the orders and organizations into three categories: conservative, moderate and progressive (p. 72). The conservatives generally supported Marcos and believed the church should serve the traditional “ecclesiastical orientation” of the church in the Philippines as a “haven or sanctuary for those seeking refuge from the problems and cares of secular society” (Smith, as cited in Youngblood, 1990, p. 72). Conservatives criticized Marcos only when “vital” church interests were at stake such as “the taxation of parochial schools, the legalization of divorce, and with such programs as family planning” (p. 73). When criticism was made of Marcos, it was done so mildly. The moderates also generally supported Marcos and criticized the regime when “vital” church interests were at stake. The moderates were more critical of Marcos than the conservatives, but their criticism fell short of attacking the legitimacy of Marcos’ regime. The moderates and the progressives, in contrast to conservatives, held fast to the 19 lh-l threads of liberation theology advocated by Vatican II meetings in the 19605, which advocated the church work toward social justice for the poor. The moderates and progressives were actively involved with programs and projects that served the needy. In contrast to the other two divisions, the progressives or activists spoke out boldly against not only “vital” church interests, but also a range of Marcos’ abuses, as shown in table 1. Table 1: Youngblood’s findings conservatives moderates progressives 58% of the Catholic 23% of the CBCP 19% of the CBCP Bishop’s Conference i.e. Jaime Cardinal Sin i.e. Bishop Francisco Claver (CBCP) i.e. the late Julio Cardinal Roales of Cebu Assoc. of Major Relig. Phil. Priests Incorp. (PPI) Superiors of the Philippines (AMRSP) Society of Jesus (SJ) Society of St. Columban (SSC) Maryknoll Fathers (MM) Missionary Sisters of the Immaculate Heart of Mary This table is helpful in understanding the ideological divisions within the Roman Catholic Church hierarchy. In an e-mail from R. L Youngblood (personal communication, 1998), he suggested that a new survey be conducted because leadership and membership in the CBCP, and the orders and organizations that were originally surveyed, have since changed. Press Histog In the late 19605 and early 19705, the Philippine press, according to Maslog (1994) was almost entirely privately owned, mainly Manila-centered, and free from government controls. Private companies owned the 21 dailies, 100 community 20 newspar were pU Chinese broadshi Daily -II I Accordir in Asia. ‘ Philippir president 333). 101 newspapers and 100 magazines that existed during this period. Seventeen of the dailies were published in Manila. Nine were English broadsheets and the rest were written in Chinese, Spanish and Tagalog. The dailies with the largest circulation were English broadsheets: Manila Times, Manila Chronicle, Philippines Herald, Manila Bulletin, Daily Mirror and Manila Evening News. The Philippine press also enjoyed its freedom with almost reckless disregard. According to Dunnet (1988), during this period, the Philippine press was the “most vital” in Asia, with more than a dozen daily newspapers in Metro Manila alone (p. 252). The Philippine press “flourished and flaunted their freedom, going so far as calling the president one of the richest, most corrupt leaders in Southeast Asia” (Merrill, 1991, p. 223). Journalists in the Philippines were protected by laws of libel, privilege, and the 1935 (and later 1986) Philippine Constitutions, which guaranteed that “no law shall be passed abridging freedom of speech and of the press” (Maslog, 1994, p. 28). The government relied primarily on their own resources to publish pamphlets and newsletters to make the public aware of government programs and events. The only constraint to press freedom was the economic interests of their owners. Five oligarchies or families with extensive business holdings, owned 90 percent of the country’s media outlets (newspapers, magazines, radio and television). These families used their newspapers to further extend their political and economic influence. The articles, editorials, and columns of these newspapers criticized Marcos’ business projects and economic policies since he took office in 1965. In turn, Marcos became one of the loudest critics of the Philippine press, accusing it of not only being used by oligarchic 21 outlet unethi close a next (I: televis station arrestei onners (Maslo Daily E onned prOpag; Marcos fEilnilies I‘EIativeg the Dail 0Pmed b owners for their vested interests, but also for being sensationalistic, irresponsible, and unethical (Maslog, 1994). When Marcos declared martial law September 1972, he ordered his troops to close and seize most media communications operations and equipment. By nightfall the next day, the military closed seven English newspapers, three Filipino dailies and seven television stations in Metro Manila, as well as 60 community newspapers and 292 radio stations in the provinces (Florentino-hofilena, 1998). By the end of the month, his troops arrested some 50,000 people who opposed his regime. Among those arrested were owners, publishers, reporters and columnists who were critical of Marcos’ regime (Maslog, 1994). The only media outlets in Manila that were allowed to remain open were the Daily Express and radio and television stations under Kanalaon Broadcasting, which was owned by Roberto Benedicto, a close Marcos fi'iend. Marcos claimed Communist propagandists controlled the news media and was spreading lies about the government. Marcos’ apparent goal was to re-structure media ownership by confiscating outlets fiom families critical of his regime, and placing them under the ownership of Marcos allies or relatives. The largest daily, Manila Times, is one example (Merrill, 1991). Other than the Daily Express, only two other newspapers were allowed to publish, Bulletin Today, owned by Hans Menzi, a former Marcos aide, and the Times Journal, owned by Benjamin Romualdez, Marcos’ brother-in-law. These three newspapers were also referred to as the “crony-owned press” because the businessmen who owned the publications were close allies or relatives of Marcos and relied on his regime for political and economic protection. All the newspapers were regarded as government mouthpieces. 22 .‘,_-v ii The content i behalfof the with Marcos i the earl." 198i MarcoS and h hofilen3~ 199i circulation at . Journal had a a bilingual ‘3 DurinE allowed to 0p6 councils. 3) p When MarcoS established mi Marcos also US Stationed in mi publication or local Philippin Defense. JUan headed the mil (Chile-l), which distributed per. \I - aslog. 1994). The content and editorials of these newspapers, which praised Marcos for working on behalf of the good of the people, reflected the understanding of these owners’ as partners with Marcos in supporting the government (Lee, 1992; Panzo et al., 1998; Tan, 1977). In the early 19805, Menzi fired two journalists for writing articles and columns critical of Marcos and his “muzzling” of the press (McDougald, 1987, as cited in Florentino- hofilena, 1998, p. 12-13; Vallejos, 1987). At the time, Bulletin Today had the largest circulation at 282,000, The Daily Express, a circulation of 194,000, and the Times Journal had a circulation of 170,000. In 1979, Times Journal launched People ’s Journal, a bi-lingual tabloid (Maslog, 1994). During the martial law years, these media outlets as well as others that Marcos allowed to open, were subject to several constraints: 1) military censorship, 2) media councils, 3) presidential decrees, 4) libel cases, and 5) “envelopmental journalism.” When Marcos declared martial law in September 1972, he ended Congress and established military tribunals to try cases involving subversion toward the government. Marcos also used the military to monitor the media (Zaide, 1999). The military was stationed in media outlets in Metro Manila where information was censored just prior to publication or broadcast. In the provinces, media outlets had to submit information to the local Philippine Constabulary commander prior to publication. The Secretary of National Defense, Juan Ponce Enrile and the Secretary of Public Information, Francisco Tatad headed the military censors and eventually established the Committee on Mass Media (CMM), which developed guidelines for local and foreign news censorship and distributed permits and security clearances to the media (F lorentino-hofilena, 1998; Maslog, 1994). In May 1973, Marcos’ Presidential Decree (PD) 191 ended the CW 23 and creat€d th members to iii Philippine C0 regulating org SUPPOnerS‘ ha gmemment 01' In 1981 Marcos signed death. Journali' govemment or 1994. p. 37‘). T In 1982. National Intelli; personal lives. a This Board alsc and his cronies. and created the Mass Media Advisory Council (MAC). Marcos appointed all of the members to the MAC. In November 1974, PD 576 terminated the MAC and created the Philippine Council for Print Media and the Broadcast Council, making them self- regulating organizations (Maslog, 1994). The councils, which consist of Marcos supporters, had the power to deny media licenses to outlets that were critical of the government or the Marcos family. In 1981, Marcos lifted martial law. Unbeknownst to the Philippine public, Marcos signed two “secret decrees” the night before, which penalized subversion with death. Journalists faced this penalty if they engaged in any activity that “destabilized the government or undermined or destroyed the faith and loyalty of the citizenry” (Maslog, 1994, p. 37). These decrees were leaked to the foreign media. In 1982, Marcos further consolidated control on the media when he created the National Intelligence Board, a military body that questioned journalists about their personal lives, and warned them of consequences faced after subverting the government. This Board also barred foreign correspondents, who wrote negative stories about Marcos and his cronies, from entering the Philippines (Florentino-hofilena, 1998). PD 33 penalized the “printing, possession and circulation of printed materials that undermined the government” (Maslog, 1994, p. 33). PD 90 penalized “rumor-mongering;” PD 1737 empowered Marcos “to detain persons to prevent them from acting against national security or public order;” PDs 1834 and 1845 escalated the “penalties for rebellion, sedition and other crimes related to national security, including ‘subversive journalism;”’ and PD 1877 authorized “the incarceration for a period not exceeding one year of persons 24 accused < 3364)- M Office of The Ofiic encourage suits. The “Censorsh onned me Portrayed I Occurred \1 bribing the litlaslog, 1 decrees dic‘ Philippines in the Worl. minim accused of national security crimes even without charges being filed against them” (p. 33-34). Marcos also constrained the media by censoring information directly, through the Office of Media Affairs, through crony relationships, libel suits, bribes and death threats. The Ofiice of Media Affairs called newspaper editors to complain about a story or to encourage the publication of a story. Marcos also constrained journalists through libel suits. The government filed at least a dozen libel suits between 1980 and 1985. “Censorship by friendship” occurred when cronies or close friends of Marcos, who owned media outlets censored content that criticized Marcos and inserted stories that portrayed Marcos positively (Maslog, 1994, p. 34). “Envelopmental journalism,” which occurred when government officials handed envelopes containing money to journalists, bribing them to give them positive coverage, became institutionalized during martial law (Maslog, 1994; Tan and Stehling, 1998). If the threats of enacting one of the presidential decrees did not work, the Marcos regime harmed journalists physically. In the Philippines, 25 journalists were killed between 1976 to 1986, more than any other place in the world. More than half were killed in 1985 (Maslog, 1994). Up to the Snap 1986 Presidential Election (1983 to 19$) Philippine National Politics In 1983, leaders from the leading political parties, UNIDO (United Nationalist Democratic Organization), Philippine Democratic Party (PDP) and LABAN (People’s Power Movement), decided to thwart Marcos’ plans to establish a family dynasty where his descendants would rule the Philippines. After three years in exile, on August 21, 1983, Benigno Aquino traveled back to the Philippines to prepare PDP-LABAN for next 25 yeariS N Manila's (Caspar. nvo milli Philippin resignatic to the Phi called the found thai military ci country‘s 0f“grafi a Ofoffice, a learned the Ot'ergeas a‘ ‘CaSPar. Is year’s National Assembly elections. He was shot and killed as he stepped off the plane at Manila’s airport. Aquino’s assassin, Rolando Galrnan, was then allegedly shot and killed (Caspar, 1999). Aquino’s funeral procession, ten days later, was attended by more than two million people, which is known as the largest and longest funeral procession in Philippine history (Zaide, 1999). Protestors filled the streets and demanded Marcos’ resignation. Aquino’s death caused US. President Ronald Reagan to cancel his state visit to the Philippines and sparked an economic crisis. Marcos appointed an inquiry group called the Agrava Board to investigate Aquino’s murder. In October, 1984, the Board found that Galrnan was not Aquino’s killer, and concluded that the murders were part of a military conspiracy involving 26 men (Zaide, 1999). In 1985, opposition members in the country’s Batasang legislative body unsuccessfully attempted to impeach Marcos because of “graft and corruption, culpable violation of the Constitution, gross violation of his oath of office, and other high crimes” (Zaide, 1999, p. 396). In that same year, Filipinos learned that Marcos’ assets amounting to several billions of dollars were being held in overseas accounts; the money appeared to come from the Philippine treasury and US. aid (Caspar, 1999). The US, which had interests in stabilizing the government because of Clark Air and Subic Naval bases, pressured Marcos to hold another presidential election (Caspar, 1999). On November 4, 1985, President Ferdinand Marcos appeared live on the US. network program “This Week with David Brinkley.” Faced with mounting reports of corruption and human rights abuses, on that program he called for a “snap” presidential election on February 7, 1986, to prove his legitimacy. At a political rally in Tarlac province later that day, Marcos said that the elections would “erase doubts regarding the 26 popular term of found tl (Caspar Most of Movem organiz: election member declared ptesider candidai lGonzai. Bishops Marcos across [I Assemb; Aguino . (Zaide, - C0mpler marred I iiiéesini popularity of [his] administration” (Keesing’s, 1987, 34299). Marcos’ current six-year term of office was not due to expire until 1987. On December 2, 1985, when the court found the 26 men accused of Aquino’s death not guilty, protestors again filled the streets (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). On election day, February 7, 1986, violence erupted and at least 26 people died. Most of those who died supported the UNIDO candidates. The National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (N arnfrel), an independent electoral monitoring organization, which prevented excessive cheating in the May 1984 National Assembly elections, reported widespread fraud and violence throughout the country; one Namfrel member was shot and killed while he guarded ballot boxes (Keesing’s, 1987). Marcos declared that he was the winner, although independent poll watchers reported that presidential candidate Corazon Aquino, Benigno’s widow, and vice-presidential candidate Salvador Laurel were ahead by a very large margin throughout the country (Gonzalez, 1988; Peerman, 1987; Tasker, 1996). On February 15, 1985, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines issued a pastoral letter that condemned the Marcos government for electoral fraud. The letter was read in all the Catholic Churches across the country (Keesing’s, 1987; Zaide, 1999). On February 16, 1986, the National Assembly declared Marcos the winner, despite reported vote buying. On that day, Aquino and Laurel held a rally in Luneta that attracted more than four million people (Zaide, 1999). Reagan issued a statement and said that although his observers had not yet completed their report “it has already become evident, sadly, that the elections were marred by widespread fraud and violence perpetrated largely by the ruling party” (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34301). The statement went on to say that the fraud and violence 27 were "so Philippin Reagan‘s needs of then Ac Genera just lee opposi RamO. Was le who V ART“ were “so extreme that the election’s credibility has been called into question both in the Philippines and in the USA” (1987, p. 34302). On the following day, Philip Habib, Reagan’s special envoy, arrived in Manila for a seven-day visit to “assess the desires and needs of the Filipino people.” (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34301). He first met with Marcos, then Aquino, and then Cardinal Sin. At a press conference on February 22, Defense Minister Juan Ponce Enrile and General Fidel Ramos announced their defection from Marcos’ army, saying that they had just learned that Marcos planned to arrest them, and planned a “crack-down on the opposition” (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34302; Tiglao, 1997; Zaide, 1999). Later that day, Ramos joined troops loyal to him at Camp Crame, the national police headquarters. It was learned that Marcos intended to “wipe out” Enrile and Ramos and the 300 soldiers who were beside them (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34302). Jaime Cardinal Sin, the leader of the Archdiocese of Manila, used the Catholic-owned Radio Veritas and Veritas newsmagazine to call the masses to protect the rebels. Hundreds of thousands, including priests and nuns, responded, flooding the streets of Epifiano de los Santos Avenue (EDSA). The “merging of these three powers —military, church and people power” led to the “People Power Revolution” (Zaide, 1999, p. 399). On February 23, Brig. Gen. Artemio Tadiar led Marcos’ armored tanks down EDSA toward Camp Crame. Continuing the protests that started the day before, priests and nuns flocked toward the advancing tanks and began kneeling in prayer, successfirlly halting the tanks. Thousands of people were behind them, creating a human shield around the camp. Children were hoisted atop the tanks to offer the soldiers food, drink and embraces (Tiglao, 1997; Zaide, 1999). In the meantime, Reagan warned Marcos that 28 if he Iaunt Philippine for Aquin the rebel the home took con emergen weapons Cramel Marcos ammfi. and ther 0f Ihous gates. ( 0f SOVeI M I OPPOSiti. Freudian dimliSSei “Shem .‘lleneO Cle if he launched an attack on the rebels the US. was going to cut off all aid to the Philippines. On the following day, Reagan advised Marcos to step down to make room for Aquino (Keesing's, 1987). Meanwhile, 85 percent of the Armed Forces defected to the rebel forces (Zaide, 1999). On February 24, rebel forces attacked Malacanang Palace, the home of the president, demolished five government helicopters and an airplane, and took control of government radio and television networks. Marcos declared a state of emergency. Conflicting reports indicate that Marcos either ordered his troops to use light weapons against the rebel troops, or that he ordered his troops to fire mortars at Camp Crame, but his orders were not obeyed (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34302). On February 25, Marcos and Aquino were inaugurated separately as president. Later that day, a US. aircraft carried Marcos and an entourage of about 89 people to the US territory of Guam and then to Hawaii (Caspar, 1999; Keesing’s, 1987; Tiglao, 1997). Soon after, hundreds of thousands piled into the streets to celebrate Marcos’ ouster; some scaled the palace gates. On March 7, 1986, Teodoro Locsin, the Information Minister, announced the end of government censorship of the media (Keesing’s, 1987). Church Politics In early October 1985, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Archbishop of Manila, asked opposition leaders to join a Church-supported rally on October 7. On October 5, 1985, President Marcos accused Cardinal Sin of “farming the flames of rebellion.” Cardinal Sin dismissed President Marcos’s accusation as “astounding” and he challenged the President to file charges against him (Keesing’s 1986, p. 33528). Cardinal Sin and Jesuit priests at Ateneo de Manila, and millions of Filipinos encouraged Corazon Aquino, Benigno’s widow, to run against Marcos. On December 11, Cardinal Sin asked Salvador Laurel and 29 Corazon AQI ticket. Laure On la seen "many s the honest an Any ordainei pastoral lette out an offici such as voti pastoral let Philippines the electior thtyan the Radio 1'9, the masses Zaide, 199 pher‘omer mlltical V Church, Ci Void by Ch brOadCasn, ghetto, 1 9 Corazon Aquino to run on a UNIDO (United Nationalist Democratic Organization) ticket. Laurel and Aquino filed for candidacy 90 minutes for the deadline. On January 19, 1986, Cardinal Sin published a pastoral letter warning that he had seen “many signs that show a very sinister plot by some people and groups to frustrate the honest and orderly expression of people’s genuine will” (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34300). Any ordained bishop that has power over a diocese or archdiocese is allowed to issue a pastoral letter. A pastoral letter draws from Catholic dogmas and other teachings to stake out an official position on a secular issue or to develop guidelines for action on issues such as voting in elections (Mabunga, 1997) (See Appendix for three examples of pastoral letters). On February 14, 1986, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), composed of about 50 bishops, released a statement that denounced the election as unparalleled in fraudulence and as “pointing to a criminal use of power to thwart the sovereign will of the people” (Keesings,l987, p. 34301). Cardinal Sin used Radio Veritas and Veritas newsweekly to encourage the masses to protect the rebels, and the masses answered, igniting the “People Power Revolution” (Quintos de Jesus, 1995; Zaide, 1999). Amando Doronilla, a political analyst and columnist explained this phenomenon as the filling of a void lefi by a weak government. Marcos created a political vacuum that an institution, independent of the government, such as the Catholic Church, could fill. Catholic hierarchy, namely Cardinal Sin and the CBCP, filled that void by challenging the govemment’s legitimacy through pastoral letters and broadcasting on Radio Veritas (Doronilla cited in Isberto, 1992). Rivera, (cited in Isberto, 1992) a political science professor in the Philippines, said the presence of a 30 .L———‘ 'r" "2006 em po ‘ 3 (I) 'n burge the IT news publi Dece and b the L.“ unavz Mani; aI'rpla rePTES COVER Statior (“med b‘ {“0 news 5m This Du] “good-vs.-evil” scenario where the Catholic Church was good and Marcos was evil, empowered the Church politically (p. 82). Press Histog Benigno Aquino’s assassination in 1983 furthered the development of a burgeoning alternative press, which referred to publications that offered an alternative to the muzzled crony press. In May 1977, Jose Burgos’ publishing of We Forum, a weekly newspaper aimed at an adolescent audience, began the era of the alternative press. As the publication became more outspoken about Marcos’ abuses, its circulation increased. In December 1982, Burgos and members of his staff were imprisoned for publishing a series that challenged the authenticity of Marcos’ war medals. A month later, he was released and began publishing Malaya, and English tabloid. Meanwhile, the Philippine Collegian, the University of the Philippines’ student newspaper, also began publishing articles unavailable in the crony press (Maslog, 1994). The government forbid the crony press to cover Benigno Aquino’s arrival to Manila in August 1983. As Aquino, Marcos’ chief political rival, stepped off of the airplane, he was shot and killed. While the crony press awaited word from Marcos or his representatives about covering the story, alternative media and media outlets from abroad covered Aquino’s assassination. Alternative media like Radio Veritas, the Catholic radio station, Malaya and Masa, We Forum ’3 sister publication, and Mr. and Ms. magazines, owned by Eugenia Apostol, covered the shooting, wake, and funeral procession, attended by two million people. A dozen tabloids sprang up as well as Cardinal Sin’s Veritas newsmagazine and Apostol’s newsweekly, The Weekly Inquirer.’ Meanwhile, thousands ‘ This publication eventually became the Philippine Daily Inquirer in 1985. 31 ofcor ouflet phenc theal phhuu board adver assass ranks marli; ahern 821/161 [:1 er :- ‘Vas al I‘ESIOI‘E The re led 5€e 1999). II”:ebr {he blCa‘ of copies of both the Japan Times’ English, and video recordings by foreign media outlets were being re-produced and sold on the streets, giving rise to journalistic phenomena called “xerox journalism” and “cassette journalism.” As the circulations for the alternative newspapers skyrocketed, the circulations for the crony newspapers plummeted, partly due to a boycott of those newspapers called by Veritas ’ editorial board. In response to the economic turmoil caused by the decreased circulation and advertising revenue, the crony press began publishing stories about Aquino’s assassination, and displayed them prominently. In late 1985 , two newspapers joined the ranks of the alternative press, Apostol began the Philippine Daily Inquirer, and the pre- martial law Manila Times was re-opened. After the 1986 People Power Revolution, the alternative press became the mainstream press, pushing out the crony press except for Bulletin Today. 1992 Presidential Election (1986-1992) Philippine National Politics Under a provisional constitution in 1986, Corazon Aquino’s first presidential act was abolishing Marcos’ National Assembly. She established a 14—member Cabinet, restored habeas corpus, and freed all political prisoners (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). The release of 500 of these political prisoners, many of whom were part of Communist- led New People’s Army (N PA), helped Aquino avoid a revolt by that group (Caspar, 1999). In October, the Constitutional Commission that she approved a new Constitution. In February 1987, a national referendum ratified the Constitution. The Constitution in part, set forth a new bill of rights, limited the presidential term to six years, and restored the bicarneral legislature (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). 32 won I busin unem gover admir two y C omr tying earth; killed area 2 admin these c NOVer. Aquin. MaI'CQ aElficul In May 11, 1987, Aquino’s slate of candidates for the Congressional elections won 22 of 24 Senate seats, and 150 of the 200 House seats. Aquino’s dismantling of business monopolies increased Central Bank reserves. On the other hand, unemployment, an enormous national debt that gobbled up 40 percent of the government’s budget, and continued challenges by military dissidents, plagued her administration (Caspar, 1999). These radical groups attempted five coups during the first two years of Aquino’s presidency. Aquino, pressured by her military, outlawed the Communist party. Meanwhile, bickering within her party created new parties that were vying for control in preparation for the 1992 presidential elections. In July 1990, an earthquake in Luzon killed 1,600 people, and in June 1991, the eruption of Mt. Pinatubo killed 200 people. The eruption caused the evacuation of 150,000 Filipinos from the area, and 20,000 military personnel and their families from Clark Air Base. Aquino’s administration is well known for mobilizing national and international aid for victims of these calamities and other natural disasters such as the supertyphoon “Ruping” in November 1990, and typhoon “Uring” in November, 1991 (Zaide, 1999, p. 404). Aquino’s administration is also known for recovering some of the money stolen by Marcos and his cronies, agrarian reform measures, which limited ownership of agricultural land to five hectares, and the agreement in October, 1991 between the U.S. and the Philippines troops to withdraw U.S. forces from the Philippines (Caspar, 1999; Zaide, 1999). On September 30, 1992, the last of the U.S. troops in the Philippines, the U.S. Navy, abandoned Subic Naval base (Caspar, 1999). On January 25, 1992, Aquino endorsed Fidel Ramos, presidential candidate of the Lakas ng Edsa-National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas-NUCD) coalition, an 33 OPl OPP def On elet Mir Jose Sin “for and Fort of th dun'r six 0 elect opposition candidate.2 Members of Aquino’s party criticized her endorsement of an opposition candidate, saying she was weakening her own party. Her endorsement also defied Jaime Cardinal Sin’s advice against supporting a Protestant for the presidency (Keesing’s, 1992). On February 7, 1992, Congress issued a ban on political advertising. On February 12, 1992, the Comelec (Commission on Elections), the watchdog of the electoral process, narrowed the list of 78 candidates down to seven: Ramon “Monching” Mitra, Fidel Ramos, Eduardo “Danding” Cojuangco, Imelda Marcos, Jovito Salonga, Joseph “Erap” Estrada, and Miriam Defensor Santiago. On February 18, 1992, Cardinal Sin announced his support for Mitra, and attacked Ramos’ candidacy by calling him a “former Marcos stooge” (Keesing’s, 1992, p. 38768). On May 1, in order to ensure clean and honest elections, Christian Monsod, Comelec Chairman, took control of the Armed Forces and police, becoming more powerful than Aquino until the official announcement of the new president (Zaide, 1999). Dozens of police officers and civilians were killed during the violence that led up to the election. On May 11, 1992, Ramos won, defeating six other candidates; one of them was Imelda Marcos, who ran for the presidential election despite being charged with corruption and tax evasion (Caspar, 1999). Comelec announced that 103 people had been killed in election-related incidents (Keesing’s, 1992, p.38910) On May 23, 1992, Miriam Santiago claimed the election was rigged and protested by beginning a hunger strike. Two days later, Cardinal Sin convinced her to stop her strike. In June 1992, Ramos, the first Protestant to become president, met with church 2 Ramos’ defection from Marcos’ army to join rebel troops contributed to the People Power Revolution in 1986. 34 leader 38964 Qua Cong: andl; sockfl danfU counu churcl stnefi‘ Paulll Shoal) Comm Bishop "Calho 1939, r iIOnce leaders and politicians to quell their reservations about his leadership (Keesing’s, 1992, p. 38964). Later that month, Ramos was inaugurated (Keesing’s, 1992). Church Politics A couple months alter the February, 1986 People Power Revolution, the Vatican Congregation for the Doctrine of Faith published the Declaration on Christian Freedom and Liberation, in response to the growing participation of the religious in the fight for social reforms in authoritarian countries, such as the Philippines. The Declaration clarified the role of the religious and Christians in the political reform of developing countries (Coquia, 1989). “Secularists” in the Philippines argued that participation of church leaders in political matters of the country violated the “separation of Church and state,” an 1899 constitutional provision (Coquia, 1989, p. iv). Nevertheless, Pope John Paul 11 agreed with the leaders who participated in the February peaceful revolution. Shortly after her installation as president, Corazon Aquino assembled a Constitutional Commission, which included a bishop, priest and nun, to write a new Constitution. Bishop Teodoro Bacani, a member of the Commission called the 1987 Constitution 3 “Catholic Constitution” because it employs principles of Catholic doctrines (Coquia, 1989, p. iv). However, the Catholic Church in the Philippines is no longer the political dynamo it once was during the People Power Revolution. Temaria Rivera, a political science professor at the University of the Philippines explains the church’s rise to power during the People Power Revolution: The absence of a good-vs-evil confrontation tends to diminish the political influence of the Catholic Church... The church’s influence is strongest when the choices are starkest... When politics are polarized to the point that it can be 35 reduced to a morality play, the Church’s moral influence gives it a powerful political lever. (Isberto, 1992 p. 82) Amando Doronilla, editor of the Manila Chronicle newspaper, used another metaphor, the “vacuum theory,” to describe the church’s powerful influence in mobilizing the masses in 1986. When there is a failure in governmental leadership a vacuum creates a void, which more established institutions, like the military or the church, race to fill. The church’s political intervention was a response to the void in Marcos’ leadership (Isberto, 1992) In anticipation of the 1992 presidential election, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) published several pastoral letters that would be read in whole or in part during church services. On July 22, 1991, the CBCP President Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, 0P (Order of Preachers or Dominicans) issued a pastoral letter on “Preparing for the 1992 Elections.” On November 28, 1991, Archbishop Legaspi issued “Renewing the Political Order: Pastoral Guidelines on Choosing Candidates for the 1992 Elections.” On January 31, 1992, a newly elected CBCP President Carmelo Morelos, issued the third pastoral letter, called “Decision at the Crossroads.” Morelos issued a fourth pastoral letter on May 5, 1992, reminding voters to vote for “God’s choice” (CBCP, 1995). From January 12 to 16, 1995 Pope John Paul II visited the Philippines on the first part of an ll-day, four-country tour, which also included visits to Papua New Guinea, Australia and Sri Lanka. On January 15, around four million people attended the Pope’s final mass held in Rizal Park, Manila. This attendance exceeded the two million who had gathered at the P0pe’s final mass in his hometown of Krakow, Poland, in 1979. In his sermon, the Pope warned primarily of alcoholism, drugs, and sex, refraining from 36 mentioning his opposition toward contraception, which is in direct conflict with the birth control program being pursued by the Philippine government. Prior to his visit, police arrested two Muslim extremists who planned to build a bomb in an apartment near the apostolic nuncio’s residence in Manila, which was intended to assassinate the Pope (Keesing’s, 1995, p. 40367). Press History Under President Aquino, about 26 dailies and six weeklies were published out of Metro Manila. In the rural areas, 288 dailies and weeklies were published. At this time, Manila Bulletin was the largest and most respected serious newspaper with 270,000 daily and 310,000 on Sunday. The policy of the newspaper was to support “nation-building” efforts (Merrill, 1991, p. 223). Manila Times, Manila Chronicle, Philippine Daily Express, Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star and Tempo were among other major newspapers. The 1987 Constitution consisted of 13 provisions that ensured press freedom (Maslog, 1994). Newspapers during this period are characterized as both conservative and sensational. In the more conservative publications like Manila Bulletin, practitioners practiced self—censorship, especially mindful of giving the government positive coverage. Front-page coverage usually consisted of presidential statements and editorials, and were non-critical of political issues. The majority of publications, however, according to Maslog (1994) sensationalized their content in response to intense media competition: “The mass media are fighting for the limited advertising pie, and so they strive to build up readership and audiences with seductive sex and gory crime stories and photos” (Maslog, 1994, p. 46). In 1987, the Philippine Press Institute was revived to help curb 37 newspaper corruption by establishing professional codes of conduct, and offering training courses. Aquino attempted to tame the newly liberated press by creating press councils to act as watchdogs over the press, and by encouraging the placement of an ombudsman at each newspaper. Her ideas were immediately welcomed, but interest in the self- regulatory measures petered off just as quickly (Tan and Stehling, 1998). Businessmen owned most of the newspapers, but ownership had somewhat diversified. Lee (1992), using Siebert’s understandings of an authoritarian and libertarian press systems based on who owned the press, concluded that the transition from an authoritarian rule to a libertarian rule impacted newspaper ownership. The owners of the three crony newspapers during the Marcos years were businessmen and political elites who relied on Marcos to protect their business and support their political interests. The entrance of Malaya and then Philippine Daily Inquirer into the arena of large circulation newspapers toward the end of Marcos’ rule opened up a more democratized field of newspaper ownership because the owners of these two newspapers were neither business nor political elites. Despite the diversification of newspaper ownership under Aquino, the Philippine press is still primarily in the hands of wealthy families and business tycoons, who use their media to further and protect their economic interests (Tan and Stehling, 1998). The Philippines press also continued to be susceptible to cronyism, corruption within its ranks and to advertising pressure. According to Coronel (1999), the past decade witnessed the use of three methods to influence media content: 1. envelopmental journalism, 2. the use of advertisers to restrict news reporting, and 3. governmental pressure on media owners, who own businesses that are subject to governmental regulation (p. ix). 38 I‘m “Envelopmental journalism,” the practice of government officials handing envelopes containing money to journalists in exchange for positive coverage was institutionalized during the Marcos years. After the overthrow of Marcos, the practice extended beyond just government officials, but to any source that wanted to secure coverage through giving editors or reporters bribes. An advertising ban implemented prior to the 1992 elections prohibited political candidates from buying airtime or print space to promote their platforms. In media circles, many believed the advertising expenses then shifted to paying off journalists in exchange for media coverage (Mangahas, 1992 in Coronel, 1999, p. 128-29). During the 1992 elections two presidential candidates reportedly paid certain journalists up to six figures monthly in pesos to write favorable stories about them in their news organizations (Mangahas, 1992, p. 128). 1998 Presidential Election (1992-1998) Philippine National Politics During his first year as president in 1992, Ramos concentrated his efforts on calming national security threats, which primarily came from the Communist-led NPA, Muslim and right wing military radicals. In August 1992, Ramos released several people from prison, including Gregorio Honansan, a former army colonel. Honansan, the head of the Reform the Armed Forces Movement (RAM), led two coup attempts against Aquino’s government in the late 19805. Ramos also established good relations with RAM and other military groups. In September, Ramos legalized the Communist party, giving the NPA a right to join the political process, establishing good relations with military groups who threatened the government in the past. In December 1992, the Nationalist Revolutionary Alliance (NRA) signed a peace treaty with the government. In 39 September 1996, the Moro National Liberation Front (MNLF) also signed a peace treaty. Radical groups like the Moro Islamic Liberation Front (MILF) continued their revolts (Caspar, 1999). Ramos also concentrated on economic liberalization. He successfully dismantled monopolies, ended International Monetary Fund (IMF) assistance, and generated US$20 million in investments by travelling abroad. It was during his presidency that the Philippines, “the sick man of Asia,” became known as a “new tiger economy” (Zaide, 1999, p. 409). Ramos was able to enact many economic reforms by successfully campaigning for Senate candidates from his party. On May 8, 1995, most of Ramos’ candidates won Senate seats: Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo, Ramon Magsaysay,3 Franklin Drilon, Raul Roco, and Juan Flavier. Opposition candidates who won Senate seats were Miriam Defensor Santiago, who ran for the 1992 presidential elections, and Gregorio Honansan, a former army colonel who led two coup attempts in the late 1980s against then President Aquino (Keesing’s, 1995, p. 40553). Ramos’ Vice-President Joseph Estrada succeeded him in the next presidential election. On March 11, 1998, the Comelec narrowed the field of 93 presidential candidates down to 11, the highest number of presidential aspirants in the country’s history. The other applicants were excluded because they lacked widespread financial and political support (Keesing’s, 1998, p. 42139). Vice President Joseph Estrada, the candidate for the opposition Struggle of the Nationalist Filipino Masses (LMMP), won the presidency. Estrada dropped out of college and became a film action star in the late 19503, playing John Wayne-type characters (Zaide, 1999). During this period he adopted 3 Macapagal-Arrow and Magsaysay are children of former presidents. 4O the nickname “Erap” which means ‘pare or “close buddy” (Zaide, 1999, p. 411). From 1969 to 1986, Estrada served as the Mayor of San Juan. In 1992, he became the Vice President, and Ramos appointed him to head the Presidential Anti-Crime Commission (PACC). In the 1998 presidential election, Estrada’s pro-poor, anti-corruption platform won widespread support amongst the Filipino masses despite opposition from the business establishment, the political elite and the Roman Catholic Church. His presidential slogan was “Erap para sa mahirap” or “A buddy for the poor” (Zaide, 1999, p. 412). Estrada was frequently ridiculed by the media for his faltering English, poor grasp of economics, his past indiscretions as a hard-drinking womanizer and gambler. He received nearly 40 percent of the votes compared to 16 percent for his nearest rival, Jose de Venecia, the speaker of the House of Representatives and the candidate for the ruling Lakas ng EDSA-National Union of Christian Democrats (Lakas-NUCD) (Keesing’s, 1998). The media dubbed Estrada’s victory over a field of well-educated politicians and professionals as a “revolt of the masses”; the poor masses gained the least during the economic expansions of the previous two administrations and were the hardest hit by the Asian economic crisis that began in 1997 (Zaide, 1999, p. 410). Estrada was inaugurated June, 1998. Church Politics The natural disasters and brownouts (partial electrical outages) that occurred in the early 1990s and the approaching new millennium sparked a Christian revival. By 1993, ten million people became Christians. The Christian revival led to the conversion of many bars, restaurants, offices and other buildings into churches and Christian educational institutions (Zaide, 1999). 41 The church hierarchy was vocal during the 1995 Senate and 1998 presidential elections. Church leaders criticized Dr. Juan F lavier’s Senate candidacy in 1995 because when he was the Health Secretary under Aquino he promoted family planning through the use of birth control (Caspar, 1999). On January 16, 1995, Archbishop Carmelo Morelos published a pastoral letter titled, “Elections 1995---A Challenge to the Young,” that appealed to Congress to pass electoral reforms so that the “dreams of our youth and all the Filipino people come true through honest and credible elections” (CBCP, 1995, p. 823). On April 9, 1995, Archbishop Morelos published another pastoral letter titled, “Do Everything in the Name of the Lord Jesus—A Call to Christian Participation in the Elections,” which laid out advice for voters and the Comelec to ensure clean elections (CBCP, 1995). In 1998, the Church criticized Estrada’s presidential candidacy because of his hard-drinking, womanizing and gambling lifestyle. The fall prior to the presidential election, Cardinal Sin organized a demonstration of 600,000 people who protested through the streets of Manila against a campaign to change the 1987 constitution in order to allow Ramos to run for a second term during the 1998 presidential elections. The date marked the 25th anniversary of marital law. Aquino Spoke at the rally, warning the crowds that the amendment may welcome a period of authoritarian rule similar to Marcos’ regime (Caspar, 1999; Keesing’s, 1997). The CBCP, headed by Archbishop Oscar Cruz, decided in 1997 to write an annual “special full-length pastoral letter dealing with one aspect of Philippine life.” The first letter focused on politics (CBCP, 2000a). The CBCP followed this up with two pastoral letters. On January 31, 1998, Cruz issued a “Pastoral Exhortation on the 1998 Elections,” which encouraged people to “work for honest elections” (CBCP, 2000a). In February 42 1998, the Church issued a “Catechism on the Church and Politics” which provided 41- questions-and-answers about the Church’s teachings that were relevant to their political situation. Press Histogg Aside from one phenomenon in regards to ownership and newspaper management, the Philippine press in Manila appeared similar to the press during the 1992 presidential election. In 1998, as in previous years, Metro Manila continued to support a large number of publications: eight English language broadsheets, 12 tabloids written in Tagalog, five Chinese-language dailies, and four business dailies. Nearly 350 newspapers, 70 of which were dailies published in the provinces. The Philippine press also continued to be known as the “freest, most rarnbunctious and irreverent in Asia” (Tan and Stehling, 1998, p. 79). AC Nielsen, which monitors circulation, reported that the highest-selling publications in Metro Manila were eight tabloids. The tabloids are popular for having sensational headlines and half-naked women on their covers (Maslog, 1994) An advertising ban, which was put into effect prior to the 1992 presidential elections, was re-irnplemented prior to the 1998 presidential elections. The ban, which prohibited political candidates from buying airtime or print space to promote their platforms, furthered corruption. The money spent on advertising shifted to paying reporters and editors directly for more coverage in their media (Mangahas, 1992). While the revenue from political advertising plummeted, editors and reporters were covertly selling coverage to the highest bidder (Mangahas, 1992; Tan and Stehling, 1998). The Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (Chua & Datinguinoo, 1998) (PCIJ) began 43 surveying reporters eight months prior to the May, 1998 presidential elections about the existence of envelopmental journalism on their beats. The majority, 71 percent, said they were offered money while they covered their beats. One third of this group said they accepted the money. Of those who accepted the gifts, one tenth turned them over to their editors who donated them to charitable organizations; the rest kept the gifts (Chua & Datinguinoo, 1998). Chua also reported that newspaper reporters and editors practiced “narnamangka sa dalawang ilog,” which refers to working as a journalist by day and moonlighting as a public relations officer on the side with the express consent of newspaper management (p. 134). Publishing companies’ use of tabloid sales to financially support broadsheets emerged in the mid-1990s. Three of the top-selling tabloids in Metro Manila ensure the viability of their more serious broadsheets: “A bante supports Malaya, the People’s Journal supports Manila Journal, and Bandera supports Manila Times ” (Tan and Stehling, 1998, p. 81). Summary This chapter introduced Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) Theories of Influences on Mass Media Content as the theoretical framework that bound this dissertation. Gerbner’s (1967) “Institutional Approach to Mass Communication,” which shares similar theoretical relationships with Shoemaker and Reese, is also presented; Gerbner’s perspective was widely used in Philippine mass media research to frame content analysis studies, whereas Shoemaker and Reese’s was not. The rest of the chapter presents an overview of Philippine national politics, church politics and press history beginning with the post World War II era (1946-1965) and continues through to the 1998 presidential elections. Ch. 3 Research Questions and Methods Introduction The first part of this chapter provides research questions, and the remainder of the chapter provides the methods that will be used to answer the research questions. The two overarching research questions for this study are “how did the Catholic Church in the Philippines influence its own portrayal by the media, specifically Malaya and Manila Bulletin newspapers, during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential election campaigns?” and “what was the nature of Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayals of the Catholic Church’s influence in political affairs during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections?” This study uses interviews, observation, document research, quantitative and qualitative content analysis to investigate these research questions. Research Questions The research questions are divided into two groups. The purpose of the first four research questions is to investigate “how” the Catholic Church “influenced” its own portrayal in Malaya and Manila Bulletin; interviews, observation and documentary research are used as evidence for these research questions The purpose of the remaining questions is to investigate Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayal of the Catholic Church; qualitative and quantitative content analysis are used to respond to those research questions. The responses to all of the research questions, together with the national, Catholic Church and press politics presented in the previous chapter, will set up a 45 discussion for the findings chapter that will determine if there are any relationships between how the Catholic Church influenced the newspapers and the actual content. The Catholic Church’s influence on its own mrtrayal Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) theory that the interaction of several levels of influences result in media content drove research questions 1 through 4. The Roman Catholic Church, considered a “source of the information,” is located within Shoemaker and Reese’s “extra media” level (p. 175). The research questions will determine how this “extra media” level interacted with Shoemaker and Reese’s other levels (individual, media routines, organization, and ideology) to produce media content. As noted above, interviews, observation and document research will be used to explore the following questions. RQl: How did the Catholic Church influence the media in 1986, 1992 and 1998? RQZa: How did the Catholic Church influence Malaya in particular? RQ2b: How did the Catholic Church influence Manila Bulletin in particular? RQ3: At which level of influence (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996) did the Catholic Church exercise the most influence on Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s content? RQ4a: During which presidential election campaign, 1986, 1992 or 1998, was the Catholic Church’s positive influence on Malaya the strongest? RQ4b: During which presidential election campaign, 1986, 1992 or 1998, was the Catholic Church’s positive influence on Manila Bulletin the strongest? M01220 and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayal of the Catholic Church In order to capture the nature of Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayal of the Catholic Church, research questions determine the story categories, story characteristics, story sources, tone and themes of the coverage. As noted above, quantitative and qualitative content analysis will be used to respond to these questions. Stog Catggories and Characteristics This study borrowed Ole-Ronkei’s (1995) protocol for story categories (press- initiated, clergy-initiated, church and political and press-selected) and story characteristics (Sunday sermons, non-religious function, press conferences, pastoral letters/press statement, non-clergy sources, charismatic groups and international religious events), which will be presented in more detail later on in this chapter. Ole-Ronkei examined the church and press alliance in Kenya and concluded that in countries where the media is leashed, rendering them incapable of fulfilling the “watchdog” role, the church fills that void (p. 368). That was the case in Kenya during his study period, 1982 through 1992, when Kenya was a one-party state that outlawed opposition groups. He found Protestant and Catholic leadership and the media worked toward promoting a democratic government. That was also the case in the Philippines a few years prior to the 1986 People Power Revolution when a weak government created a vacuum that left a void; Catholic leadership filled that void by mobilizing the masses to advocate for democratic rule (Doronilla cited in Isberto, 1992). The determination of the story categories led to inferences about the primary influence on the story. RQSa. What were the main story categories and characteristics in Malaya during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. RQSb. What were the main story categories and characteristics in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. 47 m I constructed three broad categories of sources for this study from the national politics, Catholic Church politics and press history during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential election periods presented in the prior chapter: 1) Catholic Church sources, 2) politicians, and 3) none of the above. The first two broad categories are broken down into key players, and organizations. Comparing frequencies of appearance of these key players and organizations in the coverage of the Catholic Church’s influence in political affairs shed light on their relative newsworthiness. RQ6a. What were the most cited sources in Malaya during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns? RQ6b. What were the most cited sources in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns? _T_opp Tone of the coverage of the Catholic Church will be investigated to determine any changes over the three presidential elections. RQ7a. What was the tone of Malaya ’s coverage of the Roman Catholic Church during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns? RQ7b. What was the tone of Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the Roman Catholic Church during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. Incl-Les Themes are different than the other three variables. According to Altheide (1996), themes are “general meanings,” “mini-frames,” “interpretive frames,” or “recurring typical theses that run through a lot of reports” (p. 30-1). In this study, the theme of the story is the “overall” portrayal of the Catholic Church. “Themes” are different than “story categories,” “story characteristics,” “source,” and “tone”; determining the theme requires a careful reading and summarizing of each article’s content, whereas the other variables do not. “Story categories” name the organization that motivates the story, whether it was press-initiated, “church-initiated,” or initiated by a politician or someone outside the church or political arena. “Story categories” are further broken down into “story characteristics,” and name the event that led to the story, whether the story came from a press conference, homily, pastoral letter etc. Story source names those quoted in the story, and tone is the “attitude” of the writer (Webster, 1988, p. 1408) A historical review of the national and church politics during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections reveal at least one theme: the Church as “mobilizer.” Cardinal Sin and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) helped “mobilize” the masses to oust Marcos’ dictatorial leadership and install Aquino’s democratic leadership. During the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections, and the 1995 senatorial elections, the Church continued to be a “mobilizer” through its pastoral letters, which were read by priests throughout the Philippines to their congregations. Any ordained bishop that has power over a diocese or archdiocese is allowed to issue a pastoral letter. A pastoral letter draws from Catholic dogmas and other teachings to stake out an official position on a secular issue, or to develop guidelines for action on issues such as voting in elections (Mabunga, 1997). Several of the pastoral letters suggest that the Church encouraged or “mobilized” the citizenry to act. For example, on January 31, 1992, CBCP President Carmelo Morelos issued “Decision at the Crossroads,” which 49 urgec 1998. EIlCOLJ the Ch determ RQBa. presider RQSb. l998 pre Similari A Similaritie newspape] Opposites ( alternative “e“spaper; the “"0 next RQ9; Wha C“Page? urged Filipinos to vote for “God’s choice” (CBCP, 1995). In addition, on January 31, 1998, Archbishop Cruz issued a “Pastoral Exhortation on the 1998 Elections,” which encouraged peOple to “work for honest elections” (CBCP, 2000a). The purpose of the following research questions is to determine the existence of the Church as “mobilizer” theme during the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections and to determine other church themes. RQ8a. What were the main story themes in Malaya during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections? RQ8b. What were the main story themes in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections? Similarities and Differences in Coverage And finally, the purpose of the last research question is to see if there were any similarities and differences in the coverage of the Roman Catholic Church by the two newspapers. As evidenced later in this chapter, the newspapers were ideological opposites during the 1986 presidential elections. Malaya, the forerunner of the alternative press, had liberal ideals, while Manila Bulletin was one of three crony-owned newspaper and had conservative ideals. During the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections, the two newspapers were ideologically similar; both were conservative. RQ9: What were the similarities and differences in Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s coverage? Relationships Between Perceived Church Influences and Coverage RQlOa: What were the relationships between the perceived influences of the Catholic Church and the actual coverage in Malaya? 50 RQlOb: ‘ Church an l Thl document 1 l as the Catholi Malaya ant fOI’m prior 1 workers. an media tESpc resPondent The P€0ple Priests. m0; interviews 1 ho“ the R0 and .Uani/a Befr 100};ng up I Memb‘érshit ”“Scfibed. RQ10b: What were the relationships between the perceived influences of the Catholic Church and the actual coverage in Manila Bulletin? Method This study used multiple sources of data collection: interviews, observation, document research and thematic content analysis. w I used an open-ended questionnaire to interview people from four organizations, the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP), the Archdiocese of Manila, Malaya and Manila Bulletin newspapers. Each respondent was required to sign a consent form prior to each interview. Two different questionnaires were used; one for media workers, and the other for church workers. Each questionnaire was pre-tested, one with a media respondent, and the other with a church respondent. (The questionnaires, respondent list, and the UCRIHS IRB# 205 interview consent form are in the Appendix). The people interviewed were media owners, publishers, editors, reporters, bishops, priests, monsignors, and laypersons who worked for the Catholic Church. I collected the interviews from May to August, 1998. The purpose of the interviews was to understand how the Roman Catholic Church influenced the Philippine press in general, and Malaya and Manila Bulletin in specific. Before each prospective interview, I verified the position of each person by either looking up newspaper by-lines, editorial boxes, or looking through the CBCP Membership Directory (CBCP, 1998). Each interview was recorded on tape and then transcribed. I first analyzed the interviews collectively, and then in groups determined by 51 position (' patterns it In Media Of evening. Archdioce evening. consent fr Appendix worked fc observed 1 news was In Order tc reponer‘s routineS_ a Phone, or F I m and had the represemarl unobtruSlVQ position (e.g. editor, reporter, church member...) I then identified categories, themes and patterns in the responses. Observation In May, I observed reporters, clergy, and laypersons, who worked at the CBCP Media Office, during the day, and reporters and editors at Manila Bulletin, during the evening. The next month was spent observing reporters, clergy and laypersons at the Archdiocese of Manila during the day, and reporters and editors at Malaya during the evening. July was spent observing members at all four locations. I obtained written consent from those who I observed. (The UCRIHS IRB# 205 consent form is in the Appendix). The people observed included bishops, priests, monsignors, laypersons who worked for the Catholic Church, media owners, publishers, editors, and reporters. I observed people in their work environments in order to gain an understanding of how news was made between the church and press, specifically Malaya and Manila Bulletin. In order to be as unobtrusive as possible, I casually took notes in my planner, or a reporter’s notebook during my observations of what I could see and hear, such as media routines, and interactions between media workers and church members through faxes, the phone, or press conferences. I filled in details later. I went through my notes and made sure I identified the pe0ple who I observed, and had their job titles correct. I am confident the observations made are true representations of the pe0ple and environments because of my attempts to be as unobtrusive as possible, and because the observations were made independent of claims by sources or previous literature read. I made piles of my field notes according to the organization observed, CBCP, Archdiocese of Manila, Malaya or Manila Bulletin. Each 52 Univers the C BC the form theses... the docur distribute. Which we: corroborat Thi Roman C at pr ESidential al'II'Cles that amass by I‘ pile was then ordered by date. I took note of any recurring themes or patterns, such as the passing out of Cardinal Sin’s homilies to reporters prior to each church service. I then highlighted any unusual observations, like reporters having to genuflect and kiss the Cardinal’s hand upon greeting him. WW I collected documents from the libraries of Ateneo de Manila University, the University of the Philippines—Diliman, the University of the Philippines—L03 Banos, the CBCP, the Archdiocese of Manila, Manila Bulletin and Malaya. The documents took the form of newspaper articles, journal articles, pastoral letters, homilies, dissertations, theses... Documents provided evidence and filled in historical gaps. I obtained most of the documents from published sources, with the exception of homilies, which were distributed by church spokespeople prior to mass, and tabulations of media coverage, which were gathered in-house by CBCP staff. Documentary research when possible, corroborated some of the information obtained through interviews or observation. Quantitative Content Analysis This study used quantitative content analysis to examine the coverage of the Roman Catholic Church, and its affiliated organizations during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns or elections. This study defined campaign or election coverage as articles that have information given to a reporter, which is often apparent by the use of quotations or paraphrases. My research assistants and I found the population of full text articles by manually searching through microfilm of Malaya and Manila Bulletin newspapers housed at the University of Michigan—Ann Arbor Graduate Library. Articles with headlines that suggested the content of the article focused on the Roman 53 \ . t \ E‘ \\ "e Catholic Church were photocopied. Headlines that contained words like “CBCP,” “Archdiocese,” “bishops,” “priests, 9’ ‘6 church” of Manila, and the names of other affiliated Catholic groups and organizations were kept in mind as I searched for articles. Each article was then read to confirm the content. The content analysis periods varied for each newspaper, but represented an equal amount of days in each period. The study periods for Malaya began a few days before Manila Bulletin because the microfilm for Malaya either indicated the newspaper had missing pages, “no copy available,” or was closed during some of the religious holidays: On Feb. 1 and 2, pages 9-12 had no copies available. The entire issues for February 7, 1986 and April 17, 1992 were not available; Malaya closed April 9-11, 1998, to observe the days prior to Easter Sunday, and Holy Thursday to Black Saturday. The 1986 content analysis period began late November, and ends February 26, 1986, the day after the fall of Marcos and the rise of Aquino (Keesing’s, 1987, p. 34297). The 1992 study period began early February, and ended May 12, 1992, the day after election day. The 1998 study period also began early February, and ended May 12, 1998, the day after election day. The exact study periods for each newspaper follow. Table 2: Study Periods for Each Newspaper newspaper 1986 1992 1998 Malaya Nov. 23, 1985 Feb. 11, 1992— Feb. 9, 1998— —Feb. 26, 1986 May 12, 1992 May 12, 1998 Manila Bulletin Nov. 26, 1985 Feb. 12, 1992— Feb. 12, 1998— —Feb. 26, 1986 May 12, 1992 May 12, 1998 The study only used straight news stories. Therefore, no obituaries, sports-related items, briefs or items containing fewer than 150 words, photos, graphics and illustrations were used. Articles were written by the newspapers’ reporters or taken from national, 54 Rt by mo rIlor regional or international wire services. One example of a straight news story by one of the newspapers’ reporters was when Malaya (Benigno, 1985) reported that Jaime Cardinal Sin may try to influence Corazon Aquino and Salvador Laurel to share a party ticket, and run against Ferdinand Marcos’s party at the February 1986 snap presidential election. Another example is when Manila Bulletin (Requintina, 1998) reported that the CBCP issued a pastoral exhortation on the elections, calling on Catholics to vote, and to work toward eliminating cheating during the May, 1998 elections. Operationalization of measures Stog Source Categories and Characteristics. The primary story source characteristics were modified from Ole-Ronkei’s (1995) study, which looked at the coverage of the church in Kenya. The newspaper articles were coded into four categories: A. press-initiated, B. clergy-initiated, C. church and political, and D. press-selected. Each category has at least one story source characteristic. Only one of the characteristics listed below suits each story. A. “Press-initiated stories” are events that editors and reporters at the newspaper more than likely made the decision to cover. It is not readily clear who contacted whom for the story. If the story originated from outside the Philippines, “7” for “International Religious events,” was coded. 1. Sunday Sermons: These stories were about sermons or homilies, delivered by clergy in the Philippines that touched upon election issues. Cardinals, bishops, monsignors, and priests give sermons during Saturday or Sunday services. 2. Non-Religious Functions: These stories were about cardinals, bishops, monsignors, priests or nuns performing non-religious functions, or stories that feature 55 ‘- h- ‘-'-A‘ u 'a. .1_.:1 _ - clergy W clergy W on Mara story orig B. “Clei Clergy tc together elections 3. called by 4. Mitten 31 Stories in Press stat. an electio C- The “. the chuck about SOur and about 5. , Catholic C] Presidential Candidate C1 clergy who commented on an election issue. Examples of stories in this category are clergy who attended rallies for presidential candidates, or Cardinal Sin, who commented on Marcos’ criticism of Corazon Aquino. The coder referred to the next section if the story originated from press conferences, pastoral letters, or press statements. B. “Clergy-initiated” stories consist of 3. press conferences and 4. pastoral letters. Clergy took great pains to make the news when they held a press conference, or got together to write a lengthy pastoral letter, or essay on the church’s involvement in elections. 3. Press Conferences: These stories were about press conferences held, or called by members of the Roman Catholic Church to talk about election issues. 4. Pastoral Letters/press statement: These stories were about pastoral letters written and signed by Catholic cardinals, archbishops, bishops, monsignors or priests. Stories in this category also included press statements issued by the Catholic hierarchy. Press statements issued by the CBCP during the 1998 election that gave a comment about an election issue, is one example of a story in this category. C. The “church and political” category is an attempt to cover all the stories regarding the church’s participation in the elections. This category consisted of stories that were about sources who commented about the church’s participation in presidential elections, and about people in the Roman Catholic Church outside the Catholic hierarchy. 5. Non-Clergy Sources: These stories were about people outside the Roman Catholic Church commenting on the political actions of the church in regards to presidential elections. An example of a story in this category would be a presidential candidate criticizing the CBCP for its political involvement in the elections. 56 6. Charismatic groups: These stories were about Catholic charismatic groups and their participation in the presidential elections. One example of a story in this category talked about how Erap Estrada, one of the presidential candidates of the 1998 campaigns, chose Mike Velarde, the leader of the charismatic Catholic group called El Shaddai, to be his spiritual leader or consultant. D. The final characteristic is considered a “press-selected” story. This is a press- selected category because it is likely that an editor or reporter rather than someone outside the news organization decided to cover this kind of story. International stories were written by correspondents located abroad, or were taken from wire services like AP or Reuters. 7. International Religious events: These stories were about events outside the Philippines. These stories were about clergy or non-clergy associated with the Catholic Church in the Philippines, participating in events outside the Philippines that relate to the presidential elections, or these stories were about the Pope, who was in Rome, commenting on the Catholic Church in the Philippines’ participation during the presidential campaigns. S_otfl_e_, The following variables were also coded: names or sources, and the groups they represented. Catholic Church sources 1. Jaime Cardinal Sin or Archdiocese of Manila spokesperson(s) 2. CBCP president or spokesperson(s) 3. Clergy: Pope, archbishops, bishops, monsignors, priests, brothers, and nuns speaking on behalf of themselves, NOT the CBCP 57 4. Mike Velarde of El Shaddai or spokesperson(s) 5. Catholic laypersons not named above or not speaking on behalf of the Archdiocese of Manila or the CBCP Politicians 6. Ferdinand Marcos or spokesperson(s) 7. Corazon “Cory” Aquino or spokesperson(s) 8. Salvador Laurel or spokesperson(s) 9. Fidel “F VR” Ramos or spokesperson(s) 10. Joseph “Erap” Estrada or spokesperson(s) None of the above 11. None of the above, please list 193, Tone was categorized into favorable, unfavorable and neutral. News items that supported, praised or congratulated the Archdiocese of Manila for an event or an achievement were coded “favorable” toward the Roman Catholic Church, specifically the CBCP, the Archdiocese of Manila, and other affiliated Catholic groups and organizations. News items that also exonerated the Roman Catholic Church for wrongdoing were also coded “favorable.” A news item was also coded “favorable” if the article contained much more positive than negative portrayals of the Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. (The number of words used to represent the favorable and unfavorable perspectives were counted if it was necessary to determine this variable.) News items in this category featured for example a candidate who supported or praised Cardinal Sin for his pastoral letters on the elections. 58 C ath CBC the ar Archd unfavc examp leader r Archdic informal item “‘35 "unfavor; I L After refit PF0tocoL 1 random}, 8 random." 5 Coder r eh'al PErcent and A news item was coded “unfavorable” if it criticized or mocked the Roman Catholic Church, specifically the CBCP or the Archdiocese of Manila, or if it accused the CBCP or the Archdiocese of wrongdoing. A news item was also coded “unfavorable” if the article contained much more negative than positive portrayals of the CBCP, or Archdiocese of Manila. (The number of words used to represent the favorable and unfavorable perspectives were counted if necessary to determine this variable.) An example of this type of news item is one that discussed how Cardinal Sin was no longer a leader when it came to persuading voters how to vote. A news item was coded “neutral” if it neither praised nor criticized the CBCP, or Archdiocese of Manila; the news item was coded “neu ”if it simply relayed information on the Catholic Church’s involvement in the presidential elections. A news item was also coded “neutral” if the article had an even balance between “favorable” and “unfavorable” perspectives of the Archdiocese. Validity and Reliability I used five to six stories outside the study periods to pretest the coding protocol. After refinements, ll used 10-15 other stories outside the study period to again test the protocol. I then coded all of the articles. Lacy and Riffe’s (1996) formula determined 60 randomly selected articles out of 148 articles were needed for reliability testing. I randomly sampled the articles, and gave them to another person to code for two-person coder reliability. All of the variables achieved simple agreement between 85 to 100 percent and all of the variables achieved Scott’s Pi of nearly 80 percent (except “primary story characteristic,” which was 78 percent). 59 myself discuss because story ch that actt raised. a Data Ar E conclusic significar random 5: IlOtable di Th; Roman Ca pmSidentia analysis We ProtocOL fl: OfEach 31'th SOUTCeS and When there was disagreement, concern led to a discussion between the coder and myself. We achieved consensus on most of the disagreements, but the outcome of this discussion is not reflected in the above reliability figures. Most disagreements occurred because of the lack of careful reading of the articles. For example, under the “primary story characteristic” variable, “non-religious function” was coded improperly for articles that actually came from “press conferences” and “homilies.” Points of clarification were raised, and consensus on variables was achieved. Data Analysis Data was entered into an SPSS program. The hypotheses were tested and conclusions reached by examining frequencies and means. Tests of statistical significance were not employed because the population of articles were used rather than a random selection. Each study period was compared to other study periods to determine notable differences. Qualitative Content Analysis This study used qualitative content analysis to examine the coverage of the Roman Catholic Church, and its affiliated organizations during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns or elections. The same articles that were used for the content analysis were used for the qualitative analysis. After reading, re-reading and refining the protocol, four additional variables were coded in addition to the variables coded for the quantitative content analysis: location, title, main topic, theme, and then a brief summary of each article was written. “Extremes” and “key differences” between variables in the articles were noted (Altheide, 1996, p. 41). Frequencies, any links or patterns between sources and themes, as well as any changes of variables over time will also be noted. The brief su. from the goalofc understa T those res. Church ": observant AVG/(I'm ar campaign: brief summaries were combined into a narrative with information and quotations drawn from the articles. “Surprises” and “curiosities” were also noted (1996, p. 42). Since the goal of qualitative content analysis is for the researcher to interact with the content and to understand and link meanings to theories, intercoder reliability was not pertinent. Summary This chapter presented ten research questions and the methods used to answer those research questions. The first four research questions, which ask “how” the Catholic Church “influenced” its own portrayal in Malaya and Manila Bulletin, use interviews, observations, and documentary research. The remaining six questions, which ask “how” Malaya and Manila Bulletin portrayed the Catholic Church’s involvement in the election campaigns, use quantitative and qualitative content analysis. 61 mobilize People P with the l the varior the Philip Archdioct 1986. 199 Of the C at Bulletin. Th institurion the motiva Players in t research ar documents llnavajlable The media“ Parti CHAPTER 4: FINDINGS Introduction As evidenced in Chapter 2, the Catholic Church used media to successfully mobilize Filipinos to form a human chain to protect the rebel soldiers during the 1986 People Power Revolution. This study however, reveals that the Church’s relationship with the media began two decades prior to this tumultuous event. This chapter captures the various ways the Catholic Church, embodied in the Catholic Bishops Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and one of the archdioceses within the organization, the Archdiocese of Manila, influenced the media since the mid-19603 and up through the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. This chapter will also analyze the portrayal of the Catholic Church in two ideologically distinct newspapers, Malaya and Manila Bulletin. This case study is important because it sheds light on how this extra-state institution influenced media and political change. I used multiple methods to chronicle the motivations behind the Catholic Church’s media involvement. Interviews with key players in the Catholic hierarchy and media workers, intermingled with document research and observation weave a narrative. Interview information was corroborated with documents when possible, but a significant amount of the evidence presented is unavailable through other recorded sources. The first four research questions examine how the Catholic Church influenced the media, particularly Malaya and Manila Bulletin newspapers. The remaining research 62 questior in Mala efficacy presider. RQl: H T Conferer influence the CBC! provided The Cath( Episcopa] heads of 1 territories. (€8pr 1g Sondarig i (CBCP. 19 regional re - l Ricme Ca Leonardo L questions examine the coverage of the Catholic Church’s involvement in political affairs in Malaya and Manila Bulletin. The findings lay groundwork that interrogates the efficacy of the Church in influencing the press during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. The Catholic Church’s Influence on Media ROI: How did the Catholic Church influence the media in 1986, 1992 and 1998? Table RQl briefly identifies the various means in which the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) and one of its diocese, the Archdiocese of Manila, influenced the media during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. A history of the CBCP’s relationship with the media is necessary to contextualize the information provided in the table. Bac round The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) is one of dozens of Episcopal Conferences around the world. The CBCP began in 1945. It consists of the heads of 16 ecclesiastical provinces, which are further broken down into 80 ecclesiastical territories, or dioceses, and archdioceses of the Roman Catholic Church in the Philippines (CBCP, 1998; CBCP, 2000b). The CBCP’s general objective is “to promote the spirit of solidarity in the Philippine Church” through pastoral statements, policies, and programs (CBCP, 1998, p. xxviii). Every two years, the CBCP elects four officials and seven regional representatives to lead the conference. During the 1986 presidential election, Ricardo Cardinal Vidal was the CBCP President. During the 1992 election, Archbishop Leonardo Legaspi, 0P (Order of Preachers or Dominicans) was CBCP president, and 63 ,‘ CBCP s I Arch- . diocese Manila finally, in the 1998 presidential election, Archbishop Oscar V. Cruz, was CBCP president. The CBCP appoints its membership to six Episcopal departments. Table RQl: Means by which the CBCP and the Archdiocese of Manila Influenced Media during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Key: \l—organization used means to influence the media X—organization did not use means to influence the media source Ye pastoral press media owned and Miscellaneous ar letters, conferences education developed RV, sermons, etc. R VA press & other releases, alternative faxes, media interviews & calls CBCP & ‘8 \l -press cons & \l ‘1 ti Arch- 6 -Paid for “Kapihan...” -videotapes -RV, RVA “Core of diocese coverage -training courses -T he C ommunic- Leaders for of -seminars ator newsletter Morals in Manila -introduced - 4 TV channels Media” (COOL- media classes -Rural Mirneo MM) gives out into school -Blackboard Catholic Media system newspapers Awards, - PIC ’5 photo contest -Veritas newsm azrne ‘9 «l \l 7 a? J 2 -Paid for -Fr. Reuter, -same as above -Archdiooese -same as above coverage spokesman, financially (~56 ’s Yap for a moderated supported RV Papal award) press conferences ‘9 «J J «l 7 J 8 -no longer -CBCP Media -same as above -same as above -same as above had to pay Office opened -clergy for in ’96 to hold columnists coverage press confis.; -Villegas, PR people columnist & hired gave ms rcporter confession Historically, the CBCP involved itself with media through the Episcopal Commission for Social Communications and Mass Media (ECSCMM), one of the Commissions under the Department of Social Services and Communications. The 64 Archc and er a diOCI Cardin up of cl the EC 5 the only ( C BC P. educatio The Offi. awarenes Educatior Seminars (COOLA. the mOSI p Archdiocese of Manila is the largest of the 80 dioceses, spanning 946 square kilometers and encompassing eight cities that surround Manila.4 Pope Gregory XIII established it as a diocese in 1579. Pope Clement established it as an archdiocese in 1595. Jaime Cardinal Sin became the head of the Archdiocese in January 21 , 1974. Church Influenge on Media Beforg Martial Law (1966-1971) In 1966, Bishop Gerard Mongeau, 0M (member of a Catholic organization made up of clergy and lay people called Missionary Oblates of Mary Immaculate) established the ECSCMM, also known as the National Office of Mass Media. Bishop Mongeau was the only Philippine member of the Pontifical Commission for Social Communications (CBCP, 2000a). The National Office of Mass Media served as a source for media education and established a network of radio and television stations called Radio Veritas. The Office produces videotapes, training courses and seminars on media literacy and awareness. The seminars led to the establishment of the Philippine Association of Media Education (PAME), which introduced media courses into the Catholic school system. Seminars also led to the establishment of the “Core of Leaders for Morals in Media” (COOL-MM). Moreover, the Office distributes the Catholic Media Awards, which are the most prestigious and coveted awards that go to all commercial media in the country. The Awards earned this standing over the last 20 years because of its distinguished panel of judges (CBCP, 2000a). Fr. James V. Reuter, 52/ (member of a Catholic organization of priests called the Society of Jesus or Jesuits) (personal communication, July 21 , 1998) was the CBCP’s director of the National Office of Mass Media since 1967 (31 years). Fr. Renter is also " Caloocan, Pasay, Quezon, Mandaluyong, Makati, Muntinlupa and Pasig and seven municipalities: 65 one of televisi films ( obtaine franchis next thr | televisic and prin John Pal televisio 35 ChriSt I (Trum) ( broadcas mmofl (CBCpp p TOgram, Which hr the publi one of the founders of UNDA/ASIA, the international Catholic association for radio and television, and OCIC/ASIA, the international Catholic organization for audio-visuals and films (CBCP, 2000a). In 1967, the CBCP began owning its own media when Fr. Reuter obtained a license for a national franchise for radio and television from Congress; the franchise eventually created the Philippine Federation of Catholic Broadcasters. Over the next three decades, the Federation established 43 Catholic radio stations and four television channels. The Federation used all of its media resources in television, radio and print to cover the Papal Visits in the last three decades: Pope Paul VI in 1970, Pope John Paul II in 1981 and 1995.5 Over the last 20 years, the Federation’s radio and television network also transmitted all of the Vatican’s telecasts during Holy Days such as Christmas, Easter and other occasions (CBCP, 2000a). Radio Veritas. The Federation has two different radio networks: Radio Veritas (Truth) or DWRV, and Radio Veritas-Asia or RVA. DWRV, the long wave radio station, broadcasts throughout the Philippines. RVA, the short wave radio station, broadcasts to a total of 17 different countries, including the Philippines, in 17 different languages (CBCP, 2000). The Federation produces daily and weekly dramas, public service programs (Bernard, 1989; Montaner, 1976), and conducts “Bible Schools of the Air,” which broadcasts religious teachings (CBCP, 2000a). Montaner (1976) discussed how the public service programs concentrate on subject areas that helped its listeners become more efficient; programs focused on, for example, better rice production methods, credit cooperatives, and homemaking. In 1989, the Federation decided that foreign funds donated to RV and RVA, should only go to RVA, splitting the two radio networks. Radio Parafiaque, Malabon, San Juan, Navotas, Las Pifias, Taguig and Pateros 66 l 'eritas l CBC P ( COIIIITlE board n COITlIIlUl Vatican which C; Vatican pastoral the use c eVfingeli suppone x. “Nos. 1 ‘ of the CBl (CBCP. 2t c CrOW'd Veritas became financially backed by the Archdiocese of Manila. Until that point, the CBCP owned and operated the networks on a non-profit basis In 1991, RVbecame a commercial station, with Jaime Cardinal Sin of the Archdiocese of Manila, as one of its board members (De la Cruz, 1991). Bemard’s (1989) case study on RVA found that the CBCP’s involvement in social communications was in response to pronouncements by Pope John XXIII’s (1958-1963) Vatican II Council; the specific pronouncements were Inter Mirficia No. 13 and 17, which called the Catholic Church to use the media for evangelization. In July, 1971, the Vatican issued the next official document on the use of media for evangelization; a pastoral letter entitled, Communio et Progressio (Communication and Progress) viewed the use of social communication tools as necessary to the Catholic Church’s evangelization and promotion of its message in modern times. This pastoral letter further supported the CBCP National Media Office’s mission to use radio and other media for evangelization and development purposes (Bernard, 1989). Church Influence on Media from Martial Law to the Snap Presidential Elections (1972-1986) Emergence of Alternative Catholic Media When President Ferdinand Marcos declared martial law in 1972, he ordered his military to seize communication facilities (Caspar, 1999; F orentino-hofilena, 1998; Maslog, 1994). With martial law as the backdrop, Fr. James Reuter and other members of the CBCP developed alternatives to the national media that was sympathetic to Marcos (CBCP, 2000a; Maslog, 1994; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998). This 5 The crowd that came together to see Pope Paul II in 1995 is known as the largest gathering in history. 67 part pres: circu news} infom for fur “alternative media” network included a weekly newsletter, “Rural Mirneo Presses,” and “Blackboard Newspapers” (Maslog, 1994; Reuter, 1998). During the snap presidential elections in 1986, the CBCP also used pastoral letters and a photo contest to communicate (Reuter, 1998). Attempts by the National Office of Mass Media to start up a newspaper resulted in large financial losses until 1972 when Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21 , 1998) began The Communicator, a weekly newsletter. The publication flourished partly because funding came from associations that were unable to access the national press, which was sympathetic to the Marcos regime. The Communicator had a circulation of 10,000. In early December 1976, the military shut down the weekly newsletter and arrested Fr. Reuter. After he was tried at Camp Crarne for printing information that conflicted with the government, Reuter was placed under house arrest for two years (CBCP, 2000a). In the beginning of martial law in 1972, the Office also established a network of “Rural Mirneo Presses” and “Blackboard Newspapers” (CBCP, 2000a). The Communicator fed these two media, and they continued despite the fact that The Communicator was shut down in 1976. Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21 , 1998) established the “Rural Mirneo Press” by distributing 89 mirneograph machines, and many typewriters to Catholic editors throughout the country (CBCP, 2000a). For the first four years of the “Rural Mirneo Press,” Reuter (1998) supplied the editors who ran the mimeograph machines with paper and ink. For the remaining years, he gave the editors a small subsidy each time to defray the costs of supplies and labor, which was voluntary up to this point. “That mimeo press was very, very effective because they 68 would got int read in gathere Press" owned and t0\ rural are Neu‘Spa usually big bull: usually I change I barI‘ios It had their I:Fanciscg» mEdium 1 Wills! sei M personal ( shut dOWr closed dm would mimeograph in the dialect, always in the dialect, and it was passed around until it got into all the houses,” he (1998) said. “It was much more credible than anything you read in the national newspapers.” Fr. Reuter (1998) recalled that at one point, police gathered all of the editors of the rural mimeo press for questioning. The “Rural Mirneo Press” had one martyr. The military reportedly killed Fr. Godofredo Alingal, SJ, who owned a mimeo press, because he used this medium to criticize the abuses of the military, and to work for other social justice issues (CBCP, 20003). The “Blackboard Newspapers” were also an effective means of informing the rural areas, said Fr. Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998). The “Blackboard Newspapers” existed in 25 parishes throughout the country. These blackboards were usually in neighborhoods where people were homogeneous and were generally poor. A big bulletin board or blackboard stood outside each of the parishes. Each day, a crew usually made up of young boys or young girls marched out at five in the morning to change the news on all the bulletin boards. A motorcycle brigade was sent out to distant barrios to change those blackboards or bulletin boards. The “Blackboard Newspapers” had their own martyr. Fr. Reuter (1998) believes members of the military killed Fr. Francisco Silva, who was head of a parish in Cebu. Like Fr. Alingal, Fr. Silva used this medium to inform people about military injustices, like rapes of local women, and the unjust seizing of property (CBCP, 2000a). Marcos also shut down the CBCP’s radio operations (Maslog, 1994; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998). All but six of Radio Veritas ’ transmitters were shut down at the beginning of martial law. During the course of martial law, the military closed down four of those six transmitters. In order to re-open the radio and TV stations, 69 clergy all theiI The C l CBC P toward Snap P Cardine Newsm rights al While he Brinklei Pastoral 1986. p, Filipinos although margin tl Cardinal elections COmmuni that any C directives clergy “had to jump hoops with the military,” Fr. James Reuter (1998) said. “We were all there, more or less on our knees for months trying to get the stations back on the air.” The CBCP media operations re-opened gradually, provided a condition was met. The CBCP had to promise to refrain from publishing or broadcasting any information hostile toward the government (J. Reuter, 1998). Snap Presidential Election Shortly after Benigno “Ninoy” Aquino’s assassination on August 21, 1983, Jaime Cardinal Sin of Manila, with the backing of several Catholic businessmen, began Veritas Newsweekly. In late fall of 1985, faced with mounting reports of corruption and human rights abuses, President Ferdinand Marcos announced a “snap” presidential election while he was being interviewed on the U.S. network program “This Week with David Brinkley” (Keesing’s, 1986, p. 34299). On January 19, 1986, Cardinal Sin issued a pastoral letter that warned of corruption in the snap presidential elections (Keesing’s, 1986, p. 34300). Six days later, the CBCP also published a pastoral letter, calling Filipinos to pray for legitimate elections (CBCP, 2000a). On election day, February 7, 1986, Marcos declared that he was the winner, although independent poll watchers reported that Aquino was ahead by a very large margin throughout the country (Gonzalez, 1988; Tasker, 1996). On February 13, 1986, Cardinal Vidal, CBCP president, issued a post-election pastoral statement denouncing the elections (CBCP, 2000a; Keesing’s, 1986, p. 34301). Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998) claimed it was the first time in the history of the world that any Catholic Bishops’ Conference condemned an existing government. Three directives from the Vatican forbade the CBCP to speak out against the government, but 70 the C E Deputi Defen: These Jaime (f more 11 shield : protest where t admirat election General secretaq Marcos 1 People, } l\ (P6130113; CODtesr, and che31 taken Whe Picture We another re the CBCP disobeyed (1998). On February 22, Lieutenant-General Fidel Ramos, the Deputy Chief of Staff of the Armed Forces, and Juan Ponce Enrile, the Minister of Defense, confirmed Marcos’ fraudulent tactics during election day (Keesing’s, 1987). These men said Marcos planned to arrest them and the 300 troops who supported them. Jaime Cardinal Sin, head of the Archdiocese of Manila, used Radio Veritas to mobilize more than two million people, including priests and nuns, to peacefully form a human shield around the military bases where Enrile and Ramos were located. This peaceful protest was called the “People Power” Revolution or EDSA, after the name of the street where the majority of the protests occurred (Keesing’s, 1987; Zaide, 1999). Mutual admiration existed between the media and Cardinal Sin during the 1986 snap presidential elections, said Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 9, 1998), Vicar General of the Archdiocese of Manila, Rector of EDSA Shrine and Cardinal Sin’s secretary. Cardinal Sin loved the media because it enabled him to publicly condemn the Marcos regime, and the media loved Cardinal Sin because he spoke on behalf of the people, he said (1998). Meanwhile, People in Communications, which was affiliated with Fr. Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998) used alternative media in the form of a photo contest. The motivation behind the photo contest was to generate pictures of corruption and cheating during the 1986 “snap” presidential elections. The picture that won was taken when rebels or pro-Aquino protestors stormed into Malacanang Palace. The picture was of a rebel protecting a Marcos loyalist from being hit on the head again by another rebel (J. Reuter, 1998). 71 comm! “adver press u press f came 0 The C t BiShOp Kalma: Today "Somet Commt Charact Sh}?! the afier the the "Roi emerged Fr. Retire Church Influence on the Media Leading up to the 1992 Presidential Election (1986- 1992) Fr. Reuter as CBCP Media Spokesperson After the People Power Revolution of 1986, Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21 , 1998) characterized the CBCP and the media as having an “adversarial” relationship: The CBCP was “notoriously conservative,” while the new press was “licentious.” Corazon Aquino’s democratic leadership in 1986 ushered in press freedom. “For 14 years they (the press) were muzzled completely so the press came out wild, wild,” said Fr. Reuter (1998). “It was not only freedom; it was license.” The Church was in “high fever” with the press after the People Power Revolution, said Bishop Teodoro Bacani, (personal communication, June 5, 1998), District Bishop of Kalrnana & Quezon City, CBCP Advisor to charismatic groups, and a columnist of Today newspaper. “There’s a certain carelessness,” Bacani said of newspaper reporting, “sometimes I think there’s a real distortion.” Fr. James Reuter’s (personal commmrication, July 21, 1998) other challenge was with the bishops themselves. He characterized the bishops as “notoriously secretive.” “Sometimes the bishops are gun shy, they are afraid that they will be misquoted, or they are afraid they are not going to say it properly so they would rather keep quiet,” he said (1998). Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, June 21 , 1998) almost immediately after the snap presidential election in 1986, saw the alternative media he helped establish, the “Rural Mirneo Presses,” and “Blackboard Newspapers,” diminish as local newspapers emerged. More than 20 new newspapers started by late 1986 (Dunnett, 1988). In 1988, Fr. Reuter (1998) became the CBCP’s spokesperson and became responsible for 72 organ] organt televis organi press c OCCUITf (I998) The mi Manila the pro % additic Sessim COnfer. Soc \,r: elecriO Closed in her forced The C \ to ‘3 an organizing and moderating all the CBCP’s press conferences. When be contacted media organizations he usually called the eight newspapers with the largest circulation, the three television stations, prominent radio stations and then the rest of the other media organizations. He faxed pastoral statements, homilies and press releases announcing press conferences and activities. He also faxed summaries of those events after they occurred. He said at the press conferences little miscommunication occurred, Reuter (1998) recalled. He believed the reporters who attended produced “beautiful” articles. The miscommunication occurred outside of press conferences when reporters in Metro Manila “ambushed” CBCP spokespersons, or Jaime Cardinal Sin, and when reporters in the provinces obtained information from individual bishops. Cardinal Sin and the Media Like the CBCP, Cardinal Sin also contacted the press through those means. In addition, be hosted the media at “Kapihan sa Villa San Miguel,” which were coffee sessions at Villa San Miguel, the Cardinal’s residence. These sessions and press conferences ceased shortly after 1986 due to the Cardinal’s busy schedule, said Msgr. Soc Villegas, (personal communication, June 9, 1998). After the snap presidential election, Cardinal Sin lost one of his modes of communication when Veritas Newsweekly closed. Corazon Aquino appointed the businessmen who backed the publication to serve in her administration. As a result, Veritas lost most of its financial support and was forced to close in 1987 (Quintos de Jesus, 1995). The CBCP and the 1992 Presidential Election The CBCP tried to take a neutral political stand during the 1992 political elections to ward off criticism it faced from the press and politicians for getting politically involved 73 in the July 2 annou politic forerur eventu. 1999). assign reporte presidei Cardin ( Cardina about th Candidar Vote for With the as an atta MEircIOs. MarCOS \x in the 1986 snap presidential election, said Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998). Media stories however, portrayed them as partisan. The CBCP announced that it would not oppose or support any candidate on the basis of religion or political party. Religion was a potent issue during this election because one of the forerunners of the presidential election was Fidel Ramos, who was Protestant, and who eventually won the election with only 24 percent of the votes (Caspar, 1999, Zaide, 1999). Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27 , 1998), who was a general assignment reporter for Manila Bulletin from 1992 to 1993, and church and weather reporter from 1993 on, remembered that coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1992 presidential elections focused on pastoral letters, rather than church events (1998). Cardinal Sin and the 1992 Presidential Election Cardinal Sin also issued a pastoral letter. Requintina said the press covered Cardinal Sin a great deal in 1992 because his pastoral letter had “a very strong statement about the forthcoming election.” Cardinal Sin however, did not endorse any particular candidate during that election, but he did issue a pastoral statement that people should vote for a “Catholic” president and should not vote for candidates who were involved with the government during martial law. Both of these pronouncements were interpreted as an attack against Fidel Ramos, a Protestant, who also held a top military post under Marcos. The latter pronouncement was also interpreted as an attack against Imelda Marcos who was also a presidential candidate (J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21,1998) 74 campu Angele June 8, commu SCI’V’ES S Church Influence on the 1998 Presidential Elections (1992-1998) CBCP Media Office Catholic Church hierarchy and laity claim the Opening of a Media Office on the campus of the CBCP in 1996 increased coverage of the organization in local media (P. D. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998; H. Coronel, personal communication, June 8, 1998; O. Cruz, personal communication, May 25, 1998; J. De la Cruz, personal communication, May 20, 1998). According to CBCP Online (2000c), the Media Office serves several functions: a) It shall disseminate, particularly to the secular tri-media, the Pastoral Letters and Exhortations, Joint Statements, Decisions and other official pronouncements of the Conference. b) It shall attend to legitimate requests from media practitioners for information on issues and items available for publication. c) It shall represent the General Secretariat upon invitation from media outlets in conjunction with subject matters touching on faith and morals, and/or affecting the apostolic concerns of the Church in the Philippines. d) It shall establish and maintain communications and linkages with local and foreign Media Offices. e) It shall edit and publish the national publication of the Conference called the CBCP Monitor only as long as this venture proves really useful and financially viable. The Media Office essentially provided a convenient venue for reporters to obtain interviews with Church officials and to file their stories to their respective organizations via computer or fax. An additional function not mentioned above was Angeles’ tabulation of the coverage that the CBCP and Archdiocese of Manila received in the local media outlets. Pauline D. Angeles (1998) monitored coverage every six months since 1996. Her records showed an overall increase of coverage from media outlets from 1996 to 1998. Archbishop Oscar Cruz (1998) confirmed this increase. He added that in the 75 eafly publis variati ’ newsp Repo their flueet) spend making on the t kidnap] COmm L access‘ the Me. M “SPECia 2000a), With tw the 1 99 early 1990s, like other organizations and advertisers, the CBCP had to purchase space to publish pastoral letters. Now, that is no longer necessary, Cruz (1998) said. Pauline D. Angeles (personal communication, May 25, 1998) attributed the variation in coverage between newspapers to individual reporters, when asked why some newspapers have more coverage of the Catholic Church than other newspapers. Reporters are always changing at the CBCP because their newspapers frequently rotate their beats, she said. Some of them only have the CBCP to cover, others have as many as three or four beats. Those reporters with more than one beat have less opportunity to spend time on Church issues. The reporters who only have one beat “are very good in making a story out of no story,” she said. She also mentioned that most of the coverage on the CBCP and Archdiocese of Manila has been positive, with the exception of the kidnapping of Irish priests in 1997. In addition, Archbishop Oscar Cruz (personal communication, May 25, 1998) said variation in coverage is never due to privileged access to stories given to one media outlet over another; those organizations who frequent the Media Office are usually the ones that write more stories. The CBCP and the 1998 Presidential Election The CBCP, headed by Archbishop Oscar Cruz, decided in 1997 to write an annual “special full-length pastoral letter dealing with one aspect of Philippine life” (CBCP, 2000a). The first letter focused on politics (CBCP, 2000a). The CBCP followed this up with two pastoral letters. On January 31, 1998, Cruz issued a “Pastoral Exhortation on the 1998 Elections,” which encouraged people to “work for honest elections” (CBCP, 2000a). On February 1998, the Church issued a “Catechism on the Church and Politics” 76 whic releV. and pr disap _ l. 25. 19 be prey more C DEW'Sp; Today, issues, Ding C Busine< @me \VhEre ]~ commu Manna the Dev. ScarIda]. implica1 “a." (1 which provided 41 - questions-and-answers about the Church’s teachings that were relevant to their political situation (CBCP, 2000a). Despite the Opening of the Media Office, which efficiently sent out pastoral letters and press statements, the CBCP and media relationship continued to have its disappointments, acknowledged Archbishop Oscar Cruz (personal communication, May 25, 1998). “I must be prepared to be misquoted,” said Archbishop Cruz (1998). “I must be prepared to be misunderstood. I must accept news slant.” In contrast, one phenomenon that shows that the Catholic Church is becoming more comfortable with the media is clergy becoming columnists at Metro Manila newspapers, such as Philippine Star, Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, Business World and Today. Most of the priests write about their Sunday homilies or religious or spiritual issues, such as “personal counseling, teenage problems, marital life...,” said Monsignor Ding Coronel (personal communication, June 8, 1998), spokesman for the CBCP and Business Administrator for the Archdiocese of Manila. Bishop Teodoro Bacani (personal communication, June 5, 1998), however, has a regular column in the Today newspaper where he talks about political and social issues. Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 9, 1998), Cardinal Sin’s Secretary wrote a column twice a week for Manila Times from 1995 to 1997. He stopped writing for the column because reporters at the newspaper did not contact him to cover Cardinal Sin’s side to the Monte Piedad scandal, which involved a Church bank that filed for bankruptcy; Cardinal Sin was implicated in the scandal for attracting financiers who embezzled from the bank and ran away (1998). 77 with t he fur Bil/lei all-in-; media. things he has the pre the Ch( Cardinal Sin and the 1998 Presidential Election As mentioned earlier, Cardinal Sin (personal communication, June 19, 1998) dealt with the media with an even hand, without partisanship to any newspaper. In his letter, he further commented that “there was no change in my relationship with them (Manila Bulletin) or with any newspaper or news organization, for that matter.” He (1998) said all-in-all that he has been “fairly successful in getting” his views represented to the media. “You might even say too successful because sometimes they attribute some things to me that I do not say” he added. In response to a question about what problems he has experienced in getting his views represented in the media, he (1998) characterized the press as “adversarial,” and uninterested in covering less controversial matters about the church: We, in the Church, usually encounter problems in the media when we talk about religious things, which are not tied up with any current controversy. It is sometimes easy to talk of vocations when, for example, there has been a sensational story about priests. Sometimes we have to talk about certain matters of the faith which have direct bearing on the lives of the faithful, but which will not see print in the newspapers or coverage on televisions because they are not controversial. We have had plenary councils, provincial councils which are major events in the Church, but which were not delved into with more probity and depth by the media. The media tend to be adversarial. They tend to go for the controversial, the sensational. Often, the Church pe0ple get caught up in this mindset unwittingly when they are forced to answer questions in a manner that does not allow proper exposition and contextualizing. Cardinal Sin expressed some of the frustration that Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998) and Bishop Teodoro C. Bacani (personal communication, June 5, 1998) experienced with the press following the snap presidential elections. According to one of Cardinal Sin’s assistants, Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 9, 1998), Cardinal Sin was less vocal during the 1998 presidential election than the previous two elections because his poor health. Msgr. Villegas (1998) 78 QC WI} Ville mem homil up wit (1998) media 1 Sins!“ ht RQZa: 1 1992and F( ChUI‘ch \\ Organizat 1' Umknmm Presidemk said Cardinal Sin also shied away from the media because he did not want to confiont the public scrutiny he faced when he became involved in politics during the 1992 presidential, and the 1995 senatorial campaigns. In addition, Villegas said Cardinal Sin did not want to gain media attention because he did not want to publicly overshadow his good fiiend Archbishop Cruz, the CBCP’s current president. According to Msgr. Villegas (1998), Cardinal Sin had a great deal of respect for Archbishop Cruz. Due to the unavailability of Cardinal Sin, reporters interviewed Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 9, 1998), the Cardinal’s Secretary. Msgr. Villegas said he had developed a close professional and personal relationship with members of the media. When he wanted one of Cardinal Sin’s pastoral statements or homilies, or an event covered, he faxed the information to the news media, and followed up with phone calls. In most cases, the newspapers obliged his requests. Msgr. Villegas (1998) said he also administered sacraments, like matrimony, baptism, and confession to media members throughout Metro Manila. “1 think they trust me enough to tell me their sins,” he said, referring to giving reporters the sacrament of confession. Perceived Church Influences on Malaya ’s Coverage RQ2a: How did the Catholic Church influence Malaya in particular during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections? Following Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) theory, the impact of the Catholic Church was traced through individual reporters, media routines, extra media, organization, and ideology. Table RQZa indicates that the influence on Malaya are unknown under the individual and media routine levels during the 1986 and 1992 presidential elections. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the reporter(s) who covered 79 rhr re I] rl fl\ the Catholic Church during those presidential election periods. Interviews and document research that were weaved into the narrative located below, showed that the Archdiocese of Manila, namely Cardinal Sin, and the CBCP had a positive influence on Malaya on the organizational level during the months that led up to the 1986 People Power Revolution. In 1998, Bernadette Carreon (personal communication, June 10, 1998), the church beat reporter was located and she claimed her beliefs and members of the Catholic organizations had no influence on her stories. In 1992 and 1998, the Catholic Church had a negative influence on Malaya, according to Jake Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998), who bought the newspaper from Jose Burgos in 1987, and top-level editors at his newspaper. Macasaet said he opposed the coverage of the Catholic Church’s involvement in political affairs. Background on Malaya and a chronology of events and opinions substantiate the claims of this table. Table RQ2a: Perceived Church Influences on Malaya .KQE +: Org. had a positive influence on this level -: Org. had a negative influence on this level 0: No influence on this level NA: Data not available o Ye Individual Media Organ- Extra Media Ideology r ar Routines ization C ’86 NA NA + + + h u ’92 NA NA - - + r c ‘98 0 0 - - + h Malgya’s Backgound On May 1, 1977, Jose Burgos began We Forum, a weekly newspaper written in Tagalog, the second most widely spoken language in the Philippines. (English is the 80 first. I We F the he Decer Burgo When week] ) Catholi first.) The readership consisted mainly of adolescents. In the early 19803, that changed. We Forum started publishing information unavailable in the “crony press.”6 As a result, the newspaper’s circulation grew and it began publishing three times a week. On December 7, 1982, the military shut down We Forum ’s operations and imprisoned Burgos and several of its reporters and columnists, foiling attempts at publishing daily. When Burgos was released from prison, he turned We Forum into an English language weekly tabloid, and called it Ang Pahayagang Malaya, or Malaya for short. 1986 Presidential Election In the years that led to the People Power Revolution in 1986, Malaya and Catholic Church members collaborated because they both despised President Marcos (J. Burgos, personal communication, July 15, 1998; E. Romualdez, personal communication, June 8, 1998). Bishops, priests, nuns, and laypersons associated with the Roman Catholic Church, helped Malaya staff members avoid Marcos’ troops by aiding the staff in newsgathering and distribution of the newspaper. Burgos (personal communication, July 15, 1998) called the relationship between his newspaper and church members a “close alliance.” At this time, Malaya was only eight pages long and full-time staff consisted of only seven people (J. Delos Reyes, personal commmtication, May 20, 1998). Burgos served as owner, editor-in-chief, reporter and photographer. Burgos’ Malaya not only ‘5 When Marcos declared martial law he ordered the military to seize all of the mass communication outlets. Most of the media outlet that were allowed to re-open were owned by Marcos “cronies” or friends. The “crony press” refers primarily to three national newspapers that had Marcos ties: The New Philippine Daily Express, Times Journal, and Bulletin Today. Roberto Benedicto, one of Marcos’ golf companions and Ambassador to Japan, owned The Daily Express. Marcos’ brother-in-law, Benjamin Romualdez, owned Times J oumal. Hans Menzi, a Marcos aide and friend, and Marcos’s daughter, Imee, owned most of Bulletin Today (Dunnett, 1988; Quintos de Jesus, 1995). 81 exposed the corruption of the Marcos regime, it advocated for political, economic and social change, ideals shared by Cardinal Sin and some members of the Catholic Church. On August 21 , 1983, former senator Benigno Aquino, who had long been an opponent of the Marcos government, was shot and killed upon his return to the Philippines at Manila International Airport. Malaya was the first newspaper to publish the story. Shortly thereafter, Malaya began publishing twice a week, and then daily in response to increased demand. It is known as the first newspaper written in English to publicly criticize the Marcos regime. While Malaya became the first to cover Aquino’s assassination in the printed press, Radio Veritas became the first to broadcast the news. It then became the only station to cover Aquino’s fimeral procession, which five million people attended, and which lasted 11 hours. In the weeks following the assassination, dozens of broadsheets and tabloids sprang up, including the newsmagazine Veritas, which was the brainchild of Jaime Cardinal Sin and several Catholic businessmen. Malaya and Radio Veritas’ coverage of Aquino’s assassination is credited for “releasing the floodgates of press freedom in the Philippines and giving rise to the alternative press” (Maslog, 1988, p. 81). This “forerunner” of the alternative press gained such a large audience after the overthrow of Marcos, that it became a part of the established press (Maslog, 1988, p. 36-7). Malaya supported the Catholic Church by giving the Church coverage in its pages. Circulation was more than 500,000 in 1986 (J. Burgos, personal communication, July 15, 1998; J. Delos Reyes, personal communication, May 5, 1998; Panzo et al., 1998). Malaya ’s readership consists of all economic groups, an equal number of male and female readers, and most of the readers range fi'om 15 to 44 years old (PSRC, 1989, as cited in Labayden, 1992). 82 1992 Presidential Election After the 1986 snap presidential elections Burgos’ editorials became even more militant. In 1987, Jose Burgos (personal communication, July 15, 1998) sold Malaya to Amado Macasaet, one of the business reporters. Burgos (1998) said he sold the newspaper for two reasons. First, President Aquino appointed him to serve as Acting Governor for Ilocos Sur, a province located north of Manila. He sold his newspaper in order to avoid any conflicts of interest between the two jobs. Second, Burgos (1998) said he was burnt out: “Battling the dictatorship was a very tiresome and risky thing.” Malaya ’s new owner, Macasaet, was another opposition journalist of poor origins (Lee, 1992) Amado Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998) said he expected to see “less” coverage of the Roman Catholic Church during the 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. Although a Catholic, Macasaet said he devoted minimum space to the Catholic Church during the last two elections because he did not approve of the Catholic Church’s intervention in political affairs. These feelings were well known to top—level editors of the newspapers, the editor-in«chief, Enrique Romualdez (personal commmiication, June 8, 1998) and metro editor, Joy Delos Reyes (personal communication, May 20, 1998). “We are not against the Church’s involvement in political affairs,” said Romualdez, “what we are against is the Church telling me, ‘Vote for this, don’t vote for this fellow because he’s this and that.’” Delos Reyes (personal communication, May 5, 1998) said, “The opinion of our editor (-in-chief, Romualdez) was negative,” when asked about their coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1998 presidential elections. “They (Catholic bishops) were too meddlesome,” he (1998) said. 83 Macasaet (1998) claims that the newspaper gave little coverage to Cardinal Sin and members of the Catholic Church since two main gatekeepers at his newspaper, who abided by his wishes knew his feelings about the Catholic Church. But out of the coverage given to the Catholic Church, Romualdez (1998) believed Cardinal Sin was covered the most when compared to other sources: “It is another news source. We do not stand in awe of them,” he said, “But in terms of news prominence, I would say Cardinal Sin, just for a notch.” Fr. James Reuter’s (personal communication, July 21, 1998) recollections however, conflicted with Macasaet’s recollections. Fr. Reuter has been director of the National Office of Mass Media for the Catholic Church in the Philippines since 1967 (31 years), and was spokesman for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 1988 until 1996. He remembered Malaya accommodating his requests to publish announcements or pastoral letters throughout his tenure as CBCP spokesman. Ideological Change Amado Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998) said he changed his newspaper’s target audience from leftist to the general public. The ideology of the newspaper also changed: Malaya went from being a “watch dog” of the government under Burgos, to being a “collaborator” of the government under Macasaet. The newspaper collaborated with the government on issues of national development, meaning newspaper coverage of the government was supportive and complimentary of policies and events that eventually led to improving the Philippines’ economic, political or cultural status. According to Enrique Romualdez mersonal communication, June 8, 1998), the newspaper’s editor-in-chief, Macasaet’s shift toward a more centrist image 84 gave the newspaper more credibility. “We are now a paper that you would say, limb—I hope it’s not presumptuous of me to say the New York Times, ” Romualdez said “We do not have any vested interests.” Labayden (1992) found similar results. In speaking with staff at Malaya, Labaydan (1992) found Macasaet changed Malaya from a leftist-oriented or radical newspaper to a more business-oriented newspaper. She found the newspaper had also converted from an organization owned by several unrelated stockholders into a family enterprise with Macasaet owning 85 percent of the shares; many people, who usually had just one share each, owned the remaining shares. Several family members held key positions at the newspaper, further strengthening the sense of a family enterprise. Macasaet’s cousin was the comptroller, his son the general manager, and his sister the head of the advertising department. After the changeover of ownership, the newspaper’s number of pages increased from 8 to 24 and its staff size multiplied (Delos Reyes, personal communication, May 20, 1998). 1998 Presidential Election As mentioned earlier, Amado Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998) considered himself a Catholic, but he did not believe the Catholic Church should play a role in political affairs, therefore he devoted minimum space to the Catholic Church during the last two elections. Bernadette Carreon (personal communication, June 10, 1998) had just become the church beat reporter a few weeks prior to the 1998 election. The previous beat reporter was on maternity leave. Carreon, who had been working at Malaya a year up to that point, said she was not aware of a bias against the Catholic Church at the newspaper. She was however, aware that the newspaper was more government and business-oriented. Carreon (1998) said editors decided what news to 85 cover about the Catholic Church, and most of the news focused on press statements and conferences. Moreover, she said her editors’ news decisions were the only influence on coverage; she felt her religious beliefs or lack of religious beliefs and relationships with church members had no influence on news. Carreon said she was brought up as a Catholic, but she rarely attended church services. Malgza in 1998 Interviews with employees at Malaya also point to several factors that may have not only influenced the amount of coverage on the Catholic Church, but the amount of coverage in general. Circulation dropped dramatically. Delos Reyes (personal communication, May 5, 1998), an editor of the newspaper, said the circulation was more than 500,000 in 1986 (Panzo et al., 1998). According to Jake Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998), the owner of Malaya, as of 1998, it was down to 40,000. One reason for this dramatic decrease in circulation was the dramatic increase in competition from the dozen or so newspapers that opened after the snap presidential election, Delos Reyes said. In recent years, the newspaper has also been plagued with financial problems and impending staff strikes. According to Delos Reyes (personal communication, May 5, 1998), the newspaper has the lowest salary in Metro Manila. They lost several hundreds of thousands of dollars last year, but they consider themselves lucky when compared to other broadsheets in the city that have closed their doors because of bankruptcy. Only two broadsheets in the city are actually profiting, Manila Bulletin and Inquirer (Delos Reyes, 1998; Maslog, 1994). “Our philosophy since 1987 has really been to survive without any assistance from our friends with money,” he said. The ASEAN Media 86 Directory (Tan and Stehling, 1998) however, indicates that Abante, one of the top-selling tabloid newspapers in Metro Manila is financially supporting Malaya. Macasaet’s son, Allen Macasaet, owns Abante. Perceived Church Influences on Manila Bulletin ’s Coverage RQZb: How did the Catholic Church influence Manila Bulletin in particular during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections? Following Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) theory, the impact of the Catholic Church was traced through individual reporters, media routines, extra media, organization, and ideology. Table RQ2b indicates that the influence on Manila Bulletin are unknown under the individual and media routine levels during 1986 and 1992. Unfortunately, I was unable to locate the reporter(s) who covered the Catholic Church during those presidential election periods. Interviews and document research weaved into the narrative below, showed that the Archdiocese of Manila, namely Cardinal Sin, and the CBCP, had a positive influence on Manila Bulletin on all the other levels and throughout the three time periods. Interviews with Manila Bulletin staff indicated that there were harmonious relationships between the church beat reporter and the Catholic Church during the 1998 presidential election, and generally, between Yap, the owner of the newspaper, and the Catholic Church throughout the three time periods. Background on Manila Bulletin and a chronology of events and opinions substantiate the claims of this table. 87 Table RQ2b: Perceived Church Influences on Manila Bulletin Key: +: Org. had a positive influence on this level -: Org. had a negative influence on this level 0: No influence on this level NA: Data not available Ye Individual Media Organ- Extra Media Ideology ar Routines ization C ‘86 NA NA . + + + h u ‘92 NA NA + + + r c ‘98 + + + + + h Manila Bulletin ’s Backgound Manila Bulletin is the oldest broadsheet still publishing in Metro Manila (Tan and Stehling, 1998). On February 2, 1900, Carson C. Taylor, a teacher from Illinois, began publishing the Manila Daily Bulletin. Taylor was a soldier in the Spanish-American War in Manila at the time (“History of Manila,” early 1980s). The newspaper initially began as a shipping journal (Coronel, 1999, p. 38). The newspaper grew in circulation, and in 1912 it was incorporated into the Bulletin Publishing Company. The only times the newspaper ceased operation was during the Japanese oompation of the Philippines from 1942 to 1946, and briefly when martial law was declared in 1972. The newspaper reopened in 1973 (“History of Manila,” early 19803). The newspaper served the expatriate American community for the first half of the century. Afier World War II, newspapers that served the Filipino community overshadowed Manila Daily Bulletin. In July 1957, faced with union problems and increasing intolerance toward American newspaper owners, the Taylor family sold Bulletin Publishing Company to Brigadier General H. M. Menzi, a Swiss-German, who was an industrialist in the 88 Philippines. He changed the newspaper’s name to Bulletin Today. Prior to martial law in 1972, Bulletin Today claimed a circulation of 5,000 to 10,000 nationwide (Panzo et al., 1998). Although characterized as timid, Bulletin was shut down along with all the other newspapers when martial law was declared in 1972. Menzi used his influence, as a former Marcos aide to restart the newspaper in early 1973, provided Marcos’ cronies owned half of the newspaper. A year later, Bulletin Today became the newspaper with the highest circulation. Menzi retained half of his ownership to the newspaper and his position as publisher of the newspaper through the Marcos years until his death in 1984. Media analysts said Bulletin has survived nearly a century because of its consistent “pro- government” line (Tan and Stehling, 1998, p. 84). This conservative ideology did not change when shipping magnate Emilio Yap bought the newspaper in 1984. The newspaper also continued to cater to the upper or A, B, or C, classes.(Quimson, 1987).7 Bulletin is known as “bland and conservative” (Panzo et al., 1998, p. 11). A survey of 100 readers considered the news slant “positive and neu ” (Panzo et al., 1998, p. 66). 1986 Presidential Election Bulletin is also known as a fickle newspaper, supporting the current power broker. Victoriano (1988) used content analysis to show that the treatment of the EDSA Revolt in Manila Bulletin changed as events progressed, starting with an almost equal number of propositions on the first day, and ending with a high number of supportive propositions on the final day. In 1986 the paper quickly shifted from endorsing Marcos to endorsing Aquino after the changeover to democracy. 7 The Philippines has an economic system that uses letter A through F. A refers to the wealthiest income group, while F refers to the poorest. 89 Rodriguez (personal communication, May 27, 1998), Bulletin ’s editor-in-chief, gave an example of how Yap appeased both Marcos and the opposition during the 1986 snap presidential election campaign. Marcos previously had no qualms about Cardinal Sin’s participation in anti-regime activities until Sin’s participation began gaining national attention in the media, such as Manila Bulletin. Marcos allegedly called Yap and criticized the newspaper for rtmning stories about Cardinal Sin. As a result, stories were still covered, but they were not covered prominently on the front page (1998). 1992 Presidential Election Following the People Power Revolution in 1986, Yap showed his pro-government support by changing the newspaper’s name to Manila Bulletin at the request of Corazon Aquino’s administration. Interviews suggested that Manila Bulletin covered the Church because it was a strong institution that had a presence in the daily lives of many Filipinos. Rodriguez (personal communication, May 27 , 1998), Manila Bulletin ’s editor-in-chief, denied a special relationship between the newspaper and the Catholic Church. “If there’s something newsworthy about the church then we write about it,” he (1998) said. This country is strongly Catholic, so we’re sort of kind to them.” CBCP spokesperson Fr. Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998) confirmed Manila Bulletin ’3 willingness to publish announcements or pastoral letters. Jaime L. Cardinal Sin (personal communication, June 19, 1998) denied having a special relationship with Manila Bulletin, and all other media. In a letter that responded to a list of questions I faxed, Cardinal Sin said he treats all media the same: I do not think there is a particularity to how I relate to the Manila Bulletin. I have always been open to the media, of whatever color and stripe. I have spoken out as the situation or occasion demanded and without really being conscious of angling my answer to suit the “bias” of any media or journalist. My statements are for all and are consistent for all. Bishop Bacani (personal communication, June 5, 1998) and Msgr. Soc Villegas, (personal communication, June 9, 1998) Cardinal Sin’s Secretary, reported however that there may not be a special relationship between Manila Bulletin and the CBCP, but there may be a special relationship between the newspaper and one of its members. Bishop Bacani (personal communication, June 5, 1998) said Manila Bulletin has been “very kind to the Catholic Church, especially to Cardinal Sin.” When asked about what led him to that conclusion, Bacani responded, “The owner (Yap) likes the Cardinal very much. I’ve seen them together.” Msgr. Villegas confirmed this relationship when he said Bulletin gives generous coverage to Cardinal Sin and Archdiocese of Manila activities because of the familiar relationship between the Cardinal and Yap. Msgr. Villegas (1998) maintained this claim by providing this example: In the early 1990s, Cardinal Sin nominated Yap to become a Papal Awardee. This nomination was a fitting tribute to Yap who generously supported the Catholic Church and De LaSalle Catholic University in Manila. “He (Yap) is a very good Christian, very supportive of the Church’s activities, and very much concerned with the welfare of the poor,” Manila Bulletin in return, gave Cardinal Sin and the Archdiocese of Manila coverage during times when they did not even request it (Villegas, 1998). For example, Cardinal Sin has been featured on covers of Bulletin ’s Sunday Magazine. When the Cardinal celebrates a special occasion, such as his birthday or an anniversary as a bishop, Cardinal Sin is the subject of their editorials (Bacani, 1998; Villegas, 1998). During the 1992 presidential elections, Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998), who was a general assignment reporter for Manila 91 Bulletin at the time, remembered editors wanting to quote Cardinal Sin because he issued some strong and colorful statements about the candidates. He too remembered that during this presidential election period, the Archdiocese faxed pastoral statement and press releases that were published in the newspaper. Requintina later became the church beat reporter and held that position through the 1998 presidential elections. 1998 Presidential Election From the vantage point of the managers (C. chan, personal communication, June 10, 1998; N. Rama, personal communication, July 9, 1998; B. Rodriguez, personal communication, May 5, 1998) and the church beat reporter (R. Requintina, personal communication, May 27, 1998) of Manila Bulletin, the newspaper had a “healthy” relationship with the Church after the 1992 presidential election, and up to the 1998 election. Yap’s policy of support and neutrality to the Catholic Church continued. Once again, Yap welcomed coverage of church activities. The newspaper printed pastoral statements and homilies either in total, or in excerpts, per the request from the CBCP or Archdiocese of Manila, according to Napolean Rama (1998) , the publisher, Cris chan (1998), the managing editor, Ben Rodriguez (1998), the editor-in-chief and Requintina (1998) Erosion of the Church’s Political Power From the vantage point of Manila Bulletin managers, however, the perception of church officials as effective political mobilizers had eroded since the 1992 presidential election. In 1992, the Catholic Church favored candidates other than the candidate who actually won, Fidel Ramos. The CBCP and Cardinal Sin were largely perceived to be opposed to Ramos because he was Protestant. In 1995, Catholic leaders also opposed Dr. Juan F lavier’s bid for a Senate seat because he favored the use of birth control for population control (Keesing’s, 1996). “Now—Erap Estrada—the church calls him a womanizer,” said Rodriguez, (personal communication, May 5, 1998), Bulletin ’s editor- in-chief. “Unfortunately, the more they call him a womanizer, the more he picks up lots of votes.” Napolean Rama, (personal communication, June 9, 1998) the newspaper’s publisher, acknowledged that the Church played a key role in the installation of democracy. Rama however, was also disappointed by the Church’s intervention into the 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. He said the church made many “sweeping,” “false,” and “contradictory” statements. Covering the CBCP The CBCP faxed statements, such as pastoral letters and press releases announcing an event to most of the news media outlets in Metro Manila (P. D. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998). In the case of pastoral letters, which usually ran anywhere from six to ten pages, Requintina was responsible for summarizing them for publication. This is an example of a common media routine called “press release journalism,” which is the practice of re-writing press releases as stories rather than independently reporting on the story and then writing a story. During the martial law years, Tan (197 7) observed the practice of “press release” journalism in the Daily Express, Bulletin Today and the Times Journal. Tan found that reporters and editors made no attempts to explain some of the technical words used in the press releases given to reporters on the political and business beats. Some of the press releases used neutral language, but many of them were typical of press releases, weighed down by compliments toward the organization or person they were representing. Newspapers 93 engage in press release journalism primarily for ease and convenience. It is much easier and more convenient for editors and reporters to simply re-write the press release than to travel to an event or call sources. If Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998) had questions or wanted a reaction from the CBCP, he would fax the CBCP Media Office questions and responses were usually faxed back in a timely manner. If he had to contact officials immediately, he set up phone and personal interviews through Pauline Angeles of the CBCP Media Office. Prior to the opening of the CBCP Media Office in 1996, there was a certain protocol Requintina and other church reporters had to follow in order to contact officials through the CBCP. He was not able to recall the protocol, but he remarked it was a much more involved and lengthy process. In the case of press releases for an event, Requintina (1998) said he usually received calls and pager messages the night before the event, fiom one of the editors at Manila Bulletin, and from Angeles, reminding him of the event. Requintina remarked how he appreciated how the CBCP Media Office invited all the reporters to attend events, such as press conferences, because he knew he would not be “out-scooped” by his colleagues because all reporters are well-informed about events. Covering Cardinal Sin Cardinal Sin’s office used the same protocol in contacting the media. One difference Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998) noted between the two organizations was that the president of the CBCP and other officials were more accessible than Cardinal Sin. Requintina (1998) said many people joked with him about being the Cardinal’s favorite reporter because he received statements from the Cardinal 94 that no other newspaper reporters had received. He believed there may be some truth to being the Cardinal’s favorite reporter. Despite being known as the Cardinal’s favorite reporter, Requintina said covering Cardinal Sin was still difficult. In fact, Requintina found covering Cardinal Sin more involved than covering the CBCP. Unlike the CBCP, Cardinal Sin did not hold press conferences. In order to get a statement, Requintina and other reporters had to ambush him, either before mass as he stood in the entrance of the Church waiting to process, or after mass, when he was removing his garb in the sacristy. During mass, the secretary of the Archdiocese, Joyce Salgado-Castro, distributed copies of the Cardinal’s homily to reporters, enabling them to follow along. Requintina (1998) said it is customary to show Cardinal Sin veneration. “When we approach him, we must kiss his ring and then ask, ‘Cardinal we’re from the press, we want to ask some questions,’ and he’d say ‘Okay, let’s have a seat or let’s go to this room,”’ Requintina (1998) said. Cardinal Sin (personal communication, June 19, 1998) affirmed that if he was available, he would grant a request for an interview. “Most of the time he’s in the mood.” Requintina (1998) said, “Ninety percent, but if he believes his reactions are needed by the press, that’s the time he would hide.” When Cardinal Sin resorts to “hiding” mode, obtaining an interview with him is difficult, said Requintina. “Cardinal Sin, you can seldom talk to him,” Requintina said of the times when Cardinal Sin goes into “hiding” mode. “If you’re going to write about Cardinal Sin, most of the time you talk with his spokesperson (Msgr. Villegas) and not the Cardinal himself,” he said. Meanwhile, Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998) was forging a close relationship with Msgr. Villegas, Cardinal Sin’s spokesperson. Requintina asked him on less than 10 occasions in the past year, to administer the 95 sacrament of confession. To the best of his knowledge, Requintina said he was the only church beat reporter confessing to sources. He believes confessing to priests builds the Catholic reporter-priest/source relationship. It is understood that whatever goes on during the period of confession will not be printed, he said (1998). Manila Bulletin in 1998 Since purchasing Bulletin shortly after Menzi’s death in 1984, Yap has made the newspaper a publicly traded stock, according to Ben Rodriguez (personal communication, May 27, 1998). There are about 3,000 stockholders, but Yap owns the majority interest. In 1997, the demographics of its readership showed its readers were from 14 to 44 years old, were predominantly male, and belonged to the middle and upper classes (AC Nielsen, 1997 as cited in Panzo et al., 1998). In 1998, the newspaper claimed a readership of 200,000 in Manila and a million nationwide (Panzo et al., 1998). RQ3: At which level of influence (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996) did the Catholic Church exercise the most influence on Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s content? Interviews conducted with staff at Malaya and Manila Bulletin pointed to the “organizational” level as the most powerful source of influence on media content at their newspapers (See Tables RQ2a and RQ2b). The “organizational” level in this study considered the influences of editors, owners, and policies of the newspaper. The main differences between the Catholic Church’s perceived influences on the newspapers are primarily at the organizational level, and are due to the difference in editorial policies toward the church at each newspaper. Malaya ’s policy favored the Catholic Church’s involvement in the presidential election in 1986. This was not the case in 1992 and 1998. Amado Macasaet, (personal communication, July 10, 1998), who owned the newspaper during those two time periods, opposed the Church’s involvement in political affairs. Macasaet, however, had an overall editorial policy of neutrality or “Don’t Rock the Boat” policy toward most coverage. Yap, the owner of Manila Bulletin, also emphasized a “Don’t Rock the Boat” policy, which encouraged positive and neutral coverage of most sources. Yap, in contrast to Macasaet, however, supported the Church’s involvement in all affairs, including political situations, according to Manila Bulletin staff (C. chan, personal communication, June 10, 1998; N. Rama, personal communication, June 9, 1998; Requintina, personal communication, May 27, 1998; B. Rodriguez, personal communication, May 27, 1998). RQ4a: During which presidential election campaign, 1986, 1992 or 1998, was the Catholic Church’s positive influence on Malaya the strongest? The Catholic Church’s positive influence was strongest in Malaya during the 1986 presidential election because the Church was most influential on political affairs during that election period, according to clergy members, a layperson who worked for the CBCP, and the owner and editors of Malaya (P. D. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998; T. Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998; J. Burgos, personal communication, July 17, 1998; O. Cruz, personal communication, May 25, 1998; J. Delos Reyes, personal communication, May 20, 1998; A. Macasaet, personal communication, July 10, 1998; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998; E. Romualdez, personal communication, June 8, 1998; S. Villegas, personal communication, June 6, 1998). Clergy recalled that the Church was especially influential on Malaya. Columnists in Malaya were “very complimentary to the Church” during the 1986 presidential election campaign when compared to the other campaign periods, said Bishop Teodoro Bacani (personal communication, May 25, 1998), District Bishop of Kalmana & Quezon City, and a columnist for Today newspaper. In the years that led to the People Power Revolution in 1986, both Malaya and Church members collaborated because they despised President Marcos, said Jose Burgos, who founded and owned Malaya in 1986, Enrique Romualdez, who was an editor during 1986, and who in 1998 was the editor-in chief of Malaya, Joy Delos Reyes, who was a reporter in 1986 and the metro editor of Malaya in 1998, and Amado “Jake” Macasaet, who was a business reporter in 1986 and who eventually became the owner of the newspaper. RQ4b: During which presidential election campaign, 1986, 1992 or 1998, was the Catholic Church’s positive influence on Manila Bulletin the strongest? Similar to Malaya, the most favorable coverage of the Catholic Church in Manila Bulletin occurred during the 1986 presidential election because the Church was the most influential on political affairs during that election period, according to clergy members, a layperson who worked for the CBCP, and the owner and editors of Manila Bulletin (P. D. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998; T. Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998; O. Cruz, personal communication, May 25, 1998; C. chan, personal communication, June 10, 1998; N. Rama, personal communication, June 9, 1998; R. Requintina, personal communication, May 27, 1998; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998; B. Rodriguez, personal communication, May 27, 1998; S. Villegas, personal communication, June 6, 1998) People connected to the Catholic Church, and staff at Manila Bulletin conflict in their assessment of Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the Catholic Church since the 1986 98 presidential election. Pauline Angeles, (personal communication, May 25, 1998), the manager of the CBCP Media Office said she sees the pastoral letters and announcements she sends to all the newspapers printed in Manila Bulletin, but she said as far as coverage goes, its less coverage than she sees in other newspapers. She noted that she knew of a reporter assigned to the CBCP beat, but nonetheless, other reporters pointed out that there is less coverage of the Church in Manila Bulletin. Archbishop Oscar Cruz (personal communication, May 25, 1998) said Bulletin rarely covers the CBCP. “I don’t know why. The Malaya covers it more than the Bulletin, but the most that covers it is the Inquirer and the Star, ” he said, comparing coverage of the Catholic Church among several newspapers in Manila. Ben Rodriguez (personal communication, May 27, 1998), Manila Bulletin ’5 editor-in-chief, believed there was more coverage of the church in 1998 than in 1992 because CBCP members were more open. This is in contrast to Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998), who said more coverage was given to the Catholic Church in 1992 because Cardinal Sin issued a strong pastoral statement about the elections. Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayal of the Catholic Church This section of the Findings chapter presents portrayals of the Catholic Church. The news media under study are We Forum, which became Malaya shortly before the overthrow of Marcos, and Bulletin Today, which became Manila Bulletin after the overthrow of Marcos. These two newspapers were primarily chosen because of their availability, and because they historically represent opposite ends of the political spectrum—Malaya is liberal, while Manila Bulletin is conservative (Maslog, 1988). In order to capture the nature of Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’s portrayal of the Catholic Church, research questions determine the story categories, story characteristics, story sources, tone and themes of the coverage. Stag Categories and Characteristics RQSa. What were the main story categories8 and characteristics’ in Malaya during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. “Press-initiated” stories dominated story categories, and “non-religious function” dominated story characteristics (See Table RQ5a). More “press-initiat ” stories appeared in the 1986 (13) campaign period, than in 1992 (10) and 1998 (3) campaign periods. More “clergy-initiated” stories appeared during the 1986 period (6) than in the 1992 (4) and 1998 (2) periods. Within the “clergy” and “press-initiated” sections, “non- religious function” received the highest number of articles, 1986 (11) and 1992 (8). As for the other sections, “church and political” received the next highest number of articles, 1992 (10) and 1998 (9). Within this section, “non-clergy source” also received a high number of articles (10). The only period that covered “charismatic groups” was in 1998 with three stories. 8 The story categories are press-initiated, clergy-initiated, church and political, and press-selected. 9 The story characteristics are sub-sections of story categories: sermon/homily, non-religious function, press conference, pastoral letter/press statement, non-clergy source, charismatic group, and international. 100 Table RQSa: Malaya ’s Story Categories and Characteristics during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Malaya 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score press-initiated sermon/homily 1 4.0 2 8.33 0 0 non-religious function 12 48.0 8 33.33 3 21.4 clergy-initiated press conference 1 4.0 0 0 0 0 pastoral letter/press 5 20.0 4 16.66 2 14.2 statement church and political non—clergy source 5 20.0 10 41.66 6 42.8 charismatic group O 0 O 0 3 21.4 press selected international 1 4.0 0 0 0 0 Total 25 100.0 24 99.98 14 99.8 RQSb. What were the main story categories and characteristics in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. “Press-initiated” and “church and political” sections dominated story categories. the highest number of stories among the sections (See Table RQ5b). Among the sub- sections, “non-religious function” in 1992, and “non-clergy source” in 1998, had the highest number of articles (13), when compared to all the other sub-sections. In 1986, Manila Bulletin had the same number (5) of “clergy-initiated” articles as in 1998; 1992 only had one article. “International” stories was only represented in 1986, with 15 percent of the coverage during that presidential election. 101 Table RQ5b: Manila Bulletin ’s Story Categories and Characteristics during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Manila Bulletin 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score press-initiated sermon/homily 2 6.0 3 12.0 0 0 non-religious function 10 29.0 13 52.0 5 19.2 clergy initiated press conference 1 3.0 0 O 1 3.80 pastoral letter/press 4 12.0 1 4.0 4 15.4 Statement church and political non-clergy source 11 32.0 7 28.0 13 50.0 charismatic group 1 3.0 1 4.0 3 11.5 press selected international 5 l 5.0 O 0 O 0 Total 34 100.0 25 100.0 26 99.9 Sources RQ6a. What were the most cited sources in Malaya during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns? The source category that actually received the highest number of articles (18) overall was “none of the above” during the 1992 campaign periods, but this category is made up of a variety of sources (See Table RQ6a). With a total of 30 articles, this leaves “Cardinal Sin” as the most cited source, 15 articles in 1986, followed by 12 articles in 1992 and three articles in 1998. The other category that also received a high number of articles (9) was the CBCP during the 1986 campaign period. 102 Table RQ6a: Frequency of Sources during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Cited in Malaya source 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score CBCP 9 20.0 1 2.2 4 15.4 Cory Aquino 4 8.9 7 15.2 0 0 Cardinal Sin 15 33.33 12 26 3 11.5 clergy 3 6.66 3 6.5 2 7.7 Estrada 0 0 0 0 2 7 .7 laity 0 0 0 0 1 3.8 Salvador Laurel 2 4.44 1 2.2 0 0 Marcos 4 8.9 0 0 0 0 none of above 8 17.77 18 39.1 10 38.5 Fidel Ramos O 0 4 8.7 2 7.7 Velarde 0 0 O 0 2 7 .7 Total 45 100.0 46 99.9 26 100.0 RQ6b. What were the most cited sources in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns? “Cardinal Sin” was cited in the highest number of articles: 34 articles, 12 articles during the 1992 period, followed by 11 articles during each of the 1986 and 1998 periods (See Table RQ6b). The source category that received the next highest number of articles was “none of the above” with 32 articles, 10 in 1986, 13 in 1992, and 9 in 1998. This source, as mentioned above, coded a variety of sources, not just one source like some of the other categories. The sources that were cited the most were “none of the above” (13) during the 1992 campaign period, followed by Cardinal Sin (12) during the 1992 campaign period. 103 Table RQ6b: Frequency of Sources during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Cited in Manila Bulletin source 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score CBCP 6 13.0 7 16.66 1 3.33 Cory Aquino 1 2.2 3 7.1 O 0 Cardinal Sin 1 1 23.9 12 28.6 1 1 36.66 clergy 1 1 24.0 3 7.1 1 3.33 Estrada 0 0 0 0 1 3.33 laity 3 6.5 1 2.4 1 3.33 Salvador Laurel 0 0 2 4.8 O 0 Marcos 3 6.5 0 0 O 0 none of above 10 21.7 13 30.95 9 30.0 Fidel Ramos 1 2.2 1 2.4 2 6.66 Velarde 0 0 0 0 4 13.33 N 46 100.1 42 100.0 30 99.97 Io_.ne RQ7a. What was the tone of Malaya ’s coverage of the Roman Catholic Church during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns? In 1986 there were five favorable articles; the 1992 campaign had three, and the 1998 campaign period had no favorable stories (See Table RQ7a). The majority of stories throughout all three periods were neutral, meaning the article merely presented information regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement with the presidential elections; the majority of articles neither praised nor criticized the church. Nearly all of the articles during the 1998 period were neutral (92.9 percent). 104 Table RQ7a: Tone of Catholic Church’s Coverage in Malaya during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Malaya 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score favorable 5 20.0 3 12.5 0 0.0 unfavorable 3 12.0 3 12.5 1 7 .1 neutral 17 68 18 75.0 13 92.9 Total 25 100.0 24 100.0 14 RQ7b. What was the tone of Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the Roman Catholic Church during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential campaigns. The number of articles (12) that were favorable during the 1986 campaign period exceeded the number of articles that were favorable in 1992 and 1998 (See Table RQ7b). The numbers of favorable, unfavorable and neutral stories were similar in number in 1986, whereas in both 1992 and 1998, the articles weigh heavily in favor of the neutral category. Nearly all of the articles in 1998 were neutral (92.3 percent). Table RQ7b: Tone of Catholic Church’s Coverage in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Manila Bulletin 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score favorable 12 35.3 3 12.0 2 7.7 unfavorable 10 29.4 3 12.0 0 0 neutral 12 35.3 19 76.0 24 92.3 N 34 100.0 25 100.0 26 100.0 105 1m RQ8a. What were the main story themes in Malaya during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections? Malgga-l986 The Church as “mobilizer” theme (72 percent) dominated Malaya ’3 coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1986 presidential election (See Table RQ8a). This theme was found in stories that poised the church as a motivator or a coach, urging his or her team toward a certain goal. A historical review of national and church politics during the 1986 presidential elections, revealed that Cardinal Sin and the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines (CBCP) helped “mobilize” the masses through pastoral letters and broadcasted speeches on Radio Veritas to oust Marcos’ dictatorial leadership and install Aquino’s democratic leadership (Caspar, 1999; Keesing’s, 1987; Zaide, 1999). The first article in Malaya that depicted the Catholic Church as a “mobilizer” was an article on Cardinal Sin’s New Year’s message where he asked the masses to “unite to enjoy the blessings of peace and justice, freedom and democracy” (Sin, 1986). Another article that depicts the Catholic Church as a “mobilizer” focused on Ricardo Cardinal Vidal’s pastoral letter to his diocese that “called on voters to exercise their right to vote,” “urged the people to strive for a clean, honest and peaceful election,” and to “watch closely and witness courageously the whole electoral proceeding” (PNA, 1986a). Some articles that depicted the Church as “mobilizer” had the following headlines: “Sin appeals to Rebs” (AP, 1986); “Go out and vote, bishops urge people” (Carlos, 1986); “Sin urges vigilance—Cory expresses thanks” (Montejo and Bartolome, 1986), and “Church plans protest” (“Church plans,” 1986). 106 Table RQ8a: Themes of the Catholic Church’s Coverage in Malaya during 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Malaya 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score mobilizer 18 72.0 4 16.66 3 21.5 partisan/divisive 6 24.0 18 75 l 1 78.5 gov’t. collaborator 1 4.0 2 8.33 0 0 victim 0 0 0 0 0 0 neutral 0 O 0 0 O 0 Total 25 100.0 24 100.0 14 The remaining articles during the 1986 presidential period depicted the Church as “partisan/divisive” (24 percent), and as a “government collaborator” (4 percent) (See Table RQ8a). The articles that found the Church as “partisan/divisive” depicted the Church as biased toward one political party. For example, the Church was found “partisan/divisive” in an article titled, “Sin admits role in Cory-Doy pact,” in which Sin was called a “vocal critic” of Marcos and was cited as “pressuring” Cory Aquino and Doy Laurel to become running mates (AF P, 1985). Another example of an article that depicted the Church as “partisan/divisive” reported on Crisanto Soldevilla Comejo’s lawsuit against Cardinal Sin for issuing pastoral letters that favored the Aquino and Laurel political ticket (Orejana, 1986). The only article that had a theme outside the “mobilizer” and “partisan/divisive” themes, was an article that depicted the Church as a “government collaborator” (4 percent). In this article, the lead paragraph quoted Marcos as saying, “the state will always maintain sound and healthy relations with the church” (Fernandez, 1986). 107 M alga-1992 In contrast to the 1986 presidential elections, the Catholic Church as “partisan/divisive” (75 percent) dominated Malaya ’s coverage during the 1992 presidential elections (See Table RQ8a). As mentioned above, the articles that found the Church as “partisan/divisive” depicted the Church as biased toward one political party. A review of Philippine and Church politics during the 1992 presidential elections indicated that seven candidates vied for the presidency, and that Aquino’s endorsement of one of the candidates, Fidel Ramos, defied Cardinal Sin’s advice against supporting a Protestant for president. Cardinal Sin further appeared partisan when he endorsed one of the other candidates, Ramon Mitra (Keesing’s, 1992). As evidenced through Malaya ’s coverage, pastoral letters by the CBCP and Cardinal Sin, issued separately, also contributed to the confusion and divisiveness over who the Catholic Church endorsed. On April 19, 1992, the CBCP issued a pastoral letter that provided voting guidelines. The letter, without naming names, urged voters not to vote for candidates who “plundered the economy” and who were responsible for placing the country under martial law (Tangbawan, 1992a). The article went on to interpret the guidelines as an attack against three candidates (Fidel Ramos, Eduardo Cojuangco and Imelda Marcos) and an endorsement for the remaining candidates (Ramon Mitra, Miriam Santiago, Salvador Laurel and Jovito Salonga) (Tangbawan, 1992a). On the same day, Cardinal Sin issued his own pastoral letter titled, “Conquer Evil with God” (“Coryz Sin,” 1992) in which he also, without naming names, urged voters not to vote for “oppressors and plunderers” of the Marcos regime, and “to vote for a Catholic candidate.” The former statement was also interpreted as referring to Marcos and Cojuangco, and the latter was interpreted as an attack against Ramos, a 108 Protestant (“Coryz Sin,” 1992). Several articles tried to determine who Sin and the Catholic Church was indirectly endorsing (i.e. “Cory: Sin,” 1992; Tangbawan and Tordesillas, 1992). On April 24, 1992, Sin maintained that he was not endorsing a particular candidate in his homily titled “Discerning our choice,” but he laid out another set of voting guidelines that described the qualities of a good president; this 8-point guideline was interpreted as another attack on Ramos, Cojuangco and Marcos and an endorsement of Mitra (Larano and Tangbawan, 1992). The other articles that depicted the Church as “partisan/divisive” reported on the candidates’ negative and positive reactions to Cardinal Sin and the CBCP’s statements; some of the candidates used the guidelines to their advantage, resorting to “mud- slinging” between candidates (i.e. “Mitra: Cory,” 1992; Tordesillas, 1992). An article that made the Catholic Church appear both “partisan” and “divisive” was headlined “No Sin for them—Bishops to voters: Use your conscience” (“No Sin,” 1992). The article reported on the CBCP’s pastoral letter in which it disassociated itself from Sin’s indirect endorsement of candidates, despite issuing a previous pastoral letter that also laid out guidelines that indirectly endorsed and attacked candidates (Tangbawan, 1992b). The balance of the articles focused on the Church as a “mobilizer” (16.66 percent), and as a “government collaborator” (8.33 percent) (See Table RQ8a). The four articles that had the Church as a “mobilizer” theme reported on the urgings of Cardinal Sin (“Reject thieves,” 1992), the Parish Pastoral Council for Responsible Voting (Pablo, 1992) and several Catholic laypersons (“Doctrine gives,” 1992; Ureta, 1992) to generally ensure clean and honest elections. The two articles that depicted the Church as a “government collaborator” focused on Cardinal Sin’s relationship with the Aquino 109 government. In one article, Sin avowed that he would “work in solidarity with (the) government” (Estella, 1992), and the other quoted Aquino as saying she was “very good friends” with Cardinal Sin, despite their political differences (V elarde, 1992). Malgya-1998 The Church as “partisan/divisive” (7 8.5 percent) dominated Malaya ’s coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1998 presidential election (See Table RQ8a). Similar to the 1992 presidential election, Cardinal Sin issued pastoral letters that laid out voting guidelines; on March 24, 1998 Cardinal Sin issued a F ive-Way test, which consisted of a list of questions, that if passed in the affirmative, meant the candidate was worthy to be president. The test was interpreted as an attack against one presidential candidate in particular, Vice President Joseph Estrada (Garafil, 1998). Again, several candidates used the test to their advantage, answering the questions to prove that he or she was Cardinal Sin’s anointed candidate (Aguilar, 1998a; Aguilar, 1998b). Four articles focused on the Commission on Elections’ (Comelec) decision to exclude Catholic clergy from leading divisions of the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections (Namfrel). The Comelec wanted to avoid the use of Narnfrel as a tool for clergy to endorse certain candidates. The decision was subsequently reversed (Carreon, 1998a; Carreon, 1998b; Carreon, 1998c; Carreon and Magdaraog, 1998). The other three articles reported on El Shaddai, a charismatic Catholic group endorsing Estrada (Cadelifia, 1998), the Catholic Council of the Laity’s survey, which favored presidential candidate Alfredo Lim (“Catholics favor,” 1998), and Brother Mike Velarde, the leader of El Shaddai, who denied that his group endorsed presidential candidate Joe de Venecia (Bengco and Rempillo, 1998). 110 The remainder of the articles depicted the Catholic Church as a “mobilizer” (21.5 percent) (See Table RQ8a). On March 14, 1998, bishops in Bacolod City called on “non- government organizations to field watchers in every precinct” (“Bishops warn,” 1998). On April 1, 1998, the CBCP asked all the candidates to observe Holy Week by pausing their campaign activities (“Bishops call,” 1998). On May 4, 1998, Cardinal Sin issued a pastoral letter that warned of “massive” citizen protests if cheating occurred during the May 11, 1998 elections (Carreon, 1998d). RQ8b. What were the main story themes in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections? Manila Bulletin-1986 The Church as “mobilizer” (61.7 percent) was the dominant theme in Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1986 presidential election (See Table RQ8b). The first article published with this theme reported on Catholic educators calling on the masses to ensure honest elections on the snap, February 7, 1986 election (“Be independent,” 1986). Prior to this date, the CBCP through a pastoral letter, Cardinal Sin through homilies, a pastoral letter and a press conference, called for honest elections (“Bishops urgez,” 1986; “Sin airs,” 1986; Siytangco, 1985; Siytangco, 1986a; Siytangco, 1986b;;Siytangco, 1986c; Siytangco, 1986d). An organization made up of various religious groups, including Catholic, organized a prayer rally to reflect on the upcoming election (“Prayer set,” 1986). The day of the election Cardinal Sin issued a post-election statement (“Sin calls,” 1986), and a week later, he publicly criticized the government for the widespread fraud that took place during the elections (“Church leaders,” 1986; “No violence,” 1986). On February 14, 1986, the CBCP issued a “strongly worded” post- 111 election pastoral statement that condemned the elections as “unparalleled” in terms of fraud (Siytangco, 1986c). Several subsequent articles that featured national and international groups and organizations praised this post-election statement. Malaya reported that the Pope, bishops from New York, a Muslim group in Mindanao, and Catholic school leaders supported the CBCP’s position on the elections (AF P, 1986; “Muslim group,” 1986; “Peaceful solution,” 1986; Reuter, 1986; Siytangco, 1986f; UPI, 1986) Table RQ8b: Themes of Catholic Church’s Coverage in Manila Bulletin during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 Presidential Elections Manila Bulletin 1986 1992 1998 Raw Percent Raw Percent Raw Percent Score Score Score mobilizer 19 55.9 10 40 11 42.3 partisan/divisive 10 29.4 13 52 12 46.2 gov’t. collaborator 3 8.8 O 0 0 0 victim 2 5.9 0 0 3 l 1.5 neutral 0 0 2 8 0 0 N 34 100.0 25 100.0 26 100.0 The Catholic Church as “partisan/divisive” (29.4 percent) was the second most popular theme during the 1986 presidential elections. Although international and national figures and organizations supported the CBCP’s stand, at some points Manila Bulletin also reported that these same groups were critical of the CBCP and Sin’s position on the elections. The Pope, President Marcos, the Comelec, the Nationalista Party, CBCP bishops and politicians criticized the CBCP for being “partisan” toward the Aquino and Laurel presidential ticket (“Bishops told,” 1986; “Bishop warns,” 1986 “FM 112 letter,” 1986; “NP urges,” 1986; “Ople raps,” 1986; PNA, 1986b; PNA, 1986c; “Pope cautions,” 1986; Sinfuego, 1986; Valmoria, 1986b). The remaining articles depicted the Catholic Church as a “government collaborator” (8.8 percent) and “victim:” (5.9 percent) (See Table 8b). All three articles that featured the Catholic Church as a “collaborator” reported on Marcos claiming that he was “friends” with Cardinal Sin (N g, 1986a; Siytangco, l986g) and CBCP President Cardinal Vidal (N g, l986b). One article that portrayed the Catholic Church as a “victim” reported on how a priest was allegedly attacked by a city councilman while he reported election fraud (“Poll assault,” 1986). The other article that carried this theme reported that U.S. and Philippine officials criticized the Comelec for its decision to bar clergy from participating in the poll-watching group Narnfrel (V almoria, 1986a). Manila Bulletin-1992 The dominant theme in Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the 1992 presidential elections was the Church as “partisan/divisive” (52 percent). The articles throughout this election reported that Cardinal Sin, either through pastoral letters or meetings with presidential aspirants, was partisan to certain candidates: Salvador Laurel (“Heed Sin’s,” 1992; “Laurel hails,” 1992; Requintina, 1992b), Miriam Defensor Santiago (“Sin congratulates,” 1992; “Sin endorses,” 1992), and Imelda Marcos (“Imelda group,” 1992). On the other hand, several articles interpreted Cardinal Sin’s pastoral letters (“Conquer Evil with God,” an 8-point voting guideline, “A Vision of the Philippine Utopia) as indirect attacks on Imelda Marcos, Eduardo Cojuangco and Fidel Ramos (“Ramos deplores,” 1992; Requintina, 1992d; Suarez, 1992). The remaining articles with the “partisan/divisive” theme portrayed the Church as divided when CBCP leaders openly 113 criticized Cardinal Sin for his pastoral letters (“Bishop reacts,” 1992; “Catholic bishops,” 1992; Jabat, 1992a; PNF, 1992). The Church as “mobilizer” theme (40 percent) was the second most popular theme during the 1992 presidential election coverage (See Table RQ8b). Most of the articles featured Cardinal Sin, Cardinal Vidal and other church members calling for “clean elections” (“Bishops urge,” 1992; “Cardinal cites,” 1992; De Leon, 1992; Jabat, 1992b; Lobo, 1992; “Novena today,” 1992; “Prayer rites,” 1992; Requintina, 1992a; Requintina, 1992c; “Sin raps,” 1992). Two articles depicted the Church as “neutral” (“Church body,” 1992; “Sin repeats,” 1992) (See Table RQ8b). Manila Bulletin-1998 The dominant theme in 1998 was the Church as “partisan/divisive” (46.2 percent) (See Table RQ8b). Most of the articles focused on the Catholic Church’s endorsement of presidential candidates by Cardinal Sin, charismatic groups like “El Shaddai” and “Jesus is Lord,” and other clergy. Five articles reported that the Church supported Jose de Venecia (“Catholic lay,” 1998; “Religious group,” 1998; Requintina, 1998g; “Sin says,” 1998; Villareal, 1998). Three articles reported that the Church supported Alfredo Lim (“Cory Power,” 1998; “Lim sees,” 1998; “Sin needed,” 1998), and one article reported that the Church supported Miriam Defensor Santiago (“Priests see,” 1998). Sin also was quoted as saying the “most likely winner may be the most disastrous,” which observers interpreted as an attack against front runner, Joseph Estrada (Requintina, 1998d). The remaining two articles reported on candidates, who used their Catholicism to appear favorable. One article reported that Estrada attended mass to “ask the Lord for a successful and peaceful political campaign” (Ramos, 1998). The other article featured 114 presidential candidate Juan Ponce Enrile, drawing parallels from his life to the life of “Thomas Moore, a devout servant of God, who preferred to go to the gallows when his Christian belief and duty to God had collided with his duty to his master on Earth” (“Love of,” 1998). The Church as “mobilizer” (42.3 percent) lagged close behind the Church as “partisan/divisive” (46.2 percent) (See Table RQ8b). The CBCP as in previous years, issued a pastoral letter. This one was titled a “Pastoral Exhortation on the 1998 Elections,” which called voters to “work for honest elections” (Requintina, 1998a). Sin, in a pre-EDSA anniversary message, asked the masses to “vote in the coming elections according to their conscience, and to ignore the outcome of surveys” (Requintina, 1998b). Two articles interviewed Sin just prior to his departure to Rome where he attended the Synod of Asia (“Sin won’t, 1998; Villa, 1998). Another two articles reported on messages from Cardinal Sin while he was attending the Synod (Requintina, 1998c; Requintina, 1998e). The latter article featured Cardinal Sin’s pastoral letter titled, “The Lord’s Day,” which he had arranged to be read the day prior to election day. In the letter, he specifically asked armed groups to refrain from election fraud. President Ramos replied to Cardinal Sin’s letter to ensure voters that the elections would be fair (“Candidates sign,” 1998; “FVR assures,” 1998). Various Catholic groups and people also urged voters to pray (“El Shaddai,” 1998; “Pray before,” 1998; Requnitina, 19980. The remaining articles depicted the Catholic Church during the 1998 presidential election as a “victim” (11.5 percent) (See Table RQ 8b). Three articles reported public outcries against the Comelec’s decision to ban the clergy from participating in the National Citizens’ Movement for Free Elections’ (Namfrel) Operation: Quick Count 115 (OQC), which served to independently monitor the tabulation of election results. The ban was subsequently dropped as a response to public outcries (“Ban on,” 1998; Mabutas, 1998; “Motion on,” 1998). Similarities and Differences between Coverage RQ9: What were the similarities and differences in Malaya and Manila Bulletin ’5 coverage? Stogy Categories and Story Characteristics The number of articles between the two newspapers indicate minimal differences: Malaya had 12 stories total that were clergy-initiated (press conferences, pastoral letters and press statements) with six stories in 1986, four in 1992, and two in 1998; Manila Bulletin had 11 stories total that were clergy-initiated with five in 1986, one in 1992, and five in 1998. The variation does not illuminate a clear pattern. The more important finding is that clergy were more successful in obtaining coverage throughout the three periods in their use of pastoral letters and statements than by using press conferences. Clergy also received more coverage through pastoral letters and statements, than through the “press-initiated” characteristics of sermons and homilies. Overall, the Catholic Church however, received the most coverage in both newspapers through the “press- initiated” category of “non-religious” functions and “church and political” category of “non-clergy” sources. “Non-religious” function focused on the clergy’s reaction to political events. “Non-clergy” sources focused on people who were not clergy, commenting on the political actions of the church in regards to the presidential elections. The two newspapers varied slightly in terms of which story characteristic was covered the most during the individual study periods: In 1986, the highest percentage of 116 articles in Malaya was “non-religious firnction” with 44 percent and “non-clergy source” in Manila Bulletin with 32 percent. In 1992, the highest percentage of story articles in Malaya was “non-clergy source” with nearly 42 percent, and “non-religious function” in Manila Bulletin with 52 percent. In 1998, the highest percentage of story articles in Malaya was “non-clergy source” with 43 percent, and in Manila Bulletin, “non-clergy” source with 50 percent. These findings suggest that the majority of Catholic Church coverage in Malaya during 1986 focused on articles about clergy that used clergy as sources. This changed in 1992 and 1998 when most of the coverage focused on articles where people who were not members of the Church, like politicians and lay persons who worked for the church, were the main sources for coverage about the church. Manila Bulletin findings show a different pattern which suggests that the newspaper relied on people outside of the church more during 1986 and 1998, and more on clergy in 1992. The coverage in terms of story characteristics also shows a slight increase in coverage of charismatic groups from 1986 to 1998, which can be explained by the increased political involvement of charismatic groups in the election process in 1998. The coverage also indicates that 1986 was the only study period that relied on international stories about the Catholic Church. The international stories focused on the Pope and other Catholic organizations throughout the world commenting either in support of or criticizing the Catholic Church’s involvement in the elections. 522mg Cardinal Sin was the most cited source throughout the three study periods. The coverage of Cardinal Sin however, is notably less in Malaya in 1998 when comparing it to the previous study periods at that newspaper and to Manila Bulletin ’s study periods. 117 This finding calls into question the availability of Cardinal Sin as a source to the newspaper or the existence of a possible bias against Cardinal Sin as a source at the newspaper. In similar fashion, the coverage of the CBCP is notably less in Manila Bulletin in 1998 when comparing it to the previous study periods at that newspaper and Malaya ’s study periods. Likewise, this finding calls into question the availability of the CBCP as a source to Malaya, or the existence of a possible bias against the CBCP as a source to Malaya in 1998. logs The coverage in terms of tone and story sources was generally similar in both newspapers. In regards to tone, in 1986, both newspapers showed the most evenly distributed percentage of favorable, unfavorable, and neutral stories, especially in the case of Manila Bulletin, which had each tone at nearly one—third. In 1992, the coverage in terms of tone was also remarkably similar, with favorable and unfavorable stories, with 12 percent each, and neutral at 75 percent. In 1998, a slight difference exists when comparing favorable and unfavorable categories: Malaya had no favorable stories and one unfavorable, while Manila Bulletin had two favorable stories and no unfavorable stories. Interestingly, the percentage of articles that were neutral in both newspapers increased from 1986 to 1998. The percentage of neutral stories in Malaya rose from 68 percent in 1986 to 92.9 percent in 1998. Likewise, the percentage of neutral stories rose in Manila Bulletin from 35.3 percent to 92.3 percent in 1998. Neutral means the article merely presented information regarding the Catholic Church’s involvement with the presidential elections, neither praising nor criticizing the Church. These findings confirm 118 the presence of a “neutral” editorial policy at both newspapers that is most evident during the 1998 study period. Mes The pattern of thematic coverage was generally similar in Malaya and Manila Bulletin: the theme of the Church as “mobilizer” dominated during the 1986 presidential election and the Church as “partisan” dominated during the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. When examining the fi'equencies and percentages more closely, two differences appear. First, the percentages between the two leading themes in Manila Bulletin is much closer than in Malaya. For example, in 1998, only one article separates the number of articles that depicted the Church as either a “mobilizer” or as “partisan/divisive” in Manila Bulletin Second, the coverage in Manila Bulletin revealed five major themes (mobilizer, partisan/divisive, gov’t. collaborator, victim and neutral), whereas Malaya only had three (mobilizer, partisan/divisive, and gov’t. collaborator). I speculate the reason for the more diverse thematic coverage in Manila Bulletin may be attributed to the greater number of staff and resources at Manila Bulletin as compared to Malaya. Relationships Between Perceived Church Influences and Coverage RQ10a: What were the relationships between the perceived influences of the Catholic Church and the actual coverage in Malaya? 4M Interviews conducted with managerial staff at Malaya and church members indicated that the Catholic Church was the most influential and most positive during the 1986 presidential election (P. D. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998; T. 119 Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998; J. Burgos, personal communication, July 17, 1998; O. Cruz, personal communication, May 25, 1998; J. Delos Reyes, personal communication, May 20, 1998; A. Macasaet, personal communication, July 10, 1998; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21 , 1998; E. Romualdez, personal communication, June 8, 1998; S. Villegas, personal communication, June 6, 1998). Coverage of the Catholic Church in 1986 was the most favorable in terms of tone and theme, confirming the perceptions of the Catholic Church as a powerbroker and “mobilizer” during this period. Clergy recalled that the Church was especially influential on Malaya. Columnists in Malaya were “very complimentary to the Church” during the 1986 presidential election campaign when compared to the other campaign periods, said Bishop Teodoro Bacani, District Bishop of Kalmana & Quezon City, and a columnist for Today newspaper. In the years that led to the People Power Revolution in 1986, both Malaya and Church members collaborated because they despised President Marcos, said Jose Burgos (personal communication, July 17 , 1998), who founded and owned Malaya in 1986, Enrique Romualdez (personal communication, June 8, 1998), who was an editor during 1986, and who in 1998 was the editor-in chief of Malaya, Joy Delos Reyes (personal communication, May 20, 1998), who was a reporter in 1986 and the metro editor of Malaya in 1998, and Amado “Jake” Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998), who was a business reporter in 1986 and who eventually became the owner of the newspaper. Clergy and Malaya staff differed in their opinion on which study period would have the second most favorable amount of coverage of the Catholic Church, and 120 according to the quantitative and qualitative content analysis, both groups were correct. Coverage in terms of favorable tone in 1992 edged out 1998, which had no articles that were coded as favorable. However, when comparing thematic coverage, the Catholic Church was largely portrayed as “partisan/divisive,” which has negative connotations. Clergy believed the 1998 study period would be the period with the second most favorable amount of coverage because of the opening of the CBCP’s Media Office, said Archbishop Oscar Cruz (personal communication, May 25, 1998), President of the CBCP (1996-1999) and Secretary General of the Federation of the Asian Bishops’ Conference, which leads the Catholic Bishops’ Conferences in Asia, Pauline Angeles (personal communication, May 25, 1998), who managed the CBCP Media Office in 1998, Fr. Reuter, S VD (personal communication, July 21, 1998) director of the National Office of Mass Media for the Catholic Church in the Philippines since 1967 (31 years) and Spokesperson for the Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines from 1988 until 1996, and Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 6, 1998), Cardinal Sin’s secretary. Bishop Teodoro Bacani (personal communication, June 5, 1998), pointed out that although the opening of the CBCP may have increased coverage of the Church, the coverage is not necessarily going to be favorable. “The Church was perceived to be, to a great extent, Anti-Erap, especially Cardinal Sin,” he said. “So there was a lot of coverage,” referring to the coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1998 presidential election when Erap Estrada was the most popular candidate. Estrada eventually became president. Thematic coverage confirmed that Sin’s pastoral letters and homilies indirectly attacked Estrada’s candidacy in 1998. 121 Malaya staff (J. Burgos, personal communication, July 17, 1998; J. Delos Reyes, personal communication, May 20, 1998; A. Macasaet, personal communication, July 10, 1998; E. Romualdez, personal communication, June 8, 1998) believed there would be little coverage, let alone positive coverage of the Catholic Church in both 1992 and 1998. Given the choice between the two, there would probably be slightly more favorable coverage in 1992 than 1998. The content analyses’ findings, which showed that the Catholic Church was primarily portrayed as “partisan/divisive” during the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections confirmed these perspectives. The collaborative relationship between the Catholic Church and Malaya changed recalled Amado Macasaet (1998), who bought the newspaper from Burgos in 1987. Macasaet (1998) said although he was a Catholic, he devoted minimum space to the Catholic Church during the latter two elections because he did not approve of the Catholic Church’s intervention in political affairs. Macasaet’s objections were also well known to Enrique Romualdez (1998) and Joy Delos Reyes (1998), two top-level editors of the newspaper. Macasaet (1998) said his newspaper had a policy of neutral coverage, with the exception of articles on the government. He said he used his newspaper to support the government’s political and economic programs and all other coverage. This editorial policy explains the overwhehningly neutral coverage of the Catholic Church during the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. Out of the coverage given to the Catholic Church during the three study periods, staff at Malaya (J. Burgos, personal communication, July 17, 1998; J. Delos Reyes, personal communication, May 20, 1998; A. Macasaet, personal communication, July 10, 1998; E. Romualdez, personal communication, June 8, 1998), when asked, said coverage 122 centered on “pastoral letters,” which is considered a “clergy-initiated” story source in this study. Interviews also believed Cardinal Sin as a source received slightly more coverage overall than other Catholic clergy. “It is another news source. We do not stand in awe of them,” Enrique Romualdez (1998) said. “But in terms of news prominence, I would say Cardinal Sin, just for a notch.” Among those associated with the Catholic Church who were interviewed (P. D. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998; T. Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998; O. Cruz, personal communication, May 25, 1998; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998; S. Villegas, personal communication, June 6, 1998), said Cardinal Sin would be prominently quoted throughout the three periods, with the exception of Angeles who said the CBCP and the charismatic groups would be the most quoted during the last election. The measurement of story source, which showed that Cardinal Sin dominated coverage, confirmed expectations. The measurement of pastoral letters as a story characteristic indicated that the church was more successful in gaining coverage through this means, than with press conferences and sermons, which also confirmed expectations. The thematic content analysis indicated that many articles throughout the three presidential periods focused on pastoral letters. This analysis also revealed however, that coverage of pastoral letters in 1986 depicted the Church in a more favorable light as “mobilizer.” In 1992, presidential candidates used the pastoral letters to appear as the Church’s anointed candidate, making the Church appear “partisan.” Articles that reported that bishops were at odds with Cardinal Sin’s pastoral letters in 1992 and 1998, which made the Church also appear divisive. RQ10b: What were the relationships between the perceived influences of the Catholic Church and the actual coverage in Manila Bulletin? 123 MAW Similar to Malaya, the most favorable coverage of the Catholic Church in Manila Bulletin in terms of tone and theme occurred during the 1986 presidential election. The Catholic Church received the highest favorable score for tone, and was largely depicted as a “mobilizer.” These findings confrrm the expectations of clergy members, a layperson who worked for the CBCP, and the owner and editors of Manila Bulletin (P. Angeles, personal communication, May 25, 1998; T. Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998; O. Cruz, personal communication, May 25, 1998; C. chan, personal communication, June 10, 1998; N. Rama, personal communication, June 9, 1998; R. Requintina, personal communication, May 27 , 1998; J. Reuter, personal communication, July 21 , 1998; B. Rodriguez, personal communication, May 27, 1998; S. Villegas, personal communication, June 6, 1998). Clergy and management at Manila Bulletin disagreed as to which presidential study period received the second most favorable amount of coverage. The content analysis in terms of tone and theme were similar in 1992 and 1998. Ben Rodriguez (personal communication, May 27 , 1998), Manila Bulletin ’s editor-in-chief, believed there would be more coverage of the church in 1998 than in 1992 because CBCP members were more open. This is in contrast to Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998), who said more coverage was given to the Catholic Church in 1992 because Cardinal Sin issued a strong pastoral statement about the elections. Napoleon Rama (personal communication, June 9, 1998), the publisher, was perhaps the most insightful when he criticized the church’s participation in 1992 and 1998 because the church made many “sweeping,” “false,” and “contradictory” 124 statements. The thematic content analysis depicted the Catholic Church in 1992 and 1998 as largely “partisan/divisive.” The majority of coverage of the Catholic Church is neutral in 1992 and 1998. This can be explained by interviews with staff, who said the newspaper had a pro— govemment, and “Don’t Rock the Boat” policy, which encouraged positive coverage of the government and neutral coverage of all sources. Interviews did indicate that there were exceptions. Emilio Yap, who owns the newspaper, also owns shipping companies and banks. Coronel’s (1999) interviews and my interviews with staff at Manila Bulletin indicated that Yap forbade coverage of his competitors, unless it was negative coverage: It is generally conceded in media circles that Emilio Yap personifies the interventionist press proprietor. If newspaper owners were put in a spectrum representing ranges of editorial meddling, Yap would represent the most interventionist extreme. He runs the paper in a manner that some Bulletin editors describe as authoritarian...Yap’s daily interventions at the paper seem to have two objectives: to use the Bulletin as a jump-off point to social prominence and as a springboard for protecting and advancing his business interests. (p. 10) Interviews said this policy did not extend to the Catholic Church after the snap presidential election because Yap did not view the Church as an antagonist after that point. Unlike the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections, the content analysis findings for 1986 in regards to tone of coverage showed that there was an almost even distribution of favorable, unfavorable and neutral stories. This can be explained by Manila Bulletin ’s need to support whichever government is in power for its economic survival. This finding is somewhat similar to Victoriano’s (1988) study on Manila Bulletin, which found that when she measured coverage of the People Power Revolution in 1986, that the tone of articles changed from both positive and negative in the beginning of the revolution to more positive toward the end. 125 The majority of the people interviewed believed Cardinal Sin as a source would be covered the most in Manila Bulletin throughout the three time periods than any other person or group connected to the Church. Content analysis on story source confirmed this expectation. Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 6, 1998) said Manila Bulletin has always given generous coverage to Cardinal Sin and the Archdiocese of Manila activities because of the familiar relationship between the Cardinal and Emilio Yap. “Manila Bulletin has been very kind to the Catholic Church especially to Cardinal Sin,” said Bishop Teodoro Bacani (personal communication, June 5, 1998), confirming Sin and Yap’s relationship. Staff at Manila Bulletin agreed that Cardinal Sin would be the most cited source in 1986 and 1992, but not in 1998. Manila Bulletin covered Cardinal Sin a great deal in 1992 because he had “a very strong statement about the forthcoming election,” said Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998), who at the time was a general assignment reporter for Manila Bulletin, and who later became the church beat reporter in 1993, holding that position until 1999 (R. Requintina, phone interview, Jan. 14, 2000). Requintina and Ben Rodriguez (personal communication, May 27 , 1998), editor-in-chief of Manila Bulletin since the ouster of Marcos in 1986, believed however, that the CBCP would be the most cited source in 1998. “At present, the CBCP is more visible than Cardinal Sin is,” said Rodriguez (1998), “Cardinal Sin comes out with a statement once in a while, but it’s the CBCP that does a lot of talking.” Rodriguez (1998) added that the CBCP was more active in politics in 1998 than in previous years. Pauline Angeles (personal communication, May 25, 1998), who was the Manager of the CBCP Media Office in 1998, believed the CBCP and the charismatic groups would be quoted more in 1998 than Cardinal Sin. The expectation 126 of increased coverage of the CBCP in 1998 was not confirmed. Coverage in 1998 indicates the reverse relationship. Only one article used the CBCP as a source during that presidential election, whereas the CBCP was quoted 6 times in 1986 and 7 times in 1992. Church and media interviewees may have expected more CBCP coverage in 1998 because they based their claims on coverage of the CBCP in other newspapers and news outlets. They may have also based their claims on coverage of the CBCP on issues other than the presidential elections. Based on my observations, the CBCP held press conferences and distributed press releases and statements, which articulated their stand on a wide range of issues, ranging from the degradation of the environment, the plight of overseas workers, economic issues, to other political issues aside from the 1998 presidential election. Summary This chapter presented findings for the ten research questions presented in the previous chapter. The Catholic Bishops’ Conference of the Philippines and the Archdiocese of Manila influenced the media during the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections through several means; among them were pastoral letters, press releases, press conferences, seminars and through Catholic-owned media. Malaya staff generally said the Catholic Church had a positive influence on their newspaper during the 1986 election and a negative influence on the Church during the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. Manila Bulletin staff generally said the Catholic Church had a positive influence on their newspaper throughout all the election periods. Very few quantitative differences exist between the two newspapers. 127 CHAPTER 5: THEORETICAL IMPLICATIONS AND CONCLUSIONS Introduction This chapter is divided into four sections. Section I summarizes and then discusses the similarities and differences in the Church’s reasons for involving themselves in media throughout the three presidential election campaigns. Section II summarizes and then discusses the similarities and differences in the newspapers’ perceptions of Catholic Church influences on their coverage. Section III summarizes and then discusses the similarities and differences in the coverage of the Catholic Church in Malaya and Manila Bulletin. Section IV presents conclusions, scope and limitations, and recommendations for further study. I. Church’s Involvement in Media The Catholic Church’s motivation and role in media changed from 1986 to 1998. In 1986, the CBCP’s Fr. Reuter covertly, and Cardinal Sin overtly, battled state censorship through their involvement with media. Fr. Reuter developed alternative media forms, like the “Rural Mirneo Press,” and “Blackboard Newspapers,” that essentially worked underground to spread information unavailable in the “crony press” (p. ?). Cardinal Sin, established Veritas Newsweekly and used the Church’s Radio Veritas to mobilize the citizenry to peacefully protest the snap presidential elections in 1986 (Quintos de Jesus, 1995; Zaide, 1999). As a body, the CBCP issued a pastoral letter in 1986 that condemned the Marcos regime’s fraudulent tactics during the snap presidential election (Keesing’s, 1997; Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998; Siytangco, 1986c). Fr. Reuter (1998) claimed it was the first time in the history of the world that any Catholic Bishops’ Conference condemned an existing government. This 128 was despite the Vatican’s warnings against doing precisely this. The CBCP and Cardinal Sin demonstrated their political clout by defying not only national strictures as defined by the Marcos government, but international strictures defined by the Vatican (“Archbishop hits,” 1986; “Bishops told,” 1986; “Bishop warns,” 1986; “FM letter,” 1986; “NP urges,” 1986; “Ople raps,” 1986; PNA, 1986; “Pope cautions,” 1986; Reuter, 1998; Sinfuego, 1986; Valmoria, 1986). The Church and media relationship soured after the snap presidential elections in 1986, and generally remained this way through the 1998 presidential elections. The Church had long forgotten the era of press freedom that existed before the installation of martial law in 1972 (Maslog, 1994; Merrill, 1992). The Catholic hierarchy enjoyed their influence on media during the years that led to the snap presidential election in which they were being portrayed by the media as key players in the political process. They also owned and operated the alternative media. After the downfall of Marcos, Church hierarchy continued to feel entitled to this positive media coverage. The clergy’s naive understanding of press freedom was demonstrated when they expected the continuation of “beautiful” coverage of the Church (Reuter, personal communication, July 21, 1998). The relationship became an “adversarial” one, evidenced by irreverent columns written about the Church, the lack of accuracy in reporting about Church issues, and the lack of retractions when Church members corrected the newspapers (Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998; Reuter, 1998). II. Newspapers’ Perceptions of Sources of Church Influence on their Coverage Collectively, interviews indicated that the “organizational” level, namely owner’s policies, was the most powerful source of influence on media content. This finding is .1 29 consistent with research conducted in the Philippines that used Gerbner’s “Institutional Approach to Mass Communications” to frame influences on newspaper content. This finding is distinct from U.S. based analyses of influences by Shoemaker and Reese (1996). Lacy et al.’s (1999) survey of hundreds of city hall reporters at dailies throughout the U.S. found editors discussing competition with reporters (organization and media routine) had more influence than other factors such as “years on the city hall beat” (individual) and paper’s circulation (organization). Alumit’s (1999) case study of two Detroit newspapers also found the editor and reporter relationship determined coverage; if the editor was more dominant, the editor drove coverage, and vice versa. The nature of the Catholic Church’s influence on Malaya was different in Manila Bulletin; the Catholic Church had a negative influence on Malaya during the 1992 and 1998 study periods, and a positive influence on Manila Bulletin during those study periods. Similarities and Differences in Newspapers’ Perceptions of Church Influence on their Coverage When comparing the levels at which the influence of the Catholic Church was exercised (Shoemaker and Reese, 1996), Malaya and Manila Bulletin had more differences than similarities. Interviewees at Manila Bulletin generally claimed the Catholic Church had a positive influence throughout all levels of their media organization, and throughout all three presidential elections (individual, media routine, organization, extra media and ideology). This is in contrast to Malaya. Interviewees at Malaya claimed the Catholic Church generally had no influence or a negative influence on all of the levels. As for 1998, the Church had no influence on Malaya ’s church beat reporter, Bernadette Carreon (personal communication, June 10, 1998). On the other 130 hand, Manila Bulletin ’s church beat reporter, Robert Requintina (personal communication May 27, 1998), said he had personal relationships with Cardinal Sin’s Secretary and members of the CBCP, which had a positive influence on him and his coverage. Carreon and Requintina’s divergent source-reporter relationship with the Catholic Church represent two out three of Gieber and Johnson’s (1961) relational models. Carreon is less absorbed into the roles and fimctions of the source than Requintina and is more apt to report independently. Cardinal Sin and the CBCP’s influence on the individual reporter level may be in varying degrees. A more elaborate evaluation of content, and values and roles of church-source and reporter will be able to substantiate Shoemaker and Reese’s (1996) claim that the individual journalist level is influential in a Philippine press context. Cardinal Sin and the CBCP obtained positive coverage in Malaya and Manila Bulletin through their influence at the organization and extra media levels in 1986. This changed for Malaya during the 1992 and 1998 study periods because Amado Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998) was against coverage of the Catholic Church’s involvement in political affairs. Interviews of staff indicated that Cardinal Sin and the CBCP had a positive influence on both newspapers (at the ideological level) because the Catholic Church, in general, promotes a Christian system of “meanings, values and beliefs” (Williams, 1977, as cited in Shoemaker and Reese, 1996, p. 222). 131 III. Coverage of the Catholic Church during Three Presidential Elections Similarities and Differences in Coverage by Malpza and Manila Bulletin during Three Election Periods I expected the tone of coverage of the Catholic Church in both newspapers to be quantitatively different throughout the three presidential election periods because of the owners’ policies toward the Catholic Church. I expected Malaya in 1986 to have a high percentage of favorable coverage because it claimed to be liberal, and shared in the Catholic Church’s goal of overthrowing Marcos’ dictatorial regime. In 1987, Jose Burgos (personal communication, July 15, 1998) sold Malaya to Amado Macasaet (personal communication, July 10, 1998), one of the newspaper’s business reporters, who opposed the Catholic Church’s involvement in political campaigns. I then expected coverage of the Catholic Church to be unfavorable in Malaya during the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. I expected the opposite from Manila Bulletin in 1986. I expected unfavorable coverage of the Catholic Church because Manila Bulletin was conservative, and was owned by Emilio Yap, a Marcos sympathizer (Coronel, 1999; B. Rodriguez, personal communication, May 27 , 1998). I expected that Manila Bulletin in 1992 and 1998 would have a more favorable tone of coverage of the Catholic Church because Yap’s perceptions of the Church changed. My content analysis however, indicated only slight quantitative differences between the two newspapers throughout the three presidential election periods. In particular, the tone of favorable coverage of the Catholic Church was similar. A notable pattern emerged, which may explain the quantitative similarity in coverage at least for the 1992 and 1998 presidential elections: The percentage of neutral stories increased from 132 1986 to 1998, ending with almost total neutral coverage at both newspapers. In Manila Bulletin ’s case, the percentage of neutral stories tripled from 1986 to 1998. This increase in neutral coverage confirmed the “Don’t Rock the Boat” editorial policy at both newspapers in 1992 and 1998. According to management at both newspapers, the policy of neutrality extended to all sources except for political and economic opponents; newspapers in the Philippines are used to extend the owners’ interests or attack competitors (Coronel, 1999). The policy of neutrality at each newspaper probably superceded an organizational, ownership bias toward the Catholic Church. The policy of neutrality at each newspaper illustrates the owners’ strategy for economic survival. Favorable or unfavorable coverage of any source, including the Catholic Church may conflict with advertising or audience interest, impacting the bottom-line of the newspaper. As for the 1986 study period, my inability to interview reporters for Malaya rendered me incapable of drawing explanations for the low percentage of favorable coverage. Its coverage was similar to that of Manila Bulletin in 1986. Manila Bulletin had almost an equal percentage of favorable, unfavorable, and neutral coverage of the Catholic Church. This coverage can be explained by Yap’s editorial policy of support of whichever government is in power. In the middle of the 1986 presidential campaign, Yap probably viewed the Catholic Church as a political opponent, and then changed his perception when he realized the Catholic Church was integral to the restoration of democracy; therefore, the Church was integral to the economic survival of his business interests. Victoriano (1988) found that Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the EDSA Revolution in 1986 changed from both positive and negative in the beginning of the conflict to more positive toward the end. 133 A second pattern that emerged when examining coverage showed that the Catholic Church was more successful in obtaining coverage through pastoral letters than from press conferences. The pastoral letters, as Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998), Manila Bulletin ’s church reporter mentioned, were much easier to cover because it only required him to summarize material, whereas a press conference required him to gather the material. The simple rewriting of a pastoral letter sheds light on the existence of “press release journalism” that interviews confirmed was a media routine at Manila Bulletin (See p. 93). The simple reporting of facts may also explain the overwhelming existence of neutral coverage at the two newspapers. The thematic content analysis illuminated a similar pattern in both newspapers throughout the three presidential campaigns. The Church as “mobilizer” dominated in 1986 and the Church as “partisan/divisive” dominated in 1992 and 1998. This thematic change indicates a paradigm shift from positive to negative. These findings suggest that what constituted news about the Catholic Church in the latter two presidential periods focused on portraying the Church as a “divider” of the people toward a presidential candidate, rather than the more favorable view as a “uniter” as popularly portrayed in 1986. The finding of the thematic content analysis substantiates claims by Fr. James Reuter (personal communication, July 21, 1998), other clergy and newspaper managers, who characterized the press and church relationship as “adversarial” post-EDSA (Bacani, personal communication, June 5, 1998). This finding conflicts with the quantitative content analysis’ finding that showed the tone was generally neutral throughout the three presidential elections. The measurement of “favorable” and “unfavorable” tone was minimal when compared to the measurement of “neu ” tone. This may be explained 134 by the Operationalization of neutral as neither praising or criticizing the church, but a simple, straightforward reporting of information; the majority of articles fell short of directly praising or criticizing the church. IV. Conclusions This case study focused on a period characterized by the rise and fall of the political influence of the Catholic Church in the Philippines. Data were collected through quantitative and qualitative content analysis, interviews, observation and documentary research. The content analysis confirmed expectations based on the anecdotes produced through interviews, and a review of political, church and press history post World War 11. Some of the confirmed expectations included the dominance of Cardinal Sin as a source, the use of sermons, press releases and pastoral statements as primary story characteristics, and the depiction by newspaper managers that the Catholic Church post-EDSA had lessened its position as an effective powerbroker. Thematic content analysis of the 1986 presidential election in both Malaya and Manila Bulletin contrast with coverage in 1992 and 1998. As mentioned above, the Church was depicted as a “mobilizer” in 1986 while in 1992 and 1998 the Church was depicted as “partisan/divisive.” A content analysis of the Church’s involvement in political affairs prior to martial law is needed in order to establish whether the 1986 coverage of the Church was an aberration, primarily ignited by Cardinal Sin. A historical review of the press indicates that prior to martial law, in the late 19603 and early 19703, the Philippine press, according to Maslog (1994) was almost entirely privately owned, mainly Manila-centered, and flee from government controls According to Merrill (1992) the Philippine press “flourished and flaunted their freedom” (p. 223) These 135 characteristics are proper descriptors of the press post-EDSA, suggesting that Philippine press history has traveled full circle. Further research may locate distinct press-power relationships in relation to the existence of political peace and upheaval at particular time periods. The quantitative and qualitative content analysis provided just a minor piece of evidence. The interviews contributed most to the heart of this study, and without them, capturing the sociological process of newsmaking would not have been possible. Insights gained from interviews highlight the need for country specific analytical frameworks. One insight gained is Fr. James Renter’s (personal communication, July 21 , 1998) development of alternative media despite the risks of a prison term or even death (See p. 67-70). Another insight gained is Cardinal Sin’s friendship with Archbishop Cruz, which in part explains why he reportedly shied away from the media spotlight during the 1998 presidential elections (R. Requintina, personal communication, May 27, 1998). Cardinal Sin’s poor health and desire to avoid the public scrutiny he faced during the 1992 presidential elections are his other reasons (S. Villegas, June 9, 1998). The thematic and story source content analyses of 1998 coverage, however, indicates that Cardinal Sin obtained a significant amount of media coverage. The thematic analysis showed that Jaime Cardinal Sin went so far as to arrange the reading of a pastoral letter a day prior to the May 11, 1998 presidential election while he was attending a Synod in Rome. Malaya and Manila Bulletin coverage also indicated that Cardinal Sin was not shy about attacking Estrada’s candidacy throughout the campaign period (Garafil, 1998; R. Requintina, 1998b). Partisanship amidst the clergy, namely Cardinal Sin, had already proven a newsworthy event during the 1986 and 1992 presidential elections. 136 The use of universal theories across countries to interpret media structure, conduct, and performance without attention to national and sub-national specifics could be misleading. As a result, elements of a media system that are a product of political, cultural and economic characteristics and particular time periods unique to a specific country may be overlooked. This was the case in the Philippines. Shoemaker and Reese (1996), as an analytical tool, provided levels of influences and elements that identify locus and sources of influence. Although the Philippine news media system is the progeny of the U.S. system, it is markedly different when considering some of the cultural beliefs that translate to media routines such as “press release journalism” (See p. 93) or “envelopmental journalism” (See p. 23-25, 38-39). “Envelopmental journalism,” the practice of receiving gifts in exchange for coverage or positive news coverage, is the product of economics and culture, said Ben Rodriguez, (personal communication, May 27, l998) editor-in-chief of Manila Bulletin. Another cultural expression, specific to the Church-Press relationship is the intimate nature between Church sources and reporters. Robert Requintina (personal communication, May 27, 1998) said he had confessed his sins to Cardinal Sin’s Secretary Msgr. Villegas several times (p. 95-96). While no economic links between reporter and source exist, there is a spiritual one that may unduly bias his or her coverage in favor of the Church. Intimate relationships with sources are discouraged in the U.S. The theme that permeates journalism in the Philippines is a cultural factor that can be referred to as “utang na loob,” which essentially translates to the practice of owing a favor to someone who has done you a favor. Ben Rodriguez (personal communication, 137 May 27 , 1998), editor-in—chief of Manila Bulletin, explained the indebtedness created by this cultural exchange. It’s part of the tradition in this country. Now the danger of course is when you accept gifis, since we Filipinos have a very strong sense of “utang na loob” (owing favors). When he gave you a favor and then in time he asks something from you, it’s hard not to help. This obligatory exchange of favors was present in the church member and reporter relationship, and the church and editor or owner relationship, particularly at Manila Bulletin. For example, Emilio Yap, the owner of the newspaper, is a generous steward of the Catholic Church in Manila, and also accommodates press releases and pastoral statements. To reward his acts of generosity on both counts, Cardinal Sin recommended him as a Papal Awardee, according to Msgr. Soc Villegas (personal communication, June 9, 1998). In turn, Yap continued his generosity (S. Villegas, 1998). Scope and Limitations The content analysis design limited findings to particular study periods, which were three months prior to each of the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections. Perhaps a longer period would have enabled a better picture of the coverage of the Catholic Church in each of the election campaigns. My interview findings were limited because I was unable to locate key informants, especially reporters at both newspapers during the 1986 and 1992 elections. Another limitation was the memory of each source, discussing events that for some, occurred 15 years ago. 138 More Recommendations for Further Study In predominantly Roman Catholic countries, such as Nicaragua, Poland and the Philippines, a triangular power relationship exists between the church, state and media. The Catholic Church participated in stately affairs to varying degrees in such countries, from sponsoring voter education programs to holding public office. Most scholars however, have overlooked the relationship on one side of the triangle, the link between the church and media. As a result, little is known about how news is made by church and media interactions in developing countries, such as the Philippines. Exceptions in the Philippines are unpublished theses on the Catholic-owned Radio Veritas ’ role in rural development (Bernard, 1989; Montaner, 1976), and its role in the 1986 People Power Revolution (Casal et al., 1988). Research linking institutional bias and media coverage explored collaborative relationships between the owners of media organizations and elements of the state, such as government officials (Cordova, 1987; Victoriano, 1988), political candidates (Sy, 1991; Victoriano, 1988), and the armed forces (Corpuz, 1988). Recent media articles have focused on the role of the radio and the Catholic Church in influencing the Hutu-Tutsi massacres in Rwanda. However, this is the first time to my knowledge that a project concentrated on the interaction between media owners and leaders of the Catholic Church. Focusing on these interactions illuminated symbiotic relationships; some relationships were seemingly as entertaining as good fiction. This project has produced an interesting text that could be useful to different readers, such as those interested in history, religion and media. This work has threaded historical references with contemporary voices through interviews with bishops, priests and journalists, while readying it for analytical discussion. This work has breathed life 139 into interactions between two powerful institutions, the church and the media, but more scholarly research needs to be done. Interactions between the Catholic Church and the media impact political, social and economic strata on the local, national and international levels, providing several cases for examination. On the national level in the Philippines, for example, Jaime Cardinal Sin used media, primarily the Catholic-owned Radio Veritas, to call people to peacefully protest Marcos’ claim that he won the 1986 presidential election (Keesing’s, 1987; Zaide, 1999). This peaceful protest attracted two million Filipinos and lasted four days. This Catholic Church and media alliance is one example of the fulfillment of Vatican II’s mandate set forth in the 19605 that the church use social communications to become more relevant in the modern world (Bernard, 1989). The interactions between the Catholic Church and media managers illustrated a change in ideology, particularly in Malaya after Macasaet bought the newspaper in 1987. A content analysis of ideological change over a long period of time could draw more solid relationships to ownership and other local and national and international factors. On an organizational level, this study determined ownership policies were most influential. Broadsheets, like Malaya, are increasingly becoming more financially dependent on the earnings of the tabloids in their publication group (Tan and Stehling, 1998). This new management dynamic may exert a new editorial influence on the dependent broadsheet. The Catholic Church and media relationship is also present in other countries. For example, Opus Dei, a secret Catholic order, made up of priests and lay people, in the 1980s controlled dozens of radio, TV, news agencies and film companies in Spain, Chile and Italy. Pope John Paul II had replaced the Jesuits with Opus Dei as his “intellectual 140 and diplomatic arm” (Landis, 1987, p. 15). Opus Dei became quite powerful. Opus Dei members in Chile, who were former media executives, staged a coup in 1973 (Landis, 1987) Poland is another example of a country with interactions between the Catholic Church and media. In 1986, Catholics won the right to display crosses in public schools, which was against Communist policies at the time. A survey of 1,015 Poles in March, 1986 indicated 64 percent believed the Catholic Church had “significant” or “decisive” influence on politics, and 57 percent believed the Catholic Church had the same influence on television, radio and the press. Ironically, results showed 51 percent surveyed believed the Catholic Church should not have an influence in politics, and 37 percent believed it should not have an influence on media (Koza, 1992). 1 strongly recommend firrther studying church and media interactions in the Philippines and other countries with dominant religious institutions. Conflicts have risen for example, between religious in some Islamic majority states interested in adopting Shariah law (“Nigeria struggles,” 2000). The socio-cultural, and political influence of religion on media must be explored in the context of the influences of other political and economic forces. 141 APPENDIX 142 Interview Questionnaire A. OWNERS/REPORTERS/EDITORS date— Respondent Name e-mail address phone # M or F Position in ‘86 Position in ‘92 Position in ‘98 I. Individual Preferences —Professional roles & ethics - What do you believe is the role of journalists in society? 0 So, you believe that journalists should be which one of the following: —participant 1. “watchdog” of the government? 2. to work in collaboration w/ the government for socio-economic and political reform? 3. to serve primarily as an “informer”, a public information tool? 4. an entertainer? -—neutral 5. an interpreter, to “interpret” complex issues? or a mixture of the above? - Can you describe what your typical day on the job is like? 11. Media Routines Now, I’d like to ask you about covering stories on the Catholic Church... - How do you think the Church views the roles of journalists? - In general, what role does the Church play in the lives of journalists? 0 Do you believe, the Church influences what is covered in the news? - Do you believe the Church imposes ethical standards on journalists? - Which Church figures did your newspaper quote the most and why him or her? a When you covered the Church during the 1998 presidential elections, which of the following sources did you rely on: -routine channels (1) official proceedings (trials, legislative hearings, etc.) (2) press releases (3) press conferences (4) non-spontaneous events (speeches and ceremonies, etc.) -informal channels (1) background briefings (2) leaks from sources (3) non-governmental proceedings such as professional association <4 <<<< 22 2222 B eetin ..< 20.2 143 (4) reports from other news organizations (Reuters, AP), interviews w/ other reporters, and editorials Y N -enterprise (1) interviews conducted at reporters’ initiative (2) spontaneous events witnessed firsthand (3) independent research (4) reporters own conclusion or analysis (S & R, p. 128) other modes of information? <<<<< 22222 0 Do you feel pressured by the Church at all to cover certain stories? 0 Do you exercise self-censorship when covering stories on the Church? Is this different from exercising self-censorship on other stories? - What other unique challenges do you face when covering Church issues? - Does your newspaper have any specific policies on covering stories about the Church? III. Organizational Level Now, I have some questions on the organization of your newspaper? 0 Here’s an organizational chart of your newspaper...Do you agree w/ the way the chart is structured? Has the structure changed since 1986? - Has the newspaper’s staff increased or decreased since 1986? 0 In general, what are the personnel policies at your newspaper and have they changed since 1986? 0 How long has the current owner owned the newspaper? (If less than 12 years, ask who previously owned the newspaper)? ° Do people working in your newspaper’s advertising department influence the content of your newspaper? - Are editors at your newspaper more aligned to news reporters or business managers? IV. Extra-media Level Now, I have some questions on your audience, advertisers and government influences? 0 What are the economic goals of your newspaper and has this changed since 1986? - What are the pressures affecting the organization of newspapers today? —Is your newspaper experiencing cutbacks? —Do you know if other newspapers are experiencing similar pressures or cutbacks? —How are newspapers in general responding to these cutbacks? - Who is your audience? 0 Are you aware of any government laws or regulations that govern the content of newspapers? 0 Are there any special interest groups or organizations that influence your coverage or your newspaper’s coverage of the Church? V. Ideological Level - How are the values of Philippine society different than U.S. values? 144 - Ideally, whose interests do your newspaper function? -the disenfranchised Y N -the government Y N -the peOple in general Y N -the reporters Y N -the owners Y N - In practice however, whose interests are served? VI. Presidential Elections - Was your newspaper’s coverage of the Church during this year’s presidential elections positive or negative? —1992 positive or negative? —1986 positive or negative? - How much coverage did your newspaper give the Church during this year’s presidential elections? —l992 presidential elections? —1986 presidential elections? 0 What is the role of the press during presidential elections? 0 What is the role of the Church during presidential elections? 0 What was the relationship between your newspaper and the Church during this year’s elections? —- 1992 elections? — 1986 elections? - Did the Church & your newspaper support a particular candidate this year? 92? 86? - Were there any events that influenced the relationship between the Church and the press? VI. Background A. Characteristics, Personal Backgrounds, Experiences If you don’t mind, I have some questions on your background...again, as the consent form states, if you’d rather not answer a question, just let me know and we can skip over it. - What city were you born in? ° Can you tell me about your schooling—Where you went to elementary, high school college. —When did you graduate and what was your major in college? —Did you have any formal training in journalism? - How did you feel about the Church when you were growing up? - Would you say you were brought up in an upper, middle or low-income household? - After college, what kind of jobs did you hold and how did you get into journalism? Position in ’86? Position in ’92? Position in ’98? —So how long have you worked in the newspaper business? -—How long have you been at this paper? 145 B.——Personal attitudes, values and beliefs ° What was your political history during college? —Have your preferences changed? —How about your parents? Do they vote liberal or conservative? —What are their political preferences? 146 B. CHURCH date Respondent Name e-mail address phone # M or F Position in ‘86 Position in ‘92 Position in ‘98 I. Organization - How many people work here? ° How is your organization structured? - Are you the person responsible for press-media relations? —Who was the person responsible for press-media relations in 1992? —in 1986? - How do you decide what information to give to the news media? - How do you decide what information to give to what newspaper? —Is there a newspaper that you go to first with your information...second...third? - Do you use to get news to the news media? this 1992 1986 official reports press releases press conferences telephone interviews other ways? 9999‘!” - What problems do you have contacting and/or sending information to reporters or editors at newspapers? - What kind of success do you have getting your perspective represented in newspaper articles about the Church? - What is the role of journalists and the news media? - Do you have an ethical standards for journalists? - What kind of role does the Church play in the lives of journalists? —Do you think the journalists’ personal relationship to the Church play a significant role in how they report on stories in general? —How they report on stories on the Church? II. Presidential Elections - What was the position or perspective of the Church during this presidential campaign? -—-How about in the 1992 presidential campaign? —How about in the 1986 presidential campaign? - Did the Church back a particular candidate during these past elections? 147 —the 1992 elections? —the 1986 elections? - What was the relationship between the Church and the press during this year’s election campaign? — The 1992 election campaign? — 1998 election campaign? - Which members of the Church were quoted the most during this election campaign and why? Did they represent the Church? —The 1992 election campaign? Did they represent the Church —The 1986 election campaign? Did they represent the Church? - Did you use to get news to the newspapers during presidential campaign? this 1992’s 1986’s official reports press releases press conferences telephone interviews other ways? 9999‘.” - What is the position of the Malaya newspaper with respect to the role of the Church during this presidential campaign? —The 1992 election campaign? —The 1986 election campaign? 0 What is the position of the Manila Bulletin newspaper with respect to the role of the Church during this presidential campaign? -—The 1992 election campaign? ——The 1986 election campaign? 0 Was your organization successful in getting your events/info into the newspaper Malaya during this past election? —the 1992 presidential election? —the 1986 presidential election? - How about the Manila Bulletin during this past election campaign? ————the 1992 presidential election? —the 1986 presidential election? ° Was the Malaya ’s coverage of the Church during this past presidential election positive or negative? —1992 positive or negative? —1986 positive or negative? - Was the Manila Bulletin ’s coverage of the Church this past presidential election positive or negative? —1992 positive or negative? —1986 positive or negative? - How much coverage did the Malaya give the Church during this past presidential elections? 148 ——l992 presidential elections? —1986 presidential elections? - How much coverage did the Manila Bulletin give the Church during this past presidential election? —1992 presidential elections? —l986 presidential elections? - Do you have a contact person at either newspaper right now? —Do you remember if you had a contact person at either newspaper prior to the 1992 elections? ——the 1998 elections? - What events influenced the relationship between the Church and the press since 1986? - I’m going to be analyzing the content of the Malaya and the Manila Bulletin coverage during the past three election periods...What should I be looking for? 149 OFFICE OF RESEARCH AND GRADUATE STUDIES varsity Committee 0 Research Involving Human Sublect: (UCRIHS) tithigan State University Administration Building East Lansing, Michigan 48824-1046 517/355-2180 FAX: 517/432-1171 re ,Micnigan State University tEA IS Institutional Dive/Sity: Excellence in Action. HSU is an afiimzativevaction, equal-opportunity Institution MICHIGAN STATE UNIVERSITY April 15, 1998 TO: Bella Mody 409 CAS RE: IRB#: 98-205 TITLE: CHURCH'PRESS RELATIONS IN THE PHILIPPINES: THE CASE OF THE 1986,1992 AND 1998 ELECTIONS REVISION REQUESTED: N/A CATEGORY: 1-C,D,E APPROVAL DATE: 04/15/98 The University Committee on Research Involving Human Subjects'(UCRIHS) review of this project is complete.. I am pleased to adVise that the rights and welfare of the human subjects appear to be adequately rotected and methods to obtain informed consent are appropriate. gherefore, the UCRIHS approved this progect and any reVisions listed above. RENEWAL: UCRIHS approval is valid for one calendar year, beginning with the approval date shown above. Investigators planning to continue a progect beyond ene year must use the green renewal form (enclosed with t e original agproval letter or when a progect is renewed) to seek u date certification. There is a maximum of four.such expedite renewals ossible. Investigators wishing to continue a progect beyond tha time need to submit it again or complete reView. REVISIONS: UCRIHS must review any changes in procedures involving human subjeets, rior to initiation of t e change. If this is done at the time o renewal, please use the green renewal form. To reVise an approved protocol at any 0 her time during the year, send your written request to the CRIHS Chair, requesting reVised approval and referenCing the project's IRB # and title. Include in our request a description of the change and any revised ins ruments, consent forms or advertisements that are applicable. PROBLEMS / CHANGES: Should.either of the following arise during the course of the work, investigators must noti y UCRIHS promptly: (1) roblems (unexpected Side effects, comp aints, e c ) involving uman subjects or I2).changes in the research environment or new information indicating greater risk to the human sub'ects than eXisted when the protocol was previously reviewed an approved. If we can be of any future help, lease do not hesitate to contact us at (517)355-2180 or FAX (517)4 2- 171. vid 3. Wright, Ph.D. CRIHS Chair DEW:bed Sincerely, cc: Geraldine M. Alumit 150 Interview Consent Form 1, Geri M. Alumit, request your participation in the exploratory phase of my dissertation research. My research addresses the following question: “What were the changes in the relationship between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila and the Philippine media, specifically the press, from the 1986 to the 1998 presidential elections? The data for this dissertation will be gathered through the methods of content analysis, interviews, and observation. Your participation is voluntary. You may choose not to participate. This interview will be recorded on tape. If at any time, you feel uncomfortable, you may ask me to turn it off. At any time, you may also refuse to answer any questions. All the results will be treated with strict confidence. Please sign where appropriate: I agree to the above statement and I grant the researcher permission to use my name in her dissertation. signature date I agree to the above statement and I forbid the researcher to use my name in her dissertation. signature date 151 Observation Consent Form 1, Geri M. Alumit, request your participation in the exploratory phase of my dissertation research. My research addresses the following question: “What were the changes in the relationship between the Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Manila and the Philippine media, specifically the press, from the 1986 to 1998 presidential elections? The data for this dissertation will be gathered through the methods of content analysis, interviews, and observation. I would like your permission to observe you carrying out your duties and responsibilities at your workplace. Your participation is voluntary. You may choose not to participate. If at any time you feel uncomfortable, you may ask me to stop observing. All the results will be treated with strict confidence. Please sign where appropriate: I agree to the above statement and I grant the researcher permission to use my name in her dissertation. signature date I agree to the above statement and I forbid the researcher to use my name in her dissertation. signature date Thank you very much! 152 Church—Press relations in the Philippines: The case of the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections Coding Sheet Note: This coding sheet and protocol was adapted from previous studies: “The Detroit Newspapers’ coverage of the Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit before and during the Newspaper Strike (1999),” Fico and Soffin’s, later Fico and Cote’s coding protocol to measure “fairness and balance,” and Morompi Ole-Ronkei’s “story article categories.” vl. Story ID Number v2. Story Date (m-d-yr.) v3. Newspaper ID 1 = Malaya 2 = Manila Bulletin v4. Reporter Name Code the name or names of the person(s) who wrote the story and the wire service if applicable (e.g. AF P: Agence-France Press, PNA: Philippine News Agency, AP: Associated Press; PNF: Philippine News & Features). Code “0,” if no author or wire service is provided or if the author is cited at the end. v5. Story Prominence Score a story’s prominence as follows: a. A story on Page One of the Front section = 2 b. A story on an inside section fi-ont page = 1 (note: Code “1” if the story does not have a letter before the page number. Otherwise, code the story “0”. c. A story on other sections = 0 v6. Accompanied by photo/map/chart/graph. l = photo 2 = map/chart/ graph 3 = no photo/map 4 = photo(s) and/or map/chart/graph v7. Fairness or sourcing effort 1 = one side 2 = both sides 153 v. 8 Code the “source(s)” identified in v 9. Circle and name all the sources. 1 = Jaime Cardinal Sin or Archdiocese of Manila spokesperson(s) 2 = CBCP president or spokesperson(s) 3 = CLERGY: Pope, archbishops, bishops, monsignors, priests, brothers, nuns speaking on behalf of themselves, 391 the CBCP 4 = Mike Velarde of El Shaddai or spokesperson(s) 5 = Catholic laypersons not named above or not speaking on behalf of the Archdiocese of Manila or the CBCP 6 = Ferdinand Marcos or spokesperson(s) 7 = Corazon “Cory” Aquino or spokesperson(s) 8= Salvador Laurel or spokesperson(s) 9 = Fidel “FVR” Ramos or spokesperson(s) 10 = Joseph “Erap” Estrada or spokesperson(s) 11 = None of the above, please list v9. Length or Word Count of news item v10. For each news item determine the tone toward the Archdiocese/CBCP/Catholic Church 1 = favorable 2 = unfavorable 3 = neutral v11 Primary Story Characteristics 1 = sermon or homily 2 = Non-Religious Function 3 = Press Conference 4 = Pastoral Letter/press statement 5 = Non-clergy source 6 = Charismatic group 7 = International/Outside the Philippines news story 154 Church—Press relations in the Philippines: The case of the 1986, 1992 and 1998 presidential elections Coding Protocol v1. Story ID number The story ID number is located on the upper right corner of the news item’s first page. v2. Date (month-day-year) v3. Newspaper ID v4. Reporter Name v5. Story Prominence v6. Code if story is accompanied by photo/map/chart/graph. v7. Fairness or Sourcing Effort Fairness is the presence of two m sides. First, read the definitions and specifications for source specifications, attribution, and assertions provided below. Then, use a pencil to circle all the sources—persons, organizations and documents—who make attributed assertions on behalf of, about, in response to, toward or against the CBCP, the Archdiocese of Manila or the Catholic Church in general. Examples of these sources may be the Pope, Jaime Cardinal Sin, Monsignor Ding Coronel or Archbishop Cruz, other persons representing the Archdiocese like nuns, priests, reverends, deacons, laypersons, such as leaders of church organizations or agencies; Ferdinand Marcos, Corazon Aquino, government officials, any citizen of the Philippines... Then, on the coding sheet code “1” for “only one side” if an opposing side is NOT represented. Code “2” if an opposing side IS represented. I. Source specifications: 1. A person must be named to be circled. However: a. Anonymous Sources are circled provided anonymity is explicitly granted in the story. b. Unnamed Spokespersons are circled if speaking on behalf of a named source or organization. c. Labeled Sources such as “critics,” “opponents,” “proponents” etc. are circled ONLY IF identified somewhere in the story. 2. An organization is circled if an assertion is made in its name. However: a. An organization and a member speaking for it are circled as one source; any additional cited persons from that group are circled separately as sources. 3. Documents such as statements, reports, letters, memos, polls, etc. produced by Pro, Con or Neutral (e. g. polls conducted by the newspapers and TV stations) sides will be circled if cited as such by a reporter. However: 155 a. A document released by a cited person or organization is not circled; only the person or organization is. b. People quoted or paraphrased in a document source are not circled separately, only the document is. c. Legal or legislative documents such as lawsuits, bills, proposals, laws, ordinances, amendments etc. are not circled even if generated by pro or con sides. I I. Assertions: l. A source makes an assertion, which is the information that sources provide to reporters about their thoughts, feelings or self-described actions on the story topic. 2. Unattributed assertions are considered the reporter’s and are not to be circled. 3. The range of assertions on topics relevant to the CBCP or Archdiocese of Manila is determined by reading all stories on the issue. 111. Attribution: 1. Sources are explicitly identified as such when news reporters quote or paraphrase information from them in stories. The means by which reporters publicly credit a source for story information is called attribution. 2. Attribution occurs when a source is linked to assertions by verbs denoting: a. Speaking, such as “said,” “argued,” “acknowledged,” according to” etc.; and/or b. State of mind, such as “thinks,” “feels,” “hopes,” “believes,” etc. c. If verbs can connote both speaking and action (e.g., “Jones protested the tax”), context must determine if a source is making attributed assertions or if a reporter is independently describing actions. v8. Code the “source(s)” identified in v 7. v9. Length or Word Count of news item note: Count all the paragraphs including the words in parentheses. Count the following as o_ne_ word: a hyphenated word (e.g. anti-Sin), hyphenated numbers (e.g. 2-11), a hyphenated number and word (30- second), numbers (e.g. 24,000), a middle initial, a dollar amount (e.g. $115), an abbreviated word (e.g. Mo., Sept, Gov.) and words with slashes in between them (e.g. Malaya/ABS-CBN) v10. For each news item determine the tone toward the Archdiocese Refer to the story’s headline for assistance. The headline is either favorable, unfavorable or neutral toward the church’s involvement in elections. If the headline is favorable then the article will most likely be “favorable.” If the headline is unfavorable then the article will most likely be “unfavorable.” If the headline is both favorable and unfavorable then the article likely contains both sides of the issue and then code “neutr .” In most cases, the headline will probably be “neutral” because it does not show favor or disfavor toward the Catholic Church; The headline merely conveys information. Keep in mind that the headline’s tone may not match the articles tone so here are some flirther guidelines: 156 1 = Favorable: A news item that supports, praises or congratulates the CBCP or the Archdiocese of Manila for an event or an achievement are coded “favorable” toward the Archdiocese. News items that also exonerate the CBCP or the Archdiocese for wrongdoing are also coded “favorable.” A news item is also coded “favorable” if the article contains much more positive than negative portrayals of the Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. (Count the number of words used to represent the favorable and unfavorable perspectives if necessary to determine this variable). News items in this category will feature for example a candidate supporting or praising Cardinal Sin for his pastoral letters on elections. 2 = Unfavorable: A news item is “unfavorable” if it criticizes or mocks the CBCP or the Archdiocese of Manila, or if it accuses the CBCP or the Archdiocese of wrongdoing. A news item is also coded “imfavorable” if the article contains much more negative than positive portrayals of the CBCP or the Catholic Archdiocese of Manila. (Count the number of words used to represent the favorable and unfavorable perspectives if necessary to determine this variable). An example of this type of news item is one discussing how Cardinal Sin is no longer a leader when it comes to persuading voters how to vote. 3 = Neutral: A news item is “neu ” if it neither praises nor criticizes the Archdiocese of Manila; The news item is “neutral if it simply relays information on the Archdiocese. A news item is also coded “neutral” if the article has an even balance between “favorable” and “unfavorable” perspectives of the Archdiocese. v11. Primary Story Characteristics note: Pick only one of the following, the characteristic that best fits the story. Please read through the whole list carefully before coding. - Press Initiated Stories “Press initiated” are events that editors and reporters at the newspaper more than likely make the decision to cover. note: If the story occurs outside the Philippines code it as “7” = “International Religious events.” 1 = Sunday Sermons: stories about sermons or homilies, delivered by clergy in the Philippines that touch upon election issues. Cardinals, bishops, monsignors and priests give sermons during Saturday or Sunday services. 2 = Non-Religious Functions: stories about cardinals, bishops, monsignors, priests or nuns performing non-religious fimctions, or stories that feature clergy commenting on an election issue. Examples of stories in this category are clergy attending rallies for presidential candidates or Cardinal Sin commenting on Marcos’ criticism of Corazon Aquino. note: if the story comes from a press conference, pastoral letter or press statement, please code from the following section. 0 Clergy Initiated Stories As aforementioned, the following two categories more likely than not are initiated by the clergy. The clergy takes great pains to make the news when they hold a press conference or get together to write a lengthy pastoral letter or essay on the church’s involvement in elections. 157 3 = Press Conferences: stories about press conferences held or called by members of the Roman Catholic church to talk about election issues. 4 = Pastoral Letters/press statement: stories that are about pastoral letters written and signed by Catholic cardinals, archbishops, bishops, monsignors or priests. Stories in this category also include press statements issued by the Catholic hierarchy. Press statements issued by the CBCP during the 1998 election that gave a comment about an election issue is one example of stories in this category. ° Church and Politics Stories This is an attempt to cover all the stories regarding the church’s participation in the election. This category consists of stories that are about sources who comment about the church’s participation in presidential elections and about people in the Roman Catholic church outside the Catholic hierarchy. 5 = Non-Clergy Sources: these stories are about people outside the Roman Catholic Church commenting on the political actions of the church in regards to presidential elections. An example of a story in this category would be a presidential candidate criticizing the CBCP for their political involvement in the elections. 6 =Charismatic groups: these stories will be about Catholic charismatic groups and their participation in a presidential election. One example of a story in this category talks about how Erap Estrada, one of the presidential candidates of the 1998 campaigns chose Mike Velarde, the leader of the charismatic Catholic group called El Shaddai, as his spiritual leader or consultant. 0 Press Selected stories 7 = International Religious events: these stories cover stories that are written outside of the Philippines. These stories could be about clergy or non-clergy associated with the Catholic Church in the Philippines participating in events outside the Philippines that relate to the presidential elections or these stories could be about the Pope, who is in Rome, commenting on Catholic clergy’s participation during the presidential campaigns. 158 REFERENCES 159 REFERENCES AFP. (1985, December 15). Sin admits role in Cory-Doy pact. Malaya, pp. 1, 3. AFP. (1986, February 17). Vatican backs bishops’ stand. Manila Bulletin pp. 1, 12. Agpalo, R. E. (1992). Adventures in political science. 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