MANILA — Given that the delivery of message is not a singular event, public information officers have been urged to engage stakeholders, particularly the media, to effectively cascade “real” and “truthful” information that would eventually be consumed by the masses.
With the prominence of false information circulating in social media, PhilStar columnist Luisito Beltran said Tuesday it is high time the government’s communicators equip themselves with attitudes that would up their role as bringer of truth.
“It’s about time we grow up as a nation because you are the most powerful people in your area and you have been gifted to be communicators, so communicate the truth,” he told some 1,800 information officers in Davao for the National Information Convention.
In the previous administrations, the journalist said the usual complaint is on the media not reporting government programs and the benefits they would bring or have brought to the Filipino people.
But for him, a major player on this issue is the public information officer whose duty is to inform the press, provide communication materials, and supply them with complete data.
“It is their job to bring knowledge and information so that the media can report,” he said in his presentation.
Often, words the press hear from public offices are lack of authority to divulge even the most general information. For Beltran, such action does not do anyone any good.
Similar sentiments were aired by Elena Pernia, dean of the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication. To avoid miscommunication that risks printed information that are misconstrued or often false, she said engagement is the key.
“What we advise sources is to have continuing conversation with reporters and editors,” she said in the same event.
“The delivery of message is not a singular event. It is a continuing process. If the media gets it wrong, it’s a great opportunity to continue the conversation,” she added.
Beltran, at the start of his presentation, also reminded public officials and employees to stand tall when relaying facts.
“The president of the republic is straight forward, (he) speaks the truth, walang apologies ‘ayun na yun (no apologies, that’s that),” he said, advising public communicators to “stop apologizing for the president and stop justifying the program”. (Joyce Ann L. Rocamora/PNA)
