text: Being impartial means not being prejudiced towards or against any particular side. All journalists have their own views, and yet, to deliver comprehensive and authoritative coverage of news and current affairs, they must rise above their own personal perspectives. Only by reflecting the diversity of opinion fairly and accurately can we hope to offer a true picture of what is really happening.
  News is about delivering facts that have been tested, sourced, attributed and proven. Impartiality is essential for robust news coverage. It's not about being soft and bland. It's about stripping out the personal, and allowing the audience the dignity of drawing their own conclusions free from any thought pollution injected by the journalist. It means we must strive to:
  When we invite people such as academics, industry experts and social support workers to comment on issues, we need to take into account that they may have their own agendas for cooperating with us. They will probably not be offering an impartial perspective. They are the voices who can help us include multiple perspectives.
  The choice of who we invite to contribute to our journalism is important. Here we must be fair. Ideally, we should try to find time to include all perspectives, but that may not be realistic.
  We will need to choose who we talk to. And it may not be possible to offer equal time for all views. Again, we need to make choices. But with all these challenges we need to be true to ourselves, our colleagues, our editor and, most importantly, our audience in order to demonstrate that we have been fair and that we have not ignored any significant voices.
  We might know someone involved in the story. It could be a friend or a relative. We might have covered a similar story before, and there might be some historical issues that we are aware of that could compromise our ability to report accurately and fairly. In all cases we need to share these with our senior editorial team.
  Sometimes we may not be able to see the possible conflict of interests or areas that could lead to accusations that we have not been open and impartial. It's always best to talk these things through with senior colleagues. Keeping quiet is not an option and certainly never the solution.
  Editorial discussions with colleagues will help formulate this policy case by case. A journalist should not struggle alone.
  Controversial subjects might cover politics, religion, sexual practices, human relationships and financial dealings. In all cases, we must ensure that a wide range of views and perspectives are aired.
  We also need to ensure that opinion is clearly distinguished from fact. We might also need to ensure that some views are reflected in our output, even if we find some repulsive. We have a duty to inform the public debate regardless of our own personal points of view and preferences.
  When our own media organisation becomes the story, perhaps bad financial news, a sacking, a drugs scandal, poor ratings, etc, we need to ensure that we are prepared to report on news affecting us as we would on news affecting others.
  It might be that a story is so one-sided that to try to offer so-called ‘balance’ makes a mockery of the report. In such cases, we should aim to offer other perspectives later in the programme or in a later bulletin. We can ensure we offer all sides in our online coverage.
  Personal views offering one side of a story can often add fresh public understanding of an issue and encourage debate. These can include the views of victims and those who feel that they, or others, have been wronged. Such personal views can be highly partial. In such cases, it is important we make it clear to the audience that the views being expressed offer one side only.
  It is our responsibility to find alternative points of view within the same programme strand or within the next bulletin. In all cases we must:
  With online debates we need to protect the audience from being led to believe that the views being discussed are endorsed by our media organisation. To do so we must:
  Image at the top of this piece courtesy of Kenneth Allen and released under Creative Commons. The image on the impartiality question is by US Pacific Command released under Creative Commons
  Award-winning broadcast journalist Ces Orena-Drilon is ready to open a new chapter in her career in media with her appointment as content acquisition head of the ABS-CBN lifestyle ecosystem Group as she bid goodbye to “Bandila" viewers Thursday (Dec 21).
  Known for her courageous reporting as a reporter of ABS-CBN and her insightful interviews and inspired storytelling as one of the network’s most trusted news anchors, Ces now oversees all lifestyle-related content sourcing, acquisition, and development as ABS-CBN pushes further into the digital space and further into creating more local programming.
  In her new assignment, Ces is in the forefront of building the lifestyle content of ABS-CBN as the country’s leading media and entertainment company transitions into an agile digital company.
  Never to shy away from a challenge, the social media-savvy anchor is excited to put into use more than three decades of experience in news media to lead the Kapamilya media and entertainment company in finding and producing lifestyle stories for different audiences.
  “It is invigorating to be in the middle of the changes happening in the entire media industry. The way people consume content nowadays is digital. Feedback is so instantaneous and measurement is very clear. As the content head of the lifestyle ecosystem, I get to play a role in addressing the needs of different lifestyle markets, taking in consideration the continuous evolution of technology and communication,” explained Ces.
  With her new role in ABS-CBN, Ces is stepping down as one of the anchors of the late night newscast “Bandila,” which began in 2006 with her as one of its original anchors.
  ABS-CBN head of integrated news Ging Reyes, meanwhile, stated her full support for Ces in her new endeavor. ABS-CBN’s news chief has been instrumental in this shift in her career after appointing her as News Lifestyle Ecosystem head last year.
  “I am very happy that she is evolving. Her journalistic skills and her mastery of storytelling that she developed through the years working in the field and as an anchor will surely come in handy as she leads in building up the lifestyle content of ABS-CBN in line with the company’s digital thrust,” she shared.
  Ging also thanked the multi-awarded journalist for her contributions to ABS-CBN News since she began as a business reporter for “The World Tonight” to becoming part of various INCA programs including “Pipol,” “The Correspondents,” “I Survived,” “Krusada,” and “Bandila” on ABS-CBN and “Business Nightly,” “Pointblank,” “Get Real,” and “The Rundown” on ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel.
  “No one can question the passion and excellence Ces has shown throughout her career here in ABS-CBN. She never backed down from any assignment. She did not quit even after being kidnapped while pursuing a story. She will be missed in the field but she will continue to play a big role beyond news in her new capacity,” she said.
  Ces was awarded by the KBP with the “Ka Doroy Broadcaster of the Year” in 2010. In 2017, she was among People Asia’s “People of the Year,” where she was recognized for setting “high standards, provided industry benchmarks or pushed the envelope in innovative ideas and programs.”
  On the same day the House Committee on Justice voted 38-2, saying there was a probable cause for her impeachment, Chief Justice Maria Lourdes Sereno made the rounds on two major evening news broadcasts.
  Appearing just after the airing of the 6 o'clock edition of News Night, CNN Philippines anchor Pinky Webb went live and asked the top magistrate about the outcome of Thursday's hearing.
  "At last they made the decision because what I think is that they have dragged this case long enough and I always have made the call that if they have any basis to find probable cause that they should send it to the Senate," she said.
  Sereno said the hearings "have proven nothing," and stressed that they were denied the chance to "confront, clarify, question, cross-examine any of the resource persons" presented during the impeachment proceedings, which totaled to no less than fifteen.
  "I think people know that first, I did submit a verified answer and it was a pretty exhaustive, verified answer to all the allegations. The primary consideration for us was how we will be able to participate in the hearings. Early on we said that I have so much work at the court, I cannot be there every day. Of course I have the right to be represented by counsel, and it was denied me," she said.