“Killing” the Vice Governor

By Eva C. Visperas

One radio reporter committed a grave mistake last Tuesday of reporting an item without verifying first his facts. He immediately announced that Vice Governor Oscar Lambino was comatose.

Fortunately, his fellow announcer, who evidently knew her rules in journalism better quickly asked around. She sent me a text message, asking me how the vice governor was as there was a report that he was in coma.

My texter, quoting the news reporter who started it all, said a staff nurse of the hospital where the vice governor was supposedly brought to, confirmed the news to him. The patient’s name, according to the nurse, was “Oscar Lambino” from Malasiqui.

I called the vice governor’s residence in Malasiqui. The maid answered the call. I asked if I could talk to the Vice Gov but I was told he was still inside his room. So I asked if I could talk instead to Ma’am Celia, the wife but she, too, was also still in the room. Failing to talk to either one, I then asked the maid if the Vice Gov was okay, and it he was not sick at all. I was assured he was not.

Next, I dialed Vice Gov’s chief of staff. “Why atchi?” he asked. So I told him the reason for my call. He laughed. Of course, he is okay, he also assured me.

But since I had to be completely accurate with my facts before relaying the news, I tried calling Vice Gov’s mobile number. Oh my, he answered it, with the usual jolly greetings.

“Is that really you sir?,” I asked him then I started narrating the reporter’s false news about him. We laughed about it. We talked lengthily and exchanged notes at how some mediamen do their work.

“Well, that means you’ll have a longer life,” I commented.

If only the reporter’s boss was listening intently to his announcer’s news, perhaps this would not have happened. It was the concerned and more reliable female reporter who made the correction after I assured her that the report was completely wrong. (She explained that she, too, called Vice Gov’s cellular phone but it just kept ringing. But if, indeed, he was in a coma, then somebody would have answered it, I said).

After a couple of days, I experienced the same thing. A high school friend who is now US-based called me to verify a news reported by another classmate that something bad had happened to me.

“I was restless for six hours. I didn’t know where to get in touch with you. I was worried, good thing I saw your old number,” the classmate said. We laughed too. It gave us the chance to talk about our lives after we graduated in 1983.

Lesson of the story: Check your facts well before reporting them. That’s very basic in life, especially in media.

(For past columns, click http://sundaypunch.prepys.com/archives/category/opinion/business-log/)

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