[NewsPoster]

Nikki airs side on cockfight story

MY longtime friend, former Sen. Nikki Coseteng, whom I have not seen in ages, recently wrote this paper to give her side on a story which wrongly portrayed her as "betting heavily in a cockfight held last Sept. 18 at the Caceres Sports Arena with her own kristos or casadores," bet takers who place, pay and/or collect bets for her.

"I am not and have never been a gambler or a big-time bettor of any sort," said Nikki, whose friendship I have valued since 1985 when she accompanied her son Julian Coseteng, then the Philippine Soap Box Derby junior champion, to Akron, Ohio, where I was the All-American Soap Box Derby director for the Philippines.

In her letter, Coseteng stressed: "I did not have my own kristos or casadores. Your correspondent (Juan Escandor Jr. of the PDI Southern Luzon Bureau) did not even bother to check who were doing the betting and immediately concluded I was. He did not even bother to find out whose money was on the (ringside) table and immediately concluded it was mine. It was not.

"I was there because I was invited to grace the derby during the Peñafrancia Festival."

Moreover, Coseteng pointed out that Gov. Al Bichara of Albay, who was mentioned to be present, was not there. (The PDI corrected this error in next day's issue-MRI).

I pity Nikki Coseteng for being a victim of a reckless report.

Newspaper reports should not only be accurate, they should also be fair. Editors and reporters must remember that a reckless, irresponsible or unfounded story could destroy an innocent person's reputation or career. Responsible reporters writing about controversial issues should exercise great care writing their stories because these might harm the good name of a person or organization.

As renowned American journalist Joseph Pulitzer said, "Newsmen should always remember three words, and these words are: "accuracy, accuracy, accuracy."

Philippine Daily Inquirer
October 1, 2003

Those reporters should be fired!!!

[lemon_84fan]

unfortunately there are a lot of irresposible reporters / journalists who senationalizes things just to make a name for themselves, sana sila na lang yung mga nababaril at napapatay para di bumaba ang integrity ng mga journalists