Shannen Kyle M. Santos Summative No.

12H October 1, 2019

Topic and Stand Those who attempt to silence journalists, most especially political
leaders and violent figures who hear their powerful messages, also
attempt to attack their human rights.
1st Counter As mentioned by the President of the United States, Donald J. Trump,
Argument along with the President of the Philippines, journalists continue to take
on stories regarding politicians only to attack them with “disgusting,
fake” (stated by Trump) news.
1st Defense Journalists are to be the watchdogs of the government, and it is within
their rights to fulfil this duty. However, for the latter part of the
argument above, the penance for publishing fake news does not
include receiving a bomb in your own workplace, one example of this
tragic situation includes the story of Poppy Harlow, a cable-news
anchor, as she was delivering her report in New York, a voice in her
headset warned her to abandon her desk and evacuate the building
as soon as possible. Before she had gotten out, a mail-room
employee had opened a package only to find that it was a pipe bomb,
which killed most of the journalists in the building, according to
Saunders (2019).
2nd Counter In most cases of the killings of journalists, there is no evidence found
Argument by the police which could be linked to any political figure. Some
examples are the murders of Eduardo Dizon, John Michael Decano,
Joey Llana, Manuel Lacsamana, Edmund Sestoso, and many more.
 2nd Defense In the Philippines, over 100 cases of attacks against journalists have
been discovered since Rodrigo Duterte went into office and began a
case as an attempt to instil fear in journalists and alter press freedom,
according to Petersen (2019) and Talabong (2019). There is an
undeniable connection. As for cases in United States, however, in
Trump’s first year of office, he decided to go after journalists,
threatening to sue them as well as to shut them down, as mentioned
by The New York Times (2019), in addition, “But in attacking American
media, President Trump has done more than undermine his own
citizens’ faith in the news organizations attempting to hold him
accountable. He has effectively given foreign leaders permission to do
the same with their countries’ journalists, and even given them the
vocabulary with which to do it.”. Since the attack on journalists by
governments had begun, more and more journalists in these certain
countries die. There is a connection that we have to take a closer look
at.
3rd Counter Journalists have a tendency to reveal their sources, which leads to
Argument these innocent sources getting killed or punished. These are the faults
of the journalists and they should take the fall, instead of these
sources.
3rd Defense These journalists are not to blame for powerful people coming after
their sources, especially since it never was one of the intentions of a
journalist when dropping their sources. However, it could be one of
the issues in journalism which could still be improved, yet, this still has
nothing to do with the issue.

Reference List

1. Cjr. (n.d.). The presidents phantom threats. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://
www.cjr.org/special_report/president-threats-press.php.
2. Geddie, J. (2019, March 30). The Philippine journalists taking the rap in Duterte's latest
war. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.reuters.com/article/us-philippines-media-
insight/the-philippine-journalists-taking-the-rap-in-dutertes-latest-war-idUSKCN1R92VK.
3. Radio anchor Eduardo Dizon shot and killed in the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2,
2019, from https://cpj.org/2019/07/radio-anchor-eduardo-dizon-shot-and-killed-in-the-.php.
4. Explore CPJ's database of attacks on the press. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2019, from
h t t p s : / / c p j . o r g / d a t a / k i l l e d / 2 0 1 9 / ?
status=Killed&motiveConfirmed[]=Confirmed&type[]=Journalist&start_year=2019&end_yea
r=2019&group_by=location.
5. Radio broadcaster killed under suspicious circumstances in the Philippines. (n.d.).
Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://cpj.org/2019/01/radio-broadcaster-killed-under-
suspicious-circumst.php.
6. Radio reporter killed in the Philippines. (n.d.). Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://
cpj.org/2018/05/radio-reporter-killed-in-the-philippines.php.
7. Talabong, R. (n.d.). Over 100 attacks vs journalists since Duterte assumed office –
monitor. Retrieved October 2, 2019, from https://www.rappler.com/nation/229611-
over-100-attacks-vs-journalists-duterte-assumed-office.