Why the Philippine Press Is Too Careful in Handling Brian Gorrell Case

Without a doubt, the story of Brian Gorrell, the Australian whose blog is taking the Internet by storm (at least in the Philippines), is becoming a test case on libel and defamation in the age of new media. Although Gorrell insists that what he writes in his blog is only the truth, many agree that its content is libelous and defamatory.

Not surprisingly, the mainstream press, including PinoyPress, handled Gorrell’s story gingerly, to put it mildly. A major consideration is the fact that Gorrell has not filed any case in court. If he did — and he promised to PinoyPress that he would — it would have made his case public and, as such, would have given the mainstream press the reason (or justification?) not just to write about it but also to identify those involved. That most of them did not points to the delicate nature of Gorrell’s case.

Then again, should the filing of an actual case transform Gorrell’s story from mere gossip into a legitimate news story?

Here again the press is accused of being selective in its application of journalistic ethics and the legal principles surrounding libel and defamation. Is the mainstream press, the allegation goes, too careful (or too afraid?) in Gorrell’s case because those whom he accused of various sins and malfeasance are powerful and famous people – people who have the means to haul journalists off to court? On the other hand, what can the public make of the fact that the press has no qualms identifying and exposing people, often poor and powerless, accused – as opposed to guilty — of theft or rape?

Can the members of so-called high-society that have been boldfaced in Gorrell’s blog invoke privacy, even if, by definition, a socialite necessarily lives a very public life? You see them in the society pages, flaunting their wealth, influence and, often, decadence and insinuating themselves into the public consciousness – doesn’t that make them public figures and, as such, fair game to the press and the new media? Gorrell himself has asked this question several times.

To help our readers understand the other issues related to Gorrell’s blog, PinoyPress sent out three questions to seven journalists and media experts. Only two of them responded.

JV Rufino is the editor-in-chief of Inquirer.net, the online news site owned by the same folks that own the Philippine Daily Inquirer. The website and the paper were the first to run stories on Gorrell. (They have so far written the most number of stories on the Australian. On Monday, the story finally landed on the paper’s front page.)

Danilo Arao is a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines. He is considered one of the pioneering online journalists in the country and has written for various publications. He writes a weekly column for Pinoy Weekly and helps put out the Philippine Journalism Review.