Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
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The Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) is a private, not-for-profit organization based in Manila, Philippines. It seeks to strengthen press freedom while promoting professionalism and ethics among media practitioners.
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[edit] Mission
The formation of the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility addresses one of the critical concerns confronting the Philippines after People Power toppled the Marcos dictatorship in February 1986. That concern calls attention to the power of the media and the role of the free press in the development of Philippine democracy.
All over the world, press freedom has been found to be essential to the democratic system. Effective participatory government is possible only when it can count on a well-informed society where individuals freely exchange ideas, where public debate and discussion arise from knowledge and understanding of national affairs.
That freedom involves not only media professionals, but also the public served by the media--public officials, the private sector, civil society groups, readers, viewers and listeners--who receive information and are a part of the cycle of public communication. But freedom of the press, like all liberties, has its limits, for the simplest reason that it is vulnerable to abuse.
Democratic recovery confronts serious obstacles on the media front. The press and the media need to exert special efforts to measure up a collective vehicle of information, as an instrument for clarifying complex issues and dilemmas of development that the public should understand.
Against this background, CMFR was organized in 1989 by veteran journalists and active personages of civil society concerned with the task of building up the press and news media as a pillar of democratic society. Its programs uphold press freedom, promote responsible journalism and encourage journalistic excellence.
[edit] Primary Activities
The primary activities of CMFR include: the publication of the Philippine Journalism Review [1](PJR Reports), news monitoring, alert reporting of threats to Philippine journalists and media establishments; ethics and skills training for journalists; in-depth studies on media issues; and the annual Jaime V. Ongpin Awards for Journalism Excellence, which serves as the counterpart of the Pulitzer Prizes in the Philippines.
[edit] Recent events
On January 28, 2008, 30 journalists filed a P10-million media class suit (by the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) and Philippine Press Institute (PPI). Executive Judge Winlove Dumayas of Makati Regional Trial Court Branch 59 granted the petition for TRO, effective for 72 hours.[1]
[edit] Network
CMFR is a founding member of the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (SEAPA) and the Freedom Fund for Filipino Journalists. It is also a member of the International Freedom of Expression Exchange.
