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August 6th 2008 06:26
PHNOM PENH POST MISSES THE CRUX OF THE NEWS AND PROVIDES THE MOULDY CRUST OF THE NEWS

Once again, the Phnom Penh Post has not felt it important to actually inform their readers about the source of their proclamations. This time, the article FBI to help in case of slain journalist* reported that “Cambodian authorities have accepted the US Embassy’s offer to provide Federal Bureau of Investigation assistance” in the investigation of a murdered journalist, Khim Sambo, but failed to say when this decision was made and who announced it. Not only did they fail to report these main details of the story, the Post didn’t bother to talk to either a representative from the US Embassy or the FBI about Cambodia’s decision to accept their assistance (assuming we are to simply the believe the Post that this decision was actually made). On top of that, from the two sources the Post actually did use for the article, one was an anonymous source** and the other was an almost word-for-word repeat of what was reported in a previous article on the subject***. So basically, within one article, the Post made an unsubstantiated proclamation with no background information and then tried to back it up using an anonymous source and re-stating old news. It leaves me asking the question – does Phnom Penh Post staff do any reporting at all in a day’s work?


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* FOOTNOTE * The article in question can be found online at Really Long Link

** FOOTNOTE ** Not only did the article quote an anonymous “police officer”, his statement supposedly represented “Several senior security officials [that] made clear they did not want the FBI involved in a Cambodian investigation.”


*** FOOTNOTE *** In this article, Government Spokesperson and Information Minister, Khieu Kanharith, was reported as saying: “We never rejected the assistance. It is good to collaborate with the FBI, so when we find the killers, the opposition party will not claim they are fake.” In a previous article written on this subject, (see FBI could probe journalist’s murder) the Post reported Khieu Kannarith as saying “It would be good if we could cooperate with the FBI in investigating this case. We could trade experiences. Either way, we would not be blamed if we could not find the killers, or if we found them [critics] would not say [the suspects] are the fake killers.”
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Phnom Penh Post Spreads Rumours

August 5th 2008 13:16
THE POST CONTINUES TO MAKE UNSUBSTANTIATED STATEMENTS

The Phnom Penh Post continues to feel no need to substantiate or credit important statements they make in articles relating to tensions between Cambodia and Thailand. In their latest article Ties will outlast temple feud, say Thai officials ** the Phnom Penh Post claim that “rumours have circulated that Thais are fleeing Cambodia or are freezing their investments” without providing any background information on these “rumours”. Not bothering to source these “rumours” is not only problematic because it carelessly re-circulates them***, it is also another display of lazy journalism by the Phnom Penh Post.

The whole point of the article Ties will outlast temple feud, say Thai officials is that there are supposedly two opposing groups of people: those saying that the temple feud is affecting non-temple related Cambodia-Thai relations (ie. the side that says Thais are fleeing and freezing investments); and others saying that it is having no effect because of their long-running relationships in these areas. Out of only two opposing groups portrayed in the article, one whole side is represented simply by an unsubstantiated statement – ie “rumours have circulated that Thais are fleeing Cambodia or are freezing their investments” – without mentioning who the “rumours” are coming from and why.

To simply state the existence of one side without sourcing it or proving it appears as though the journalist is either:
1. making up a conflicting view in order to create a story;
2. unable to actually attain proof of the conflicting view; or
3. is too lazy to attain proof of the conflicting view.


The use of an unsubstantiated statement in this article is lazy journalism (at least, I would hope the Post isn’t so unethical for number 1 to be a contender and, quite frankly, I scarcely believe that number 2 could be possible). The Phnom Penh Post seemingly couldn’t be bothered to actually do reporting in order to provide their readers with the full story. If Post staff can only present half a story now, I am concerned about the quality of articles that will be produced when they go daily.

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** FOOTNOTE ** The article in question can be found online at Really Long Link

***FOOTNOTE*** There are many examples where re-circulating “rumours” results in responsive action causing the “rumours” to become true (see ‘self-fulfilling prophecy’ theory)
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PHNOM PENH POST’S USE OF UNSUBSTANTIATED SOURCES IS NEGLIGENT AND POTENTIALLY HARMFUL

The Phnom Penh Post commonly and irresponsibly use quotes from unidentified sources, but amidst rising tension between Thai and Cambodia troops over Preah Vihear Temple their most recent use of a statement made by an unidentified “senior Cambodian military commander” is negligent and potentially harmful. According to the article Tensions Rise Ahead of Crisis Talks* an unidentified military official claimed that “the Thais were massing troops across the border from Anlong Veng in northern Cambodia”. This yet-to-be substantiated claim made by the Phnom Penh Post could further inflame tension between Cambodia and Thailand.

As the Phnom Penh Post has in the past reported on events such as the “Thai Riots” in 2003, migrant shootings along the Thai-Cambodian border and other incidents reflecting the intense tension between these two countries, staff of the Phnom Penh Post should well know the real risks involved in the current situation. Inflammatory claims such as that apparently made by the Phnom Penh Post’s “senior Cambodian military commander” could fuel tension between the involved parties and may even be the point that instigates violence. If this so-far unsubstantiated statement is true, I would hope that the Phnom Penh Post would be respectful enough of the situation to properly verify the statement and report on it with an appropriate understanding of the real risks involved.

Knowing the role the media had in propagating the statements causing the Thai riots in 2003, I plead to the Phnom Penh Post to reconsider flippantly including such unsubstantiated statements in future articles, especially those associated with relatively volatile situations. The Phnom Penh Post needs to report on the news, not cause the news.

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* FOOTNOTE - The article in question can be found online at
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PHNOM PENH POST - MAKING UP INTERESTING INFORMATION WHEN THEY CAN'T BE BOTHERED TO FIND THE FACTS!

The Phnom Penh Post's story claiming "more parents are moving their children from public to private schools because they are fed up with teachers collecting money from their children to supplement their public school salaries" provided no proof to this statement throughout the whole article ['Parents balk at paying teacher bribes', 17 July 2008 - accessible online at http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008071720264/Online-Edition/Parents-balk-at-paying-teacher-bribes.html]. They talked to two parents who planned to move their children from a public to a private school but had not yet done so. They confirmed that one public school teacher takes funds from her student to supplement her salary. They talked to one private school principal who said the enrollment in his school has increased - but did not give the reason. None of the supposedly supporting graphs in the article actually in any way supported the opening statement


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PHNOM PENH POST'S FRIENDS GET THEIR STORY TOLD

The Phnom Penh Post is clearly friends with Theary Seng (controversial Executive Director of the Centre for Social Development in Cambodia) as it has, for a while now, allowed her to write un-edited rants in every issue of their paper. Based on this, it was clearly going to be a difficult task for the Phnom Penh Post to attain neutrality on the recent saga surrounding the Centre for Social Development's "Executive Director" and it's "Board of Directors" (See footnote for background to CSD saga). It is for that reason that I reluctantly forgave them for the full-page and extremely biased rant on the CSD saga written by Theary Seng and published by the Phnom Penh Post in their previous issue. But the Phnom Penh Post stepped way over the line in their latest issue which included an "interview" with Theary Seng. (To read the interview follow the link: http://www.phnompenhpost.com/index.php/2008070920212/National-news/Interview.html). Is the Phnom Penh Post trying to inflame this saga for tabloid purposes? This one-sided portrayal of a very real and unfortunately not-as-trivial-as-it-should-be situation is unquestionably unethical of the Phnom Penh Post. I am truly glad that this type of tabloid rubbish is not translated into Khmer


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