The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Thursday, March 10, 2011 

T he lawyer of a public figure who calls his client "private citizen" Melinda Rustia renews the warning of a lawsuit if her published images were not removed promptly from The Filipino Web Channel's news videos. The latest threat is contained in a letter emailed yesterday (Wednesday, March 9) and demanding compliance by 5:30 p.m. today (Thursday, March 10). The lawyer had earlier indicated his client's inclination to sue, which did not materialize as of the first deadline date of Feb. 25. Ms. Rustia had not denied she engaged in gossiping. What her lawyer contends is that my news videos carried what he calls "false and defamatory statements concerning Mrs. Rustia". He did not say what those were, however. What's clear is that she passed gossip via emails to her friends – an act that exposes this reporter to public ridicule. Here's the latest development.

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THE PERILS OF INVESTIGATIVE JOURNALISM

Bullying, Physical Violence, Intimidation and Threats of a Lawsuit Among Tactics to Force Media Censorship 

Man is the most intelligent of the animals - and the most silly. — Diogenes

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ

Member, Investigative Reporters and Editors (IRE)

and Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

T ORONTO  -  I was half-expecting kibitzer Melinda Rustia's lawyer, Ian A. McLaine, would still pursue her demand to remove her image in a video " target=_blank>

that I created a month ago and subsequently updated on February 27. " target=_blank>

I've not had this experience being asked, and threatened repeatedly, by someone hiding under the coattails of a lawyer to force compliance to a demand which some friends and readers thought was frivolous, silly, ludicrous – call it any which way – and it boils down to hurt pride.

I had merely asked: "what's her (Melinda Rustia's) motive in passing gossips against this reporter?" Indeed, from someone I knew nothing about except when she had signed up as a subscriber to my videos, it's astonishing how she could treat me with such condescension.

Not knowing her from Eve, I rely on what McLaine says, to wit, that she's "an upstanding member of the Toronto Filipino community". Honestly, I don't have the slightest idea how Mr. McLaine came to that assertion, specially when juxtapose with what she had peddled to her friends.

He says that my question was "personally injurious" and "damaging to her reputation". He explains: "Under the laws of the Province of Ontario, such defamatory statements constitute libel for which Mrs. Rustia is entitled to monetary damages x x x ".

Compare the question to what she had written and mass-emailed, thus: "I don't know anything about Romy Marquez until I received the Breaking News yesterday from Rory . . . so I googled him and here is a compilation of interesting and hilarious comments about him. Some are personal and below the belt . . . TAKE A BREAK guys and Enjoy! NAKAKATAWA TALAGA!" (sic).

I don't see the need to republish the substantive contents of her mass email; to do so would dignify them. Suffice it to say that the mere act of passing them to others without verifying the truth and accuracy constitutes rumour-mongering. She was spreading lies and taking delight in doing so and cajoling others to feel the same way she does, as in "nakakatawa talaga".

I doubt if Melinda Rustia was being honest and truthful in saying she harvested from Google the questionable comments against me. The controversy in San Diego, California that spawned the vicious lies had been triggered by a series of exposes I did. It died down after the authors with phony names were unmasked.

I know a few individuals – the PNS-types, or the pinabili-ng-suka-pag-balik-journalist-na – who were responsible for authoring and disseminating the canard. What Melinda Rustia had spread belonged to this category. I don't know if she's PNS, stupid or naive but it's quite obvious she's too gullible to fall victim to such fraud. I believe she was fed the lies and gulped them.

This evolving story versus Melinda Rustia is so full of ironies. And here's why.

Melinda Rustia Is a Public Figure

S he's supposedly a founding member of the social press club yet she apparently prefers censorship over an unrestrained discussion of issues. She's supposedly "upstanding" yet she engages in reprehensible gossiping. She's supposedly a "private citizen" yet one sees her name and images all over print and websites.

In my long experience as an investigative journalist in San Diego, California, it was inevitable to bump into spurious community leaders with more brawn than brain.

I'm beginning to think – and I say this based on my own knowledge – that Toronto's Filipino community looks almost the same. But if it's that way, what the heck, be prepared to face the challenges.

That's how I approach this job as a journalist. Bullying, intimidation, hints of violence and threats of lawsuits are routinely slapped on the journalists who set out to uphold the virtues of journalism that they no longer quiver in fear.

The very task of journalism perforce a certain amount of digging . . . for dirt, for the hidden trail, for the secrets, for skeletons in closets, for masks needing unraveling. The danger approximates the importance of the story. Where one is truly committed to finding the truth, all the risks would be worth taking.

Investigative journalism is not something for the weak of heart; that kind of journalist must have the gumption to absorb and repel the kind of stinking kitchen sink thrown his way . . . and survive!

I have not yet engaged in investigative journalism in Toronto the way I did it in San Diego, my home for 16 years before I moved temporarily to Canada a year ago. But the challenges are there, e.g., the non-profit organizations, the private foundations and the many money-raising community organizations.

But I digress.

Comes now Mr. McLaine. After his first letter demanding removal of her picture came and went on Feb. 25 with a hint of a possible lawsuit if not complied with on that very same day, he emails a letter dated March 9 reiterating the same demand.

He writes, and I quote: "The actions you have taken to disregard our demands and to further defame Mrs. Rustia are clearly malicious and wholly indefensible. Accordingly, you have exposed yourself to additional liability from which you cannot be shielded by invoking a 'journalism' defence."

Further, he says: " x x x Please notify the undersigned in writing before 5:30 PM Eastern Standard Time on March 10, 2011, that you are in full compliance with our demands. Failure to do so will result in the initiation of legal proceedings seeking significant monetary damages along with any other remedies, injunctive or otherwise, to which Mrs. Rustia is entitled".

I see a dramatic change in Mr. McLaine's warning. His first letter dated Feb. 25, 2011, stated that "we will have no choice but to initiate legal proceedings seeking monetary damages . . . " The latest letter dated March 9, 2011 was upgraded, thus: " x x x will result in the initiation of legal proceedings seeking significant monetary damages x x x ".

Note the word "significant" inserted between "seeking" and "monetary" in the March letter. That's quite significant too. # # # 

(© Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. E-mail: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, PhilVoiceNews@aol.com or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com).

My news channels can be viewed by clicking the links:

At Vimeo:

1. http://vimeo.com/16962555

2. http://vimeo.com/user4144767

For other stories, please visit: 

1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/ 

2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/

3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/

4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/ 

5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .