JVO Journalism Seminar slated Nov. 19

THE CENTER for Media Freedom & Responsibility (CMFR) will hold the 34^th Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar on Tuesday, November 19, at the SGV Hall in the AIM Conference Center Manila in Makati City. 

Five journalists from online and print media organizations will discuss selected issues and concerns about the future of journalism in the country.  They are Jane Bautista of the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Kurt dela Peña of Inquirer.net, Jairo Bolledo and Pia Ranada of Rappler, and Cristina Chi of Philstar.com. They were selected by senior journalists who are members of CMFR’s board of trustees. 

After the seminar, the Embassy of Canada in Manila will present the Marshall McLuhan Fellow for 2024. The embassy has sponsored the Marshall McLuhan Fellowship, named after the Canadian communication theoretician, for 27 years. It consists of a familiarization and lecture tour of Canadian media and academic organizations, and later, a lecture tour of Philippine universities under the auspices of the embassy and with the support of SunLife Financial, Inc.

CMFR established the Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar to recognize journalists who have distinguished themselves for the quality of their work in the context of best practice, press freedom protection, and the promotion of media ethics. 

The seminar serves as a living memorial to the late business leader Jaime V. Ongpin, who also served as President Corazon Aquino’s secretary of finance. Although he was not a journalist, Ongpin actively supported the “alternative press,” strengthening its capacity to provide verified news and information during the early eighties and help Filipinos understand urgent political issues of the time.