Journalism Review Archives

Impeachment in the headlines: How media covered the cases against Duterte and Marcos

IMPEACHMENT IS a paramount tool provided in the Philippine Constitution so Filipinos can exact accountability for wrongdoing in high office. It is a political instrument to address serious political conflicts and resolve political disputes, but it serves to check grave abuse of power in high office when this occurs.

CMFR year-end review: Widespread corruption, Duterte controversies dominate 2025 coverage

THIS REVIEW examines the top issues that shaped news coverage in 2025. The critique notes how the media captured the key narratives and key actors who set the stories in motion. It notes the failure of journalists to interpret the meaning of the news as events which unfold from...

Rappler notes lack of transparency in Palace bulletins on Marcos health

CHEERS TO Rappler for examining how the Palace handled the announcement of President Ferdinand “Bongbong” Marcos’ recent illness. Rappler’s Bea Cupin was the only reporter who said the refusal of Malacañang to release a medical bulletin only begs more questions about Marcos’ health.

Budget watch: KMJS unpacks unprogrammed appropriations and the debate over corruption risks

CHEERS TO GMA 7’s Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho (KMJS) for presenting the technical and complex national budget issues recently linked to large-scale corruption, with a sharp focus on the practice of unprogrammed appropriations (UA). The special report marked the 15th installment of KMJS’s corruption series, “Katakot-takot na Kurakot.”

Rappler and CDN explain the roots of the Binaliw landfill tragedy

CHEERS TO Rappler and Cebu Daily News for moving away from episodic coverage of disaster and instead examining the context of failure that preceded the deadly collapse at the Binaliw landfill in Cebu City.

Personal attacks in the Senate: Media caught up in Marcos-Lacson verbal feud

JEERS TO the news organizations that carried the word war between Senators Panfilo “Ping” Lacson, Jr. and Ma. Imelda Josefa “Imee” Imee Marcos. The squabble was irrelevant to the current news about the national budget or the country’s state of affairs in general. Unfortunately, some news outfits could not...

PCIJ: From 2023 to 2025, Marcos kin received highest amount of ‘allocable funds,’ a new form of pork barrel

CHEERS TO Guinevere Latoza of Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for her in-depth report published on November 29, describing the nature of “allocable funds” and discussing the issues of transparency involved in the budget of the Department of Public Works and Highways (DPWH) in the past years. The...

Inquirer.net and Philstar.com probe the underlying politics of Marcos family drama

CHEERS TO Philstar.com and Inquirer.net for their treatment of the family drama involving President Ferdinand Marcos Jr. and his older sister, Imee; including context, history, and the politics underlying the family feud.

Typhoons in November: Disaster reporting in a time of climate crisis

TWO SUPER typhoons demonstrated the impact of the climate crisis as a severe tropical storm “Tino” and typhoon “Uwan” pummeled extensive areas in the Visayas and Mindanao.

A nature reserve in Scarborough: Inquirer.net spotlights China’s continuing expansionism

CHEERS TO Inquirer.net for looking into the new “nature reserve” that China established in the West Philippine Sea (WPS). Kurt dela Peña’s report stressed that this should be viewed as part of China’s expansionist policy that ignores Philippine sovereignty over its own waters.