Journalism Review

SONA in the time of COVID: Media capture the letdown

THE COVID-19 pandemic tempered the usual pomp and circumstance that accompanies the State of the Nation Address (SONA). Government preparations for this year’s SONA required heightened health protocols, such as COVID-19 testing for those attending and who were allowed into the Batasang Pambansa, while others joined via teleconferencing. Coverage...

COVID superspreader decisions: Media should hold government accountable

THE MEDIA did not miss the sorry spectacle of thousands crammed in the Rizal Memorial Sports Complex. The category of locally stranded individuals (LSIs) now includes people who want to return to their home provinces in the Visayas and Mindanao. They flocked to the stadium to avail of free...

High profile deaths in Bilibid: Media flag possible cover-up

THE BUREAU of Corrections (BuCor) is again in hot water, with the scandal over the application of the GCTA to benefit even those who had been convicted of capital crimes still fresh in the public mind. On July 19, the media reported obtaining a death certificate of one Jaybee...

Media flag Duque’s “flattening the curve” claim

WITH SO much of COVID-19 policies dependent on the DOH’s claims, media should check out what the agency and its officials in charge are saying. As cases continue to rise in the NCR and Central Visayas, the health chief said, “We have successfully flattened the curve since April.” In...

Terror law signed: Media keeps up with two opposing sides

DESPITE MUCH opposition and calls for a presidential veto, Rodrigo Duterte signed the anti-terrorism bill into law on July 3. Critics of the bill, particularly those in the law profession, had said that they were ready to challenge the measure’s questionable provisions once signed. This was one bill that...

Media should report on ABS-CBN shutdown fallout

AFTER 12 taxing hearings focusing on alleged violations that government agencies denied, ABS-CBN’s ordeal in the House of Representatives ended with a disappointing but unsurprising decision. On Friday, July 10, the House Committee on Legislative Franchises and ex-officio members denied ABS-CBN’s franchise application with an overwhelming 70-11 vote. Failing...

Duterte boasts he did it: But Palace tries to hide the truth

WHEN THE government controls the narrative, and spins the interpretation of what officials are saying, the media as watchdog must report the truth. The latest on the closure of the giant media network ABS-CBN involves the clumsy effort to sanitize the president’s speech, causing more damage because the media...

Possible loss of lives in sea mishap calls for media follow up

FOURTEEN FILIPINOS are still missing after the collision involving the Filipino fishing vessel Liberty 5 and the Hong Kong-flagged cargo ship Vienna Wood. The incident happened off the coast of Mamburao, Occidental Mindoro in the late evening of June 27, as reported to the authorities shortly before 2 am...

Battle for Cebu: Local media question militarized COVID-19 response

THE ALARMING spike in cases, the high mortality rate, and the rise of severe and critical cases in the province of Cebu last June pushed the National Task Force on COVID-19 to focus their efforts on the new “epicenter” of the pandemic in the country. Reports citing data from...

Is the PH “winning” against COVID: Media debunks government’s spin on WHO report

DESPITE THE continued rise of cases across the country, Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque claimed government is “winning” against COVID-19, and congratulated the Philippines for supposedly beating the University of the Philippines’ (UP) projection that the number of cases could shoot to 40,000 by the end of June. This came...

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