Journalism Review Archives | Page 114 of 159

The Peace Process: Clarifying Issues, Explaining Concepts

CHEERS TO the People’s Alternative Media Network (Altermidya) and Manila Today for publishing articles that help explain the ongoing peace talks between the government and National Democratic Front of the Philippines (NDFP). Altermidya published on Aug. 25 an alphabetical list of issues related to the peace process(“Want peace...

Drug War EJKs: Cross-Checking Cayetano’s Murder, Homicide Stats

CHEERS TO Rappler for spotting inaccuracies in Senator Alan Peter Cayetano’s graph showing a “drastic” drop in the number of murder and homicide cases recorded during the first month of President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration compared to the previous years. Rappler also pointed out inconsistencies between Cayetano’s data and that...

‘Most Shabulized’: Fact-Checking Duterte’s Claim

CHEERS TO VERA Files for fact-checking the claim by President Rodrigo Duterte that Iloilo is the “most shabulized” or most drug-affected province in the Philippines by citing data from the Philippine Drug Enforcement Agency (PDEA). In “IS THAT SO? Is Iloilo the ‘most shabulized’ area in PH?,” (Aug....

Verifying Duterte’s Stats

CHEERS TO Rappler for verifying the accuracy of a statement by President Rodrigo Duterte about the number of police and military men who have died in the line of duty in the course of the government’s anti-illegal drugs campaign. On Aug. 24, President Duterte claimed that an average...

Duterte and the UN: Another Media Failure to Provide Context

IN THE early hours of Sunday, Aug. 21, President Rodrigo Duterte held another one of his now infamous press briefings in Davao City. There, he issued a spate of statements that again made headlines. Among them was his threat to withdraw the country’s membership from the United Nations...

De Lima’s Bikini Photo: Foul

JEERS TO The Manila Times for publishing on its front page a scantily clad photo of Senator Leila de Lima, which illustrated a story about the alleged links of her former driver to drug syndicates inside the New Bilibid Prison when de Lima was still Justice secretary. On...

Marcos Burial: The Press as a Moral Compass

STAYING TRUE to his campaign promise, President Rodrigo Duterte confirmed on Aug. 7 the burial of deposed strongman Ferdinand Marcos at the Libingan ng mga Bayani. Prior to this confirmation, the issue had been making the rounds in the media, since Duterte had not been shy about mentioning...

Tornado in the Metro: Quick and Helpful Explainers

CHEERS TO ABS-CBN 2’s TV Patrol and TV5’s Aksyon for explaining in simple terms how a tornado develops. Tornados are an uncommon weather phenomenon in the Philippines but one ripped through some communities in Manila and Quezon City on Aug. 14. A report by Aksyon a day after...

Calapan Murder: Unnecessary Description

JEERS TO the Manila Bulletin for trivializing an act of violence by describing a murder victim as “pretty.” By describing her as “pretty,” the report suggested that the victim’s physical attributes had something to do with the alleged crime. But no such connection was made in the text...

Against Patently Outlandish Claims

CHEERS TO the Philippine Daily Inquirer for citing views contrary to a statement by Department of Justice (DOJ) Secretary Vitaliano Aguirre that “criminals are not (part of) humanity” instead of merely reporting the statement. The Inquirer, in its Aug. 6 report, sought the opinion of Aguirre on the possibility that...