Journalism Review Archives | Page 119 of 159

Trillanes vs. Duterte: Asking the Tough Questions

ON APRIL 27, based on information provided by vice presidential aspirant and incumbent Senator Antonio Trillanes IV, the Philippine Daily Inquirer broke a story on Davao City Mayor Rodrigo Duterte’s alleged nondisclosure of Php211 million in his Statement of Assets, Liabilities and Net Worth (SALN) (“Trillanes: Duterte didn’t...

Helping Voters

CHEERS TO CNN Philippines and Rappler for their informative “how to” pieces on the proper way to vote in the upcoming May 9, 2016 elections. CNN Philippines’ May 3 “Election dos and don’ts: How to vote on May 9” explained the 12-step procedure, accompanied by brief explanations. It included...

“Comeleak”: Identity Theft and Election Fraud

CHEERS TO several news organizations for quickly cautioning the public on the perils of the massive security leak of the Commission of Elections (Comelec) website that exposed the personal information of around 55 million Filipino voters. A website that contained a searchable database of voters’ information surfaced online...

Covering the Bangladesh Bank Heist: Missed Opportunity

NEARLY THREE months have passed since the Bangladesh government lost millions of dollars in what seemed to be an elaborate bank heist orchestrated by hackers in February. While foreign banks took steps to stop orders for payment and transfer, the amount of $81 million still slipped through to...

Duterte’s Rape Comment: More Needed from the Media

DURING A campaign rally in Quezon City last April 12, presidential candidate Rodrigo Duterte recalled how during his first year as mayor in Davao City, a prison riot broke out in the Metrodiscom Detention Center. He recounted how Jacqueline Hamill, an Australian missionary who was ministering to prisoners,...

After Kidapawan: Media Look at Drought Mitigation Efforts

CHEERS TO BusinessMirror and Vera Files for running pieces that looked more closely at the El Niño weather phenomenon and government attempts to mitigate its impact in light of the recent clash in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato. From April 11 to 13, BusinessMirror published “Farmers suffer El Niño’s...

Reporting the Kidapawan Clash: Lots of Questions

THE VIOLENCE that erupted in Kidapawan City, North Cotabato, on April 1, when police officers opened fire on protesting farmers and activists, is one of those events that begs a lot of questions. The terror it brought to many, particularly the casualties and their families and friends, screamed...

No Contest: Reporting Unopposed Candidates

CHEERS TO several media organizations for looking into and reporting on the phenomenon of candidates for various posts who are running unopposed — an issue crucial to the health of Philippine democracy but rarely gets media mileage during elections. Because elections in a democracy are all about choice, the...

$81-Million Bank Heist: Unnecessary, Irrelevant Racial Reference

JEERS TO the Manila Bulletin, the Philippine Daily Inquirer and The Philippine Star for its repeated and often unnecessary and irrelevant racial reference to the suspects in the money laundering scandal implicating the a branch manager of the Rizal Commercial Banking Corporation (RCBC) and businessmen involved in casino...

Disguising Ads as Editorial Content

JEERS TO three major dailies for passing off an advertisement as editorial content. On March 15, 2016, the Philippine Daily Inquirer, the Philippine Star, and the Manila Bulletin ran a photo of McDonald’s promotional “4th National Breakfast Day” on their respective front pages. The photos appeared in the papers...