Journalism Review Archives | Page 73 of 161

Problematic numbers: Reporting the “Duterte Legacy”

WITH TWO more years to go, the Duterte administration seems overly concerned with drumming up publicity over its legacy. The Presidential Communications Operations Office (PCOO) launched a “Duterte Legacy” campaign on January 17, which Communications Secretary Martin Andanar said focuses on accomplishments in three key areas: peace and order,...

Contextualizing news: TV reports capture irony of Chinese Coast Guard “friendly” visit

WHOAH! IT’S the Philipiine Coast Guard (PCG) making “nice-nice” with the Chinese Coast Guard (CCG). How should any self-respecting journalist report the event? With tongue in cheek or a strong dose of skepticism which would call for context – in order to tell more about the real story than...

National protocols for animal protection during disasters needed

WHEN THE Taal Volcano began spewing ash on January 12, the residents of the communities surrounding the picturesque landmark evacuated, taking with them their possessions. But as droves of affected locals made the exodus, countless animals – precious pets and livestock alike – were left behind. The rescue of...

The challenge of Taal Volcano

TAAL VOLCANO’s eruption on Sunday, January 12, tested the capacity of the media to cover a completely different kind of disaster. Many of those who were called out to the field were too young to have experienced Mt. Pinatubo’s blast in 1991. It also put to test the gains...

A piece of PR: Supposed approval by indigenous people of Kaliwa Dam

IN THE age of social media, news readers often find themselves just scanning newspapers and seldom going beyond the headlines. A misleading headline fixes the falsehood in the public mind. Another bad habit and ethical failure in the news business is the use of the press release as the...

Media’s missed cues: How Robredo’s report on drug war was above politics

VICE PRESIDENT Leni Robredo’s report of her findings about the government’s controversial anti-illegal drug campaign was carefully written to focus on substantive observations. She employed a style devoid of rhetorical flourish. The report itself is free of any innuendo suggesting that any official had done wrong. In noting the...

US-Iran tension: Is there a policy to address the crisis?

AHEAD OF his Senate impeachment trial, US President Donald Trump ordered an airstrike that killed Iranian general Qassem Soleimani on January 3. The Pentagon said in a statement that Soleimani was planning to attack American diplomats and service members in the Middle East, and that the assassination was meant...

Crony Capitalism Reprised? Looking into the ABS-CBN Issue and Uy

The president’s verbal attacks against ABS-CBN had not triggered the kind of coverage of a major threat to press freedom in the Philippines (See link: “A lack of media attention: Duterte’s threat against ABS-CBN”). But his recent statements suggest that the closure of this giant media enterprise also reflects...

CMFR cheers TV 5 Explainer, the exception to passive coverage of yet another OFW death in in Kuwait

THE DEATH of Jeanalyn Villavende in Kuwait in December 2019 prompted the media to recall previous cases of abuse and deaths of Overseas Filipino Workers (OFW) in that country. Alleged to have been caused by her employer, Villavende’s death was reported with reference to the agreement between the Philippines...

Sticking to Duterte’s script, media misses the real failure in the water problem

PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte has been relentless in attacking Manila Water and Maynilad, the two concessionaire companies for water service in the metropolitan area since the 1990s. In December 2019, he began threatening them over supposedly onerous provisions in the concession agreements. An issue involving a public utility demands more...