Journalism Review Archives | Page 87 of 159

Still on Trillanes Amnesty: Few Reports Questioned Court Ruling

MAKATI REGIONAL Trial Court (RTC) Branch 150 Judge Elmo Alameda on September 25 reopened the rebellion case against then Navy officer Antonio Trillanes IV that he had dismissed in 2011, when the now senator was granted amnesty by then President Benigno Aquino III. President Rodrigo Duterte voided that...

Duterte’s EJK ‘Admission’: Media Yield to Palace Spin

PRESIDENT RODRIGO Duterte’s blasphemous, sexist, anti-poor tirades, including hate speech, have made enough headlines in the past to make such offensive outbursts almost a cliché. During the oath-taking of new Career Executive Service Officers in Malacañang last September 27, he asked,“Ano kasalanan ko? Nagnakaw ba ako diyan ni...

Following up on Ompong’s Destruction

POST-TYPHOON ‘OMPONG,’ the media scrambled to cover the provinces hit hardest by the disaster, reporting on casualties, damage to infrastructure and agriculture, as well as rescue and relief efforts. Their reports understandably focused on Itogon, Benguet, where a deadly landslide on September 15 killed more than 50 people....

A Closer Examination: Why the Deaths in Itogon?

CHEERS TO Rappler for its two-part story examining the Itogon community’s vulnerability and for exposing the weak law enforcement which were among the factors that led to the many casualties from the landslide as Ompong lashed the provinces of northern Luzon. In the first part, “Itogon Tragedy: Disaster Response...

Remembering Martial Law: Media Repudiate Attempts to Revise History

THOUSANDS OF protesters from different groups and sectors gathered at Manila’s Luneta Park last September 21, united by the call “never forget, never again” to Martial Law. Forty-six years ago to the day, President Ferdinand Marcos had signed Proclamation 1081, which marked the beginning of 14 years...

Inflation Woes: Media Need to Ask More Questions

TYPHOON OMPONG (Mangkhut) ravaged provinces of the northern and central Luzon last September 15. The extensive damage to agriculture and fisheries is likely to raise even more the already high prices of food. The Department of Agriculture (DA) reported that the losses in rice, corn, and high-value crops,...

People’s Tribunals: Rappler Explains Why They Matter

THE BELGIUM-BASED International People’s Tribunal on September 20 handed down a guilty verdict on President Rodrigo Duterte for “gross and systematic violations of human rights” during his bloody “war on drugs” and martial law in Mindanao. Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque dismissed the decision, calling it a “sham” with...

“Ompong” Coverage: OK But Could Have Been Better

TYPHOON OMPONG (Mangkhut) was the 15th and so far the strongest typhoon to smash into the Philippines this year, and even as it approached had invited comparisons with the power of such earlier typhoons as Ondoy (2009), Yolanda (2013) and Lawin (2015). Ompong’s maximum winds reached 205 kph...

The Duterte Talk Show: Media Saw Through the Subterfuge

MALACAÑANG ANNOUNCED last September 10 President Rodrigo Duterte’s desire to “speak to the nation.” But Presidential Spokesperson Harry Roque did not disclose what he would be talking about on the following day. (“Duterte ‘speaking to nation’ on September 11”) Without a clue as to the subject of the...

Only One Big Story at a Time?

ISSUES AND events which deserve attention are often sidelined when a big story breaks and continues to develop. But in this age of multiple media platforms and formats there is no excuse for media’s dropping the ball on these important stories. President Rodrigo Duterte’s voiding the amnesty of...