Journalism Review Archives | Page 88 of 159

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...

Media on Trillanes’ Amnesty: Quick Resistance in Aid of Democratic Values

CHEERS! THE media has responded quickly to President Duterte’s most recent attempt to silence a critic, exposing the voiding of the grant of amnesty to Senator Antonio Trillanes IV as a blatant political maneuver without legal basis. The fiasco has done exactly the opposite of its objective, gaining...

Media Detects Possible Corruption in “Build” Program

THE DUTERTE regime’s “Build, Build, Build” program is supposed to improve and add to the country’s aging and inadequate infrastructure, but some projects are still unfinished and past their target dates of completion. Cheers to the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) for its September 5 and 6 reports on...

Media Reports the KB Reunion in UP, Stokes Memories of its Role in Martial Law

Screengrab from Inquirer. OLD FRIENDS gather together because of shared connections in the past. So what’s so bad about the reunion of the alumnae of the Kabataang Barangay (KB) in the UP Bahay ng Alumni? It struck a painful chord in the memories of those who stood against Martial...