Category: Media

Are the Inquirer and ABS-CBN fulfilling their duty to ‘inform’ Filipinos?

March 31, 2017March 31, 2017 benign0 8 Comments

Perhaps Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte was out of line cussing at “news” media organisations Inquirer.net and ABS-CBN News. But then his assertions about the instances where he alleges he had been slandered by these media outlets need to be addressed. One such case surrounds reports published during his campaign that he had ₱211 million stashed…

Media, Politics, Society

URGENT memo to the Duterte Government: Get your communications machine in shape!

March 29, 2017 benign0 16 Comments

Still, there is no substitute for good communications and intelligent messaging. This is, after all, the information age — a time when the best-intentioned initiatives can crumble under the weight of a single ill-timed or ill-thought-out pitch to the public and the most vile ideas can be delivered in a neat pastel-coloured package and propagated…

Government, Media

Is it right for Filipinos to spam-vote Duterte into the @TIME 100 Most Influential list?

March 27, 2017 benign0 15 Comments

Filipinos are once again spam-voting a compatriot into the pages of a major Western media outlet. This follows the tradition of how Efren Penaflorida got on the CNN Heroes list and how the Palawan Underground River got listed as one of “the new seven wonders of nature”. Filipinos have a vast resource in the form…

Media, Politics, Society

How @rapplerdotcom triggered the decline of journalism in the Philippines

March 24, 2017March 24, 2017 benign0 14 Comments

It’s the buzz of the week. Manila Times columnist Rigoberto ‘Bobi’ Tiglao and Rappler are at war. It started with Tiglao’s eye-opening revelations on the sloppy — and borderline fraudulent — reporting by Rappler on the issue of the so-called “extrajudicial killings” (EJKs) supposedly running rampant in the Philippines. In How Rappler misled EU, Human…

Media, Society

Inquirer writer Jacqueline Arias picks tweets to “prove” Filipinos hate Bongbong Marcos

March 22, 2017March 22, 2017 benign0 6 Comments

According to Inquirer Lifestyle writer Jacqueline Arias, people are “not happy” with Isabelle Daza’s latest video in her series “Haters Gonna Hate” posted on Facebook. In her article “Isabelle Daza’s Latest Video Features Sen. Bongbong Marcos, and People Aren’t Happy” published on the “Preen” section of the Inquirer, Arias asserts that Marcos is a generally-reviled…

Glitz and Glamour, Media, Politics

Today’s “fake news” is revenge for 30 years of Yellow lies and hypocrisy

March 16, 2017 benign0 12 Comments

According to the Inquirer Editor, camps aligned (loosely or tightly) with the Philippines’ Opposition are “fighting back”. Leading this “fight”, they claim, is “vice president” Leni Robredo who has seemingly taken it up upon herself to serve as the Opposition’s mouthpiece from within Malacanang. Robredo’s jump-off point for this new “assault” on “fake news” and…

Media, Politics, Society

Old colonial scars revealed: The presumptuous diplomatic row over the Madam Secretary circus

March 8, 2017 benign0 43 Comments

Filipinos have long been known for their inability to distinguish between real life and reel life. Theirs is a society, after all, that elects showbiz politicians to power on the basis of the achievements their fictional characters win on screen. Thus it is hardly surprising that a diplomatic row would erupt over a recent fictional…

Culture, Media

Is the information in the #NagaLeaks exposé true or false?

March 6, 2017 benign0 15 Comments

Nobody really knows at this point. But one thing’s for sure, the messaging and dissemination machinery backing its spread is awesome and well-orchestrated; so much so that even as early as the build-up period leading to its release on the anonymous website Collective.com.ph in its now-famous post DECEPTION The Shocking Truth Behind Leni and Jesse…

Media, Politics