Category: Media

Here’s the real reason Donald Trump is now the 45th #POTUS following 2016 #ElectionDay

November 9, 2016 benign0 38 Comments

It’s easy to make a fearless election forecast when the stats are already showing a “>95%” lean towards a particular candidate. As of this writing a kick-ass New York Times up-to-the-second election results monitoring board is showing a needle that has gone squarely into the “very likely” field in a speedometer-type widget labelled “Chances of…

Media, Politics

Mainstream media needs to evolve – or face extinction

November 5, 2016 benign0 19 Comments

At the core of the crisis gripping mainstream media and mainstream “thought leadership” in the Philippines is the way ordinary Filipinos remain trapped in social hierarchy. Rather than encourage debate that focuses on the merit of the ideas and arguments tabled, Filipinos lazily defer to rank, credential, and seniority. This is no thanks, of course,…

Media, Society

Are Filipino-Americans a ‘marginalised’ and ‘invisible’ people?

October 27, 2016 benign0 37 Comments

According to the article The marginalization of Brown Asians published recently on the Seattle Globalist, this is a perception begging serious consideration. The following excerpt from this article captures the all-too-familiar lament with regard to how “under-represented” Filipinos think they are as Asian-Americans… We are tired of the fact that when people think of Asian…

Culture, Lifestyle, Media, Society

Attacking Mocha Uson only makes her stronger and her influence more powerful

October 25, 2016 benign0 8 Comments

There’s a rare level of dimwittedness involved in coming up with — and actually implementing — the idea of petitioning the shutdown of Mocha Uson’s Facebook page. The backfire and fallout from this quaint project all but proved just how fragmented the Opposition is today. Even die-hard characters in the Yellow Camp refused to sign…

Civics, Culture, Media, Society

The hypocrisy in the petition to shut down Mocha Uson’s Facebook page

October 24, 2016October 25, 2016 benign0 11 Comments

A petition to suspend the Facebook page of Mocha Uson, a Filipino celebrity blogger and staunch supporter of Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte, is making the rounds. The Suspend Mocha Uson Blog Facebook Page on Change.org has, as of this writing, attracted almost 26,000 signatories with the following write up set to be “delivered” to Facebook….

Media, Politics, Society, Tech Talk

IATROGENICS: Why Rappler is Becoming a Victim of Its Own Medicine

October 20, 2016October 25, 2016 Marcus 26 Comments

Hashtags: #TakeBackMariaRessa #OmidyarNetwork I can only feel for Maria Ressa. Her motherly interest to defend her team from criticism resulted in more harm rather than good. Nassim Nicholas Taleb comes to mind. He coined the the term “naive interventionism”, from iatrogenics in the medical field. Iatrogenics is a case wherein a…

Media, Politics, Science

Rashomon Effect: The Self-serving Interest of Mainstream Media and the People

October 18, 2016October 18, 2016 Marcus 46 Comments

This is in response to Maria Ressa’s comment on a post dated October 5, 2016. John, sino ba’ng hindi gustong magkaisa? Understand we all live in the Philippines, and every policy affects each and every Filipino. I think we differ in critical thinking and the role of journalism: we believe that no matter who’s in…

Government, Media, Politics, Technology

Duterte leaves Al Jazeera reporters stumped by his elegantly simple answers

October 16, 2016 benign0 120 Comments

Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte faced Al Jazeera‘s Jamela Alindogan and Wayne Hay in an interview conducted the 15th October 2016 in Malacanang palace. The first of two instalments of the video recording of the interview made available on YouTube is shown below. The key topics raised by Alindogan and Hay revolved mainly around two issues…

Crime, Government, Media