Let’s get one thing straight: blogging is NOT journalism, and never will be. That is, not until each individual blogger establishes his own PCIJ. (Okay, sweeping generalization, but once you take away the few exceptions you’ll find that the bell curve will bear me out.) I have long found discussions on the distinctions between mainstream [...]
Under Suspicion?
September 10, 2008 By 8 Comments
A colleague and I were speaking earlier today about the implications of the front page story about the Supreme Court’s decision to dismiss Court of Appeals Justice Vicente Roxas, suspend Justice Jose Sabio, jr, and reprimand Justices Bienvenido Reyes and Justice Conrado Vasquez, jr, in connection with the alleged attempt by a businessman to bribe [...]
Nail In The Coffin
September 4, 2008 By 19 Comments
I don’t usually disagree with the Jester-in-Exile, but I think that some in the blogging community are taking this “blog vs. mainstream media” thing just a tad too far. What follows is a completely non-constructive “deconstruction” of the question, “What’s the point?” Let’s frame the parameters of this “debate,” if there is any. Some months [...]
Riddle Me This: Questions The Jester-in-Exile Wants Professional Journalists to Answer
September 4, 2008 By 15 Comments
See, quite a number of the answers received since the questions were asked have been either vague or noncommittal. I hope we can get coherent and repeatable answers from mainstream media at large and specifically per journalist, and finally put a tack on these questions. Don’t worry, folks, it’s a short list of five — it [...]
A Sudden Change of Breeze
July 8, 2008 By Leave a Comment
ABS-CBN is undergoing some changes in their programming, both on TV and radio. The network will not just focus on entertainment, news, and information, but will dedicate some airtime on religion and spirituality.
Aside from the current 3 pm prayer intermission and Sunday mass broadcast, there will be a minute of inter-faith prayer before TV Patrol World, a religious TV program on Studio 23, and a radio program anchored by Fr. Jerry Orbos which debuted last Saturday.
Media Confidential
June 20, 2008 By 3 Comments
Shiela Coronel of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ) mentions of the “idiotization” of Philippine news. It’s very evident in primetime news programs, where anchors act like hectoring demagogues, where the reportage largely consists of police reports and crime stories, and so on and so forth. To news executives, they merely “report the news as it is,” that what is being reported is merely a reflection of what’s going on in society. But rather than elevate the level of discourse in Philippine news, the level degenerates. In effect, the viewer is treated like, well, an idiot, force-fed crime stories, showbiz scoops and political scandals.
The Us-Against-Them Mentality in the Blogging vs. MSM Debate
May 7, 2008 By 9 Comments
I think that the reason why so many bloggers – myself included – are miffed at comments by Luis Teodoro toward blogging is that Mr. Teodoro, with all due respect to the man, is imposing a “journalistic standard” in blogging. Or as he calls it, journalists “setting examples.” Yet what exactly is a “journalist?” Take [...]
Thoughts on blogging v. traditional journalism.
May 6, 2008 By 6 Comments
The blogosphere has a lot of defects. Mainstream media has a lot of strengths. But to suggest that blogging isn’t as reliable a source of information, or that the mainstream media has a monopoly on credibility, is something I can’t accept.
Fundamentally, I think a writer should be judged not by the medium he uses or for the entity he writes for but by whether he writes the truth- nothing more, nothing less.
Confessions of a “New Media” Heretic (or, the jester-in-exile throws yet another gauntlet before the MSM “priest caste”)
May 4, 2008 By 9 Comments
Manolo Quezon and I had a rather interesting discussion via Twitter on traditional media outfits vis-a-vis the blogosphere, shortly after I had published my post Storm the Gates. Although we had a few disagreements on specifics (if they can be called disagreements — they seem to me more differences in perspective rather than outright conflict), it seemed to me that we were generally in agreement. One of his messages I agreed with wholeheartedly went:
Recent Comments