LAUREN CHEN WRITES- Hopefully this murder won’t become another unsolved media mystery. Recently, radio broadcaster Mario Vendiola, 33, was gunned down and killed in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay. On his motorcycle ride home, Vendiola was shot 3 times in the chest and was declared dead before reaching the hospital. He was an announcer for Manila Broadcasting [...]
About Lauren Chen
PHILIPPINES: Suddenly Things Are Looking Up — Almost
LAUREN CHEN WRITES – Despite solid macroeconomics, further economic development in the Philippines needs to be more inclusive in order to be sustained. The Philippines future is bright with its recent favorable position to sustain growth in an “exceptionally grim international landscape” and predicted Gross Domestic Product (GDP) growth rate. The financial sector has become [...]
PHILIPPINES: Can Media Cooperation Mediate the Sabah Crisis?
In the middle of the ongoing territorial dispute over the Sabah between the Malaysian government and the Sulu Sultanate, the Inquirer and GMA 7 are the first Filipino news teams to be accredited by Malaysian authorities to go in-country and cover the crisis. Despite the Malaysian government’s reported ban on foreign journalists, the Filipino reporters [...]
MALDIVES: Flog the Rape Victim – the Country’s Oxymoronic Tension Between Islamic Law and Democracy
Institutionalized violence against women is nothing new to the Maldives. A 15-year-old rape victim was prosecuted after she confessed to having a physical relationship with another man besides her rapist. Her sentence is 100 humiliating lashes when she turns 18 plus 8 months of house arrest at a children’s home. Firm on the nation’s strict [...]
PHILIPPINES: Media-Phobic Commission on Elections—Feigned Fairness?
The public should be cautious of the Commission on Election’s (Comelec) ability to meet its expectations to conduct clean polls in the May 2013 Elections. So far, the Comelec’s integrity has been in question. According to Comelec Resolution 9615, the poll body has imposed aggregate and not per station airtime limits. Since the Supreme Court [...]
PHILIPPINES: Violation of Press Freedom? You decide.
Bobby Nalzaro, columnist of the Sun.Star, the first Filipino community newspaper to go online, has recently returned from his “sabbatical”. Approximately a month ago, the Sun Star board of directors suspended Nalzaro and discontinued his 15-year-old column because he wrote critically about the suspended governor of the Philippine province of Cebu. Gov. Gwendolyn Garcia was [...]
PHILIPPINES: The Time Is Now
The Freedom of Information Bill (FOI) has sparked much controversy in the past few weeks. The bill was originally introduced in 2010, but due to lack of quorum, was not passed. Recently, the FOI bill has incited debate between legislators and members of the press regarding whether or not it will infringe on the right [...]
ASIA INSIGHT VIDEO NO. FOUR: STEPHANIE GARCIA AND HER VIEW ON AMERICAN JOURNALISM AND SINGAPORE
Professor Tom Plate meets with South-South News
Professor Tom Plate Goes Live With South-South News to discuss his book on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Professor Plate reveals why he decided to write a book on Ban Ki-Moon -- and how the Western media stereotypes the Korean diplomat.
Staff Writer Lauren Chen Reflects on the Death of a Journalist