SENATOR Manuel “Mar” Roxas II was the keynote speaker at Media Nation, which was held in Clark, Pampanga and which I blogged about while the event was ongoing.

He quipped that it was hard to be the keynote speaker when you’re the last one to give your speech — and the one keeping people from having their dinner, heh. He also joked that he felt a bit like being led into the lion’s den, since the event was a gathering of a virtual Who’s Who in Philippine journalism (in my case it was probably more like: “And this is one of our editors, Joey Alarilla.” “Who?” heh), with major print, TV, radio and online publications represented. (On a more personal note, it also became a mini-UP Tinta reunion for me as Dodge Dillague, formerly of GMA 7 and now a director at ABC 5, and Philippine Daily Inquirer reporter Alcuin Papa, are my orgmates.)

What’s funny is that the senator said he would like to start his reflection on the state of political reportage in the Philippines by talking about hope, and then alluding to the Hope controversy, heh. OK, we all saw it coming, but it was still good enough for a few laughs.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

I’M fascinated with the possible impact of the Internet on the Philippine elections, and that’s one of the questions I’ve asked candidates whenever I field questions in the Eleksyon 2007 podcast. In the US, of course, the Internet has been playing an increasingly important role.

Case in point: the campaigns of the two most popular Democrats who would like to become their party’s presidental candidate Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama.

We’ve also seen the self-destruction of powerful politicians such as Virginia Senator George Allen, who was thought to be a cinch for reelection before the infamous “Macaca” controversy that was caught on video and made the rounds on YouTube.

[Read the rest of this entry »]

JAMES DICKENSON talked about the need for media organizations to protect their credibility, because once this is is lost, it is hard to regain the faith of your audience.

Here’s a video clip of Dickenson’s plenary speech “Political Reporting or Reporting the Political: Experiences of the US.”

In the Q & A, Dickenson also noted that the rise of websites and blogs is having an adverse effect on newspapers and TV in the US. He said news organizations are cutting back on personnel at a time when they should be increasing and strengthening their coverage.

“And I regret having to report that,” he said.

US reporter, editor and columnist James R. Dickenson giving his plenary speech. Click on the thumbnail for the full-size pic.

FINALLY we have wifi access here in the ballroom.

Here’s the video clip of Mario Taguiwalo of pagbabago@pilipinas, the spirit guide of Media Nation.