Filipino Media in Toronto

Some of the Filipino newspapers in Toronto are shown above. Retired lawyer and blogger Joe Rivera comments: "It is not so much the quantity of newspapers but rather the mediocrity and reportage that these newspapers suffer from". Out of 15 newspapers we counted to join our discussion, only four responded -- three editors and one columnist. The others did not bother to answer back.


THE FILIPINO WEB CHANNEL - Redefining Community News

Currents & Breaking News

Volume 5, Issue No. 2

/ News That Fears None, Views That Favor Nobody /

 

. . . . . A community service of The Filipino Web Channel (TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com) and the Philippine Village Voice ( PhilVoiceNews@gmail.com ) for the information and understanding of Filipinos and the diverse communities in North America . . . . . .

 

The News UpFront: (TOP STORY) as of Saturday, January 15, 2011

~ We tried to get a good grasp of the media situation in the Filipino community of Toronto by attempting an interview with 12 of the 15 or so newspapers. From our perch, we would like the publishers and/or editors to challenge the contention that a significant number, if not most, of the papers suffer from what one blogger calls "mediocrity". We have our own observation that we will also publish here. In the meantime, news coverage by the local press of community events remains wanting in substance and depth.

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What Ails Local Media? Is It Profit-Motive, 'Mediocrity'
or Lack of Honest-to-Goodness Journalists?

By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Member, Asian American Journalists Association (AAJA)

TORONTO - Were numbers the sole criteria to determine size, the Filipino media in Toronto would easily qualify as big!

Fifteen tabloids are locked in cutthroat competition to gain patronage of a fraction of the estimated 200,000 Filipinos in Canada's largest city.

The papers dazzle readers with full-page colored pictures, entertainment stories, beauty contests, gossips, endless parties and private get-togethers.

(To view video at YouTube, please click the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VgyPPVQhfns&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL)


Non-profit organizations unabashedly shed their political color from time to time through advertorials or plain ads.

News coverages are focused on movie stars and entertainment people either from the GMA or TFC stables.


In areas where public support is massive, the competing networks practically take over and run the community fest.


As in July 2010 when sex star Katrina Halili was marketed as role model by organizer Philippine Independence Day Council.

From this image lifted lifted from websites, Katrina Halili

is shown with her lover Hayden Kho in an ad promo.

And because GMA was out to promote its stars, PIDC had to give way to instigation for actor Wendell Ramos to undress. He did, gladly.


By their nature, newspapers had to fulfill a role. Most times they act as watchdogs, whistle-blowers and community guardians.


That's the reason, media or the press are collectively called the Fourth Estate. It's the unofficial eye watching over the three other estates - the executive, the legislative and the judiciary.

Except for some, coverage of events is superficial.


In comparison, entertainers get wide coverage. Their every little story gets published in practically all the newspapers.


This is where the question of relevance comes up. Another is proximity. Are Manila stories more relevant than those happening in the Filipino community of Toronto?


A retired lawyer and blogger, Joe Rivera, makes a stinging comment. He writes: "It is not so much the quantity of newspapers but rather the mediocrity and reportage that these newspapers suffer from".


Rivera continues: "Improving the quality of our local newspapers can be a worthwhile project of the Filipino press association, as they can perform audits of these newspapers if they conform to accepted standards of professional journalism".


We ventured to get insights of publishers and editors.

Publishers and editors who were courteous enough to respond: from bottom, clockwise, columnist Tenny Soriano, Eddie Lee of Atin Ito, Rolly Cabrera of Taliba and Butch Galicia of Libreto.

Sadly, only four got back to us. Two reputed journalists, Tenny Soriano and Butch Galicia, promptly responded with their views. The rest simply ignored the questions and did not even bother, as a matter of courtesy, to acknowledge them.

Out of 15 Filipino newspapers, only four dared to speak -- Atin Ito's Eddie Lee, Libreto's Butch Galicia, Taliba's Rolly Cabrera and columnist Tenny Soriano.

Does that silence, or refusal to join the discussion, an apt indication of what Joe Rivera calls "mediocrity" that the papers suffer from?

(This Currents & Breaking News may be posted online, broadcast or reprinted upon request by interested parties. Permission by the author and the editor must be obtained before any re-posting online or re-publication in print or re-broadcast. Copyright by Romeo P. Marquez, Editor, Philippine Village Voice, Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Volume 5, Issue no. 2, January 15, 2011. Email at: TheFilipinoWebChannel@gmail.com, PhilVoiceNews@aol.com  or CurrentsBreakingNews@gmail.com ).

My news channels can be viewed by clicking the links:



The Filipino Web Channel at YouTube:
1. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cT74cbxq6ak&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G2FLYca354w&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL


At Vimeo:
1. http://vimeo.com/16962555
2. http://vimeo.com/user4144767


For other stories, please visit:
1. http://currentsbreakingnews.blogspot.com/  
2. http://torontonewsroom.blogspot.com/
3. http://timecircumstance.blogspot.com/
4. http://travelsthemes.blogspot.com/  
5. http://gotchajournalist.blogspot.com/ .


For newsvideos at The Gotcha Journalist Channel, please click the links:
1. Milestone in Leadership, Friendship and Service of Alpha Phi Omega in San Diego:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a4lmYnkU_3s&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
2. A 20-million peso Bounty for Gawad Kalinga from TELUS, a Top Canadian Firm:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e6w59zu-os8&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
3. Ako ay Pilipino - The Song Heard 'Round Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jlIfQWASv4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
4. Bayan Ko by PAMANA Vocal Ensemble:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sOeLLJA094A&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
5. Candid Talk with Tony Meloto, Gawad Kalinga Founder:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Y4mkd_gX6RE&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
6. The Life of a Filipino Caregiver in Song and Dance:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ARiBxo1ilNM&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
7. Filipino Caregivers Honor Philippine Labor Attache in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7Y5HfltfkC4&feature=mfu_in_order&list=UL
8. Trees of Gold, Red and Orange - My First Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sNOmsAZ8xW4&playnext=1&videos=Z4sl5t7IhZk&feature=mfu_in_order
9. The Blooming Wildflowers of Autumn in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=w5Oj2n_L1is&playnext=1&videos=PixfkFrNkd0&feature=mfu_in_order
10. Cucina Manila - A Taste of Filipino Food in Toronto:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zLbDA6rkpQw&playnext=1&videos=56RoSgO_O4Q&feature=mfu_in_order