One wonders why Maria Ressa gets a lot of kudos from one or the other “journalism” awards body. The way these international organisations gush about her, you’d really be led to believe that Maria Ressa really is God’s Gift to Philippine Journalism.
For example, according to a certain Peter Greste who, according to his Twitter profile, is “UNESCO Chair in Journalism and Communication”;
Nobody questions President Duterte the way my friend and colleague @mariaressa does. Nobody challenges the Philippines government with as much courage. Nobody deserves support more than she and her team at @rapplerdotcom
Well, gee whiz, that really puts to shame all the other hardworking and professional Filipino journalists in these parts. A good number of them actually work for the bigger, more established and far more editorially-sound news media organisations even.
But, yeah, Ressa is Number One, right? That’s according to the numerous stories she and her Rapplerettes write about herself and their organisation. This is, after all, a news outfit renowned for making the news primarily about themselves.
Spare a thought for all the unsung Filipino journalists who make the news about the stuff and the people who they report about and keep themselves, their creds, and their “personal brand” in the background where these belong in this line of business. Now that is what being a true professional journalist is really all about.
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