21STCLPW Journal Analysis

Title: Journalism, public health, and Author: Jan Michael Alexandre C.

COVID-19: some preliminary Bernadas and Karol Ilagan
insights from the Philippines De La Salle University, Philiippines

Publisher: Media International Australia Publish Date: September 2, 2020

Student Name: Winefredo P. Tonido Jr. Year/Section: 12 - Faraday

Main Points made by the Author Page

Number
 People's access to information became limited as COVID-19
p. 133
spreads. Journalists halt their existing practices due to the
ongoing pandemic.
 Journalists experience high level of physical and mental stress p. 134
as they cover latest events and happenings from hospitals and
areas prone to the virus.
 Journalists are having hard time coping with the new normal as p. 134
they gather news information and sources virtually through
online webinars and meetings.
 Digital media plays the vital role in the current situation of news p. 135
broadcasting. It allows the journalist to help the Filipinos
understand more the pandemic ㅡ from handing out COVID-19
related reports to giving updates of the meeting and press
conferences discussing the response about COVID-19.
  The work of the journalists is being affected by the spread of p. 135
misleading information, such as the dissemination of fake news
about mass testing and vaccines, as well as the 'data breach' that
causes the diffusion of online misinformation.

Reaction and Analysis

The journal discusses the relation of journalism and the public health in the
Philippines, including the changes happened to the Filipino journalists and journalism as
COVID-19 spread throughout the country. The authors presented the points in an organized
way as they started with the current situation of news media and production. They included
the use of technology in spreading the news, then succeeded by the obstructive side of the
media in journalism today. They focused on the important functions of digital media in
handling out information with regards to the latest news of COVID-19 in the Philippines.

In connection with the digital media, the authors emphasized the risks digital
journalists are experiencing in the field of Internet since the presence of
mis-/disinformation and fake news about health-related contents, more specifically to
COVID-19, emerge. They also featured the Republic Act No. 11469 and 11479 that
somehow affected the spreading of information towards the public.

Conclusion

COVID-19 made drastic changes on how news and information are disseminated to
the public. The pandemic restricted a lot of practices journalists used to do back then, such
as field and public works. On one hand, it gives them opportunity to take a step and adapt
to changes through the help of digital media. The development of the new way of gathering
and sharing information doesn’t only depend on the journalists and news personnel
themselves but together with all of the citizens. Everyone is responsible in how they will take
part in sharing reliable information. News became so powerful especially nowadays that
several catastrophes are happening in our country right now. Journalists are taking one
step ahead in adopting the new normal of public news amidst the effects of pandemic we are
all experiencing.