2017 McLuhan Fellow to speak in T.O. Dec. 5.

philippinereporter.com

Manny Mogato

Manny Mogato, a veteran journalist of thirty years in the Philippines, now correspondent for Reuters news agency, will speak in Toronto on Dec. 5, 2017. He is the 2017 Marshall McLuhan Fellow.

Venue of his talk is Wilson Hall, University of Toronto, 40 Wilcocks St. corner Spadina Ave., Toronto.

He was recently “swarmed” by trolls and his Facebook account was hacked after he co-authored a multi-media report on extrajudicial killings in Duterte’s war on drugs and the police involvement in the killings. He is known for a no-nonsense kind of journalism.

Following is a Marshall McLuhan Fellowship media release:

The 2017 Marshall McLuhan Fellow – Philippines, is Manny Mogato.

This year’s McLuhan Fellow is Manny Mogato, correspondent for Reuters. A journalist for more than thirty years, Mr. Mogato is the the first Filipino correspondent for an international news agency to receive the McLuhan Fellowship. Perhaps one of the most veteran Filipino journalists writing for the foreign press, he started his career in during the last few years of the Marcos dictatorship. During the turbulent democratic transition under the administration of Corazon Aquino, he covered the defense and military beats and became part of the presidential press corps during the Ramos presidency in 1992. In 1997, he was assistant news editor of the Manila Times until it was closed down due to political pressure from then President Joseph Estrada. He later joined Reuters.

Mr. Mogato has been an active member of the Foreign Correspondents Association of the Philippines (FOCAP) which elected him as its president three times and a member of the board for more than 12 years. As a journalist, he has covered conflicts and insurgencies, health concerns, human rights, international affairs, politics, and general news assignments. He has also been teaching as a professorial lecturer at the University of the City of Manila.

Last May, he and the Reuters team in Manila received the Special Merit Award – English Multimedia Category in the Human Rights Press Awards for their multimedia series, “Duterte’s War,” detailing the current Philippine president’s campaign against illegal drugs. The event was co-organized by the Foreign Correspondents’ Club Hong Kong and the Hong Kong Journalists Association with Amnesty International Hong Kong. Mr. Mogato won the McLuhan Fellowship for his excellent reportage of issues surrounding human rights and international diplomacy.

For his presentation in Canada, he has chosen the topic: “Journalism under attack: The phenomenon of fake news and challenges of accountability in the new media” in which he discusses the spread of fake news in the Philippines and how this undermines the news media’s role.

His presentation would also like to discuss the question: “In a time when human rights and other fundamental freedoms in the Philippines are under the spotlight, what should journalists do to respond to the threats of fake news and the lack of accountability by purveyors of false information?”

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The Marshall McLuhan Fellowship is the Embassy of Canada’s flagship public diplomacy initiative in the Philippines. Launched in 1997, this is an advocacy to encourage responsible journalism in the Philippines with the belief that a strong media is essential to a strong democratic society.

Every year, the Manila-based Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility(CMFR) assists the Embassy in choosing a Filipino journalist whose work has contributed to positive changes in the social arena or at least has raised the level of public discourse in a relevant issue usually concerning governance and human rights.

The program provides the winner with a two-week study tour to Canada including at least three major cities. This will be an opportunity for the winner to interact with his media counterparts, and to discuss significant current issues on governance with Canadian government officials, academic interlocutors and members of civil society. The winner will also have the chance to visit as a fellow at the McLuhan Institute in Toronto. Upon the return of the awardee to the Philippines, a series of forums is organized by the Embassy to be held in five key cities around the country to enable the journalist to share his experiences in Canada with students of communication and members of the local and community media.

Aside from contributing to good governance by raising transparency in the public arena, the McLuhan Fellowship also aims to create in the long-term a critical group of influential media personalities with good knowledge and interest in Canadian issues or at least the values Canada stands for: democracy, good governance, and human rights.