Part 3
“It would be more appropriate to say that the media is currently migrating. It does not mean that they are slowly disappearing. Instead, they are finding ways to survive in this and continue reporting on different platforms,” Clarin explained.
This idea of migration, with journalists leaving newsrooms for freelancing, alternative spaces, or abandoning the field altogether, has become the defining marker of the state of Philippine media today. Far from signaling progress under the Marcos Jr. administration, it reflects how little has changed. The conditions that made journalism dangerous and unsustainable during the Duterte years remain, only now masked by a friendlier facade.
Low salaries, lack of benefits, and constant political harassment have forced journalists to multitask, juggle different jobs, and take on projects outside their main beats.
“Most of the members in the provinces fall between the 5,000-10,000 and 11,000-15,000 salary range. A significant number of journalists take on other jobs (teaching, development work, running a small business) to survive,” NUJP survey revealed.
With weak newsroom support, many journalists opt to migrating toward freelancing, where they face both new opportunities and new vulnerabilities.
Ethical challenges and AI dependence
“Yung gumagawa ng trabaho nila ethically, medyo struggle kasi yan eh, lalo na kung yung from outside Metro Manila, or nagtatrabaho sa hindi naman malaking company so maliit talaga ang sahod which puts you at risk of unethical behavior,” NUJP chairperson Jonathan de Santos stressed.
According to him, even the articles released by different large and alternative media companies were observed to be very similar with one another and lack diverse viewpoints.
“Halos isa lang, halos pareho nga yung pagkakasulat eh, so definitely, kulang sa plurality ang media in the Philippines. A lot of it are just kung ano ang POV (point of view) ng government, ng dominant social orders, ay yun na yung lumalabas. Very rarely ka makakarinig ng lumalabas ang POV ng communities or workers noh, so definitely kulang yun, so napaka-importante din na may alternative media ano kasi nga kailangan natin ng ganung viewpoints,” he said.
Journalism educator Danilo Arao added that the biggest ethical challenges are plagiarism and the lack of criticality resulting from Artificial Intelligence (AI) dependence.
“They should reaffirm the highest normative standards of journalism even if it means less profit by being less sensational and dramatic in news choices and delivery. They should engage in self-criticism. To some extent, the criticisms are valid especially when the news media is focused more on the sensational to “sell” news, not shape public opinion,” he said.
“Generative AI will become an intricate part of news production, which may be good for those who use tech for productivity but bad for those who depend on AI to the point where human intervention (especially gatekeeping) is replaced by faceless machines and software programs,” Arao added.
Meanwhile, there are still enough journalists and media organizations that report fairly and free from external pressures. Only that they just became less critical in this current administration. Journalist Aizel Mae Tugalon said these can be strengthened if they are reminded that they have a significant role in holding those in powers to account.
“There are still enough because we have both the big corporation that tells the news and alternative media that tells the human rights angle,” Tugalon said.
“The ones who stay are the ones who believe in what they do, to inform the public so that they make the right political decisions. It’s no longer about what they can gain in this profession,” Teodoro added.
Friendlier facade, same threats
One of the factors why the media isn’t very critical of the Marcos administration is the fear carried over from the previous Duterte administration, which has clearly benefitted his term.
“Hindi openly ang attack sa media compared to the previous administration. The same struggle remains, the same challenge remains, kunware, libel is still a crime. So yung factors that made it dangerous to be a journalist during Duterte are still there, may pinapatay pa din naman, mas konti, pero may pinapatay pa rin naman, at hindi pa rin naman resolve yung mga kasong yun, so ganun pa rin, friendlier lang si Marcos to media,” one journalist shared.
Meanwhile, NUJP recorded 177 total number of press freedom violation cases under the Marcos Jr. administration as of May 1 this year.
These also include the blocking of media websites such as Bulatlat and Pinoy Weekly, the persistent red-tagging, and the continuous detention of Frenchie Mae Cumpio, whose charges were never thoroughly investigated.
Five journalists have also been killed since Marcos Jr. took office, namely Rey Blanco (September 18, 2022), Percy Lapid (October 3, 2022), Cresencio Bundoquin (May 30, 2023), Ma. Vilma Rodriguez (October 22, 2024), and Juan “Johnny” Dayang (April 30, 2025).
“He (Marcos) did nothing to bridge this gap. Instead, he chose to remain hands-off on such topics,” Clarin said.
“Duterte and Marcos Jr. are no different in terms of how they treated the press. It’s just that the former is more brazen while the latter is more scheming. But they are both restricting freedom of information, tolerating censorship, and engaging in red-tagging (albeit indirectly in the case of Marcos Jr., as the police, military, and NTF-ELCAC are the ones doing the red-tagging),” Arao added.
While the Marcos Jr. administration made gestures supporting press freedom, such as appointing journalist Jose Torres as the new head of the Presidential Task Force on Media Security (PTFoMS), the administration still needs to confront the glaring challenges faced by Filipino journalists.
“He proclaimed during the anniversaries of both KBP (Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas) and FOCAP that he is for the protection of journalists, but they all seemed like empty promises,” Clarin said.
“I think it is most important to note how Marcos Jr.’s administration continues to do nothing to address or remedy the damage left by the previous administration. That already says a lot about his commitment,” she added.
