Volume 1, Issue No. 32
OPINION/COMMENTARY
/ 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 . . .
Our latest as of Thursday, March 12, 2020
~ From an obscure teacher in the Philippines, she became, by a change in circumstances, publisher and editor of a tabloid in Toronto and discovering along the way how influential and pretty powerful one could be. As such, people would tend to believe whatever she dishes out, maybe out of habit, friendship, and sympathy. But she can't be right all the time; mistakes happen and owning them up would go a long way in instilling respect. Not for her, it seems; she's much too high to even look down.
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BALITA: A SINISTER PULPIT
Who's Afraid of Tess Cusipag?
By ROMEO P. MARQUEZ
Editor, The Filipino Web Channel
"If you allow yourself to be used, you will be trampled". - Anonymous
A former teacher in the Philippines, she publishes and edits Balita, the Filipino community's biggest photo album tabloid, to carry on, she has previously claimed, the legacy of her husband, the veteran journalist Ruben Cusipag who passed away in July 2013. (Video at: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=JJR8AlVgMMc&list=UL672oQb5shR4&index=890).
Such a gesture was noble, to begin with, but I have my doubts whether or not the memory of the late newspaperman is served effectively by her mediocre, nonchalant approach to publishing, and substantially, in editing where knowledge and experience matter.
For example, she browbeats her perceived enemies and anyone who happens to cross her path, calling them names and unjustly tagging them even when the courts of law had not adjudged them guilty of any offense.
The case of Ms. Lily Hammer is illustrative. Ms. Cusipag scoffs at her like a criminal, calling her "Lily Scammer, the fraud and scammer" when nothing in the court system has ever found her guilty as charged by cowardly internet trolls and anonymous individuals.
Another businessperson, Naomi Ong, found herself in the same predicament. The copycat "guest writer" named Edwin Mercurio sensationalizes her in Balita by collecting information from the court (where he reportedly works as a messenger) and fashions them into a make-believe tale.
In at least three cases in Small Claims Court, Mercurio stands as "lay representative" for claimants, a situation that gives rise to a potential conflict of interest considering his access to confidential records both as "representative" and court employee, on one hand, and as "writer" for Balita, on the other.
Ruben Cusipag had had a better sense of fairness when he was the editor, unsurprisingly because he had known and had had the grounding as a working journalist in the Philippines before coming to Canada in the early 70s.
These days, the fortnightly Balita is now a weapon for Ms. Cusipag and Mercurio, and their newfound boosters called elite scammers, oops, sorry, I mean "Elite Crusaders". Social media (mainly Facebook) is their preferred platform to launch savage verbal attacks against individuals and internet trolls whose very existence is questionable.
There are underground supporters too - partners in crime? - composed of the fake doctor, a paralegal of dubious background, an unindicted sexual assaulter, and hustlers pretending to be concerned citizens.
In the Filipino community, being identified with a newspaper carries some weight, and I don't mean in the literal sense to describe Ms. Cusipag as some people might think.
So being publisher/editor comes with power and influence to shape public perceptions of right and wrong regardless of whether the person possesses the moral authority and bona fides to hold positions of great responsibility.
I know those for a fact, having written investigative pieces for that paper for seven years - the length of time Balita had shredded its zany image and gained some respectability as a serious newspaper.
During my term (as a reporter, columnist, and associate editor) there that came to an abrupt end in June 2019 for defending the truth and standing by it, Balita was at the zenith of its popularity, the newspaper of choice by many people looking for hard news about the community.
Arguably it had to do with the many critical and expository articles I wrote. Some of those stories had engendered four multimillion-dollar libel suits, a course of action made inevitable by the essence of that genre of journalism. It's the nature of the beast, so to speak.
That is not to say I was solely responsible for the lawsuits. Knowing I was on the side of truth had strengthened my resolve to fight and continue on.
Notwithstanding the many controversies, I knew where I stood in my writing. If my reporting had been scathing, it was because the facts called for it. A journalist's first responsibility is to adhere to the truth and report it honestly and accurately come what may.
I doubt if Tess Cusipag, as the publisher, knew this. Unschooled and untrained in journalism, she took in the role of the editor without understanding that the position does not simply involve filling spaces with pictures. Critical thinking plays an important part in publishing news, not gossip, and certainly not reprints from other media.
As everyone knows, anybody with money can be a publisher, essentially the capitalist. But even with money at one's disposal, one can not be editor just like that without at least knowing the fundamentals of journalism or even the very basic structure of news writing.
The result is a paper like Balita - a mish-mash of pictures, gossip, irrelevant news, praise releases, entertainment with wannabe writers like the copycat Edwin Mercurio dishing out erroneous articles. It's the perfect example of incoherence.
By the way, even as he has not warmed his guest seat, Mercurio is already being hailed to court for libel. His co-respondent is his publisher and editor.
The obvious lack of journalism grounding shows itself in the paper. It also explains why she takes on Facebook, i.e. to vent her frustrations, anger, failure and to run after critics. Besides, Facebook has more reach than the paper.
I had long wondered why, despite having Balita to express herself fully, she has to resort to Facebook to bamboozle those who displease her. I believe it's probably because Facebook is the go-to platform for public shaming.
If I might say without trying to offend, newspapering is not a play or sport, rather, it's an exercise of the intellect. It's for those with a sound mind and not for the weak of heart either.
Without Balita at her beck and call, would Tess Cusipag be belligerent to people she regards as enemies and a softie to those in the category of "you scratch my back and I'll scratch yours" even if they're in the wrong?
It's pitiable how a few months would turn Balita into a sinister pulpit manipulated by her friends taking advantage of her naïveté.
But then, she's old enough to know who's pulling the strings on her and realize, hopefully, what a fool they've made of her. Given that she's publisher and editor, it's a shame to find her in such a despicable situation. (Copyright 2020. All Rights Reserved).
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