Praise Maria Ressa, Raise Rappler To A Higher Form: Village Journalism!

Antihero Allan M is out in the Internet campaigning to get people’s support for the Swedish group to “Recall The Nobel Peace Prize Of Maria Ressa[1]” (29 October 2021, Avaaz.org). To say the least, I reject the recall petition. In fact, I want both the Nobel Committee and Maria Ressa to raise the roof for people journalism!

The article “The Nobel Peace Prize 2021[2]” (08 October 2021, The Nobel Prize) says:

The Norwegian Nobel Committee has decided to award the Nobel Peace Prize for 2021 to Maria Ressa and Dmitry Muratov for their efforts to safeguard freedom of expression, which is a precondition for democracy and lasting peace. Ms Ressa and Mr Muratov are receiving the Peace Prize for their courageous fight for freedom of expression in the Philippines and Russia (respectively). At the same time, they are representatives of all journalists who stand up for this ideal in a world in which democracy and freedom of the press face increasingly adverse conditions.

Maria Ressa uses freedom of expression to expose abuse of power, use of violence and growing authoritarianism in her native… Philippines.

After the Nobel announcement, Justin Hendrix interviewed Maria Ressa (18 April 2021, “Maria Ressa: On Disinformation & Democracy,” Tech Policy Press). For one thing, she accused Facebook with having “allowed leaders to manipulate people with impunity.”

My advice is, with the added prestige of its Nobel, for Rappler journalists to go from Investigative Journalism to Development Journalism, or what I call Communication for Development (ComDev), which is the exact title of my beloved blog.

Without letting go of Disinformationconcerning the whole political and social Philippines, Rappler could devote 70% of its powers into Documentation, Database & Deliveryin the wide field of agricultural growth. Pity the millions of poor farmers & fishers who need, first of all, ComDev information & data!

An Agriculturist, I’m thinking of collaborating with Rappler, Maria Ressa willing, to create a RapplerAgriculture Infobank (AI). With Rappler’s new prestige, I am sure it can attract grants for the digital project: US$1 Million from the USAID and P5 Million from the Agricultural Credit Policy Council (ACPC), an attached agency of the Department of Agriculture (DA). With USAID & ACPC funding, Rappler’s AI can easily hire from the key state colleges & universities (SCUs) in the country young gatherers of scientific knowledge & farmer experiences, the collection of which are then transformed into farmer-usable bits & pieces and searchable by cellphone anytime. With Rappler as Program Manager, I will be Knowledge Guru and train the SCUs’ youth on creative journalism, virtually.

In 2003, then-ICRISAT Director General and now PH Secretary of Agriculture William Dar proposed an Open Academy for Philippine Agriculture (OpAPA). That proposal was submitted via PhilRice, which hired me as a consultant – I wrote an original OpAPA concept book titled The Geography Of Knowledge (TGoK), 200 pages, to turn dream into reality, but nothing came out of it. Tigok!

Today, if Rappler approves my proposed Rappler’s AI, TGoK will come back to life!@517


[1]https://secure.avaaz.org/community_petitions/en/nobel_peace_prize_committee_recall_the_nobel_peace_prize_of_maria_ressa/?fpla

[2]https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2021/press-release/

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