Update: This is an old archived post on this site and is only kept online for my own archival purposes. The content and images on this post this might be outdated, incomplete, or no longer relevant in today’s discourse. Please do not sue me if the Internet breaks because you read this and tried to do whatever was on here.
Yep, that’s for real, I am the nephew of a very lovely person named Malu Fernandez. My aunt’s reputation though, is nowhere near the vilified persona of the much hated, ex-People Asia writer. My aunt instead is an angel busy with making the world a much better place.
My aunt… an angel busy with making the world a much better place.
I just read an article on joanjoyce‘s blog and wanting to make a comment, I immediately jumped right in. But when I noticed that I was already typing away nearly three paragraphs worth of comments, I instead decided to make this into a full-pledged post.
Malu Fernandez (the writer, not my aunt) has come up with yet another article which we think would cause another stir within the Pinoy blogosphere. I’m surprised
she now (don’t really care about which paper) she still writes for Manila Standard Today and I hope she enjoys working there. So here’s my reaction to her “slacking off” commentary.
I took up journalism in college but ended up as a designer. Back then I felt that I didn’t need to “study” journalism as I grew up knowing that journalists are made and not taught. Being born and raised in a family full of journalists, I was never taught or made to write with such prejudice or bias.
Malu Fernandez may be correct with some of the facts particularly about Pinoy bloggers “lynch blogging” her for what she has written before. But to single out Filipinos as backstabbing indios with blogs, well that is a different case.
“The difference between a journalist and a blogger is that journalists have to adhere to certain guidelines that govern the freedom of speech.”
True. A journalist abides by a certain etiquette, a non-written code of conduct when writing. A “pro” doesn’t speak out her mind without showing a plethora of facts. Journalists do not write articles that demean other people’s professions or livelihoods. They write about the truth and not about their egos.
On the other hand, us bloggers have a more liberal environment which I mostly enjoy. Here we can write on anything we want with no editors looking after your our writing skills and our biased ego. However “pro-blogging” demands that we evolve into something better either by writing good responsible content, fostering friendships, collaborating or networking with other bloggers.
We bloggers are masters of our own domain, literally.
The article seems incomplete and her writing clearly shows her bias and that she was very much affected by the whole OFWfiasco last year. For me She is a feature writer and not a news person or journalist.
“If you have something to say, don’t hide behind a false name. It’s just plain cowardice of you to do so.”
Journalists use pen names or pseudonyms to hide their identities. I know people who write for several major newspapers using different pen names for each publication. Even Jose Rizal and the rest of the gang used pen names to hide their identities from the Spaniards.
A blogger’s anonymity is purely cosmetic and is very limited. In most cases, trying a reverse IP lookup or a domain whois search will reveal who that anonymous blogger is along with an address and phone number.
“If blogging is such a slacker job then maybe that makes me bad at slacking off.”
Update: This is an old archived post on this site and is only kept online for my own archival purposes. The content and images on this post this might be outdated, incomplete, or no longer relevant in today’s discourse. Please do not sue me if the Internet breaks because you read this and tried to do whatever was on here.
36 comments
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[...] March 17th, 2008 at 5:30 pm] « Malu Fernandez is My Tita Get Paid to Blog – The Smorty Way » submit_url = [...]
Nightdreamer
Ah. About anonymity, someone posted an awesome comment about it on my blog: “bloggers stay anonymous because we are confident enough na di ipaglantaran ang sarili namin dahil pag nakita ng mga boss ng mga lintik na “journalist” ang mga sinusulat namin at malaman ang mga tunay na pangalan namin eh masisante sila at i-hire kami!” Hahaha!
nina
Meh, she’s really doing it for the attention. And revenge. Pero talo pa rin siya XD
hails
what does she know about blogging for her to opine as such? isn’t her content an indicator that she knows very little of the subject? anyway, i sent my comments to manila standard already.
archondigital
Ms. Malu probably doesn’t know that a major players like CNN and NY Times are using bloggers and blogging applications to power their websites. Blogging has evolved to the point where there is now a very thin, indistinguishable line separating mainstream journalists from the ordinary guerrilla blogger. Thanks for dropping by Follow archondigital on Twitter
archondigital
Malu Fernandez probably can’t handle all the negative feedback over the whole OFW issue which led her to write something new to grab some attention again from us slackers. pikon talo Follow archondigital on Twitter
archondigital
oks lang sis. nakaka tuwa pala nga gumamit ng threaded commenting. Astig! Follow archondigital on Twitter
joanjoyce
“A “pro” doesn’t speak out her mind without showing a plethora of facts. Journalists do not write articles that demean other people’s professions or livelihoods. They write about the truth and not about their egos.” thats nice. I hope your “tita” practice true journalism as she described herself a journalist. Love your post Archon.
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archondigital
oks lang sis. nakaka tuwa pala nga gumamit ng threaded commenting. Astig!
100% Batangueno
we all have our freedom and practicing it is another thing.
Lolotehe
“If you have something to say, don’t hide behind a false name. It’s just plain cowardice of you to do so.” Don’t tell George Orwell, or is that Eric Arthur Blair?
archondigital
It’s okay the whole Tita thing is part of it.
joanjoyce
“A “pro” doesn’t speak out her mind without showing a plethora of facts. Journalists do not write articles that demean other people’s professions or livelihoods. They write about the truth and not about their egos.” thats nice. I hope your “tita” practice true journalism as she described herself a journalist. Love your post Archon.
Lolotehe
“If you have something to say, don’t hide behind a false name. It’s just plain cowardice of you to do so.” Don’t tell George Orwell, or is that Eric Arthur Blair?
joanjoyce
i mean ur tita’s ka name paki edit lol
100% Batangueno
we all have our freedom and practicing it is another thing.
100% Batangueno
archon, your akismet loves my comments.lol
archondigital
How can I conquer the world if I can’t even make a good job at slacking off? Thank you for your comments
hoochiecoochiegal
the non-written code of conduct should be embedded in practice, whether you are a journ or a blogger. you cannot have too much discretion when exercising this right called freedom of expression.
archondigital
Ms. Malu probably doesn’t know that a major players like CNN and NY Times are using bloggers and blogging applications to power their websites. Blogging has evolved to the point where there is now a very thin, indistinguishable line separating mainstream journalists from the ordinary guerrilla blogger. Thanks for dropping by
Nightdreamer
Ah. About anonymity, someone posted an awesome comment about it on my blog: “bloggers stay anonymous because we are confident enough na di ipaglantaran ang sarili namin dahil pag nakita ng mga boss ng mga lintik na “journalist” ang mga sinusulat namin at malaman ang mga tunay na pangalan namin eh masisante sila at i-hire kami!” Hahaha!
Genkuro
Very witty Blog title. Ang Galing. The first time she did that I was really fuming because I have friends working abroad (OFW) not by choice but by need. Now she is targeting us bloggers and commenter’s alike. I suggest for her to try blogging. Go ahead, give it a try! Who knows, by some miracle, THAT blog might become a hit and get lots of “paying” advertisers. That way, it’ll find out that blogging is not just a “slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect.” By the revenues the blog will generate, IT might even have enough to buy a business class or even a first class ticket the next time IT decides to waddle back to GREECE with all the GREASE. She is taunting us bloggers to give her another 15 minutes of fame. She had a taste and now she wants more. Shall we give it to her? I say “Nay!”
archondigital
Malu Fernandez probably can’t handle all the negative feedback over the whole OFW issue which led her to write something new to grab some attention again from us slackers. pikon talo
archondigital
And there really is no point of comparison between blogging and journalism. Both co-exist with each other without any problems and aren’t made to conflict with each other. Another point is she’s NOT the authority on this matter. Malu Fernandez can and has all the right to rant about it, but still, she is a lifestyle writer and NOT A JOURNALIST. Her writing style is really made for feature writing with all the “I’s” and “me’s” on her every article. She’d actually do well with a blog of her own. Follow archondigital on Twitter
Iris
Pretty clever isn’t it? now i know who Malu Fernandez is! at first i was like malu who? I think i will do the same so that everyone will know me and read my blog. Oh! well i need to learn how to be attention seeker first(Practice makes perfect) i’m too slack i supposed.
PinoyBlurker » Blog Archive » links for 2008-03-14
[...] http://www.archon-digital.com/2008/03/13/malu-fernandez-is-my-tita/ [...]
links for 2008-03-14 « PinoyBlogoSphere.com | PhilippineBlogoSphere.com
[...] http://www.archon-digital.com/2008/03/13/malu-fernandez-is-my-tita/ [...]
Pinoy Blurker » links for 2008-03-14
[...] http://www.archon-digital.com/2008/03/13/malu-fernandez-is-my-tita/ [...]
Iris
Pretty clever isn’t it? now i know who Malu Fernandez is! at first i was like malu who? I think i will do the same so that everyone will know me and read my blog. Oh! well i need to learn how to be attention seeker first(Practice makes perfect) i’m too slack i supposed.
archondigital
We’ll, I was lucky to have an aunt with the same name. I’ll admit it did grab people’s attention and helped me get my opinion heard as well as drive traffic. Thanks for droppin’ by
archondigital
We’ll di naman sa walang magawa but kailangan kasi kumayod eh… writing = income I wish she’d earn more so she wouldn’t have to fly economy class… …ever
Genkuro
Very witty Blog title. Ang Galing. The first time she did that I was really fuming because I have friends working abroad (OFW) not by choice but by need. Now she is targeting us bloggers and commenter’s alike. I suggest for her to try blogging. Go ahead, give it a try! Who knows, by some miracle, THAT blog might become a hit and get lots of “paying” advertisers. That way, it’ll find out that blogging is not just a “slacker job or a medium and pastime for lonely people to connect.” By the revenues the blog will generate, IT might even have enough to buy a business class or even a first class ticket the next time IT decides to waddle back to GREECE with all the GREASE. She is taunting us bloggers to give her another 15 minutes of fame. She had a taste and now she wants more. Shall we give it to her? I say “Nay!”
archondigital
And there really is no point of comparison between blogging and journalism. Both co-exist with each other without any problems and aren’t made to conflict with each other. Another point is she’s NOT the authority on this matter. Malu Fernandez can and has all the right to rant about it, but still, she is a lifestyle writer and NOT A JOURNALIST. Her writing style is really made for feature writing with all the “I’s” and “me’s” on her every article. She’d actually do well with a blog of her own.
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