VETERAN columnist, professor, author, media critic, and alternative journalism champion Luis V. Teodoro passed away on Monday, the University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication (UPCMC) announced Tuesday.
In a Facebook post, the college paid homage to the press freedom stalwart who served as UP CMC’s dean for two terms during 1994 to 2000.
To honor the notable professor and esteemed journalist, the college recalled Teodoro’s contributions in cultivating academic excellence in the journalism discipline.
As educator, editor, and journalist, Dean Teodoro was pivotal in fostering academic excellence in our discipline, upholding integrity in the practice of media, and defending our freedoms of the press, speech, and assembly,”
University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication
The college also said it will be holding a service for the former dean at the university’s Plaridel Hall. Additional details regarding the service are yet to be announced.
Journalism and fake news
Last year, Teodoro wrote an op-ed piece attributing the rise of fake news on the age of social media to the failure of journalists to provide context to facts.
He said calls to “reinvent” journalism may have basis. But he insisted that journalists have the “fundamental responsibility of interpreting the meaning of news.”
Most news reports, he noted, just focus on the conventional five Ws and one H, so as to observe “objectivity.” For instance, Filipino journalists report on typhoons but did not say why there are so many now and why climate change makes Filipinos suffer more.
The world has become more and more complex and the era of “descriptive journalism” has passed, he said.
“Because much of the media reports only the what, when, and where a source or subject said, and the reactions of others, disinformation afflicts millions in this country despite the billions of bytes newspapers, radio, television, and online news sites generate and disseminate daily. Observing the fundamental responsibilities of interpretation, contextualization, and explaining the meaning of the day’s events can help journalists mitigate that crisis in information and democracy,” he wrote.
Colleagues pledge to continue Teodoro’s work
The National Union of Journalists in the Philippines (NUJP) also remembered the newsman’s courage for being one of the staunchest defenders of the free press.
According to the union, Teodoro has “touched and inspired the lives of countless in our ranks and will continue to be a guide for journalists.”
“The current and the future generations of journalists have been gifted by Dean Teodoro’s lessons on journalism,” it added.
NUJP also vowed to continue the veteran journo’s legacy of wielding the pen in service of the Filipino people.
Aside from serving as a professor and college dean, Teodoro was also the founding chairperson of the alternative publication Altermidya, a network of media outfits, institutions, and individuals.
The news outfit also mourned for the passing of what they called the pillar of Philippine journalism as it pledged for the continuity of Teodoro’s work in preserving the rights of the free press.
“He is credited in advancing the ideals of pro-people journalism both as a respected member of the academe and through the alternative media that he helped organize in the Philippines,” Altermidya wrote in a statement.
It also said it will soon announce the particulars for his interment and tribute in the coming days.
Meanwhile, another alternative media Bulatlat also laments for Teodoro’s death and said “he was a constant reminder that it is imperative for today’s journalists to defend human rights, uphold the highest ethical practice of journalism, and to do their best in bringing about change.”
Teodoro served as one of the publication’s board members who helped establish the newsroom in 2001.
Renowned journalists also paid tribute to Teodoro, the “pillar” of Philippine journalism.
Manny Mogato, Pulitzer Prize winner
Philippine journalism lost one of its pillars.
He was truly a giant among Filipino journalists. Although I had very little time working with him directly, I admired and respected him.
Roby Alampay, former editor in chief of BusinessWorld
We all called him “Dean” not because that’s the title he had at the UP College of Mass Communication, but because he was a pillar in the Philippine journalism community and our never-ending struggles not only to be free, but to be better.
Inday Espina-Varona, Rappler head of regions
Bayani si Luis. Salita ang gamit.
He was academic and activist, a mainstay of mainstream media and founding chair of the Alternidya Network.
He also skewered erring government officials – especially Rodrigo Duterte – with sizzling shorts on Twitter.
He wielded his pen (then) and laptop/tablet (more recently) with consistency and tenacity and sharp analysis mixed with a graceful telling.
His columns… blueprints for ethical, critical journalism.
