Summary of the story:

This story is about the police in the Philippines shooting three men in a neighbourhood Manila. The police had stated that the men were caught in a buy-bust operation and had started shooting at them when they realised they were policemen. However, witnesses such as Arlene Gibaga, the wife of Sherwin Bitas who was one of the men killed, and camera footage shows that these men were unarmed and were not provoking the police.

How this story engages me:

This story engages me as it has action, human interest, as it deals with a problem citizens of the Philippines face. It also has consequence and impact. These policemen have shot these men, who were unarmed and not provoking them. Other citizens may fear for their safety, worried if they or their family member may be next.

What characteristics of digital journalism does the example have? Explain.

The story utilises multimedia. It incorporates photos, videos, maps as well as some graphics throughout the story. For example, pictures of the fifteen policemen involved in the incident were placed at the top of the story. A map is then shown, showing the overall area of Tondo, Manila, and continues to zoom in each time they introduced new information such as which District the incident took place, Barangay 19, as well as the placement of the security cameras that were in the scene of the incident.

After we are given the background information, a timeline is shown which marks the points leading up to the incident. At each timestamp, camera footage is shown whilst a graphic is on the left of the video, which shows which camera the footage is from as well as the view it covers. This continues throughout the story.

When: October 11 2017

Where: At Barangay 19 in Tondo, Manila, Philippines

What: Three men were wrongfully killed by police officers

How: Claimed that the victims were armed and provoked them when witnesses and camera footage

Background/Interesting information:

• Based on other articles and videos from the Human Rights Watch Organisation, this incident is not the first of its kind.
• According to the video, ‘Police Fake Evidence in Philippines’ Drug Killings’, there are numerous cases where the police claim that ‘they engaged in a shootout with an armed drug suspect’. One of the police officers at the site stated that ‘he (one of the victims) pulled the firearm, the firearm that we are seeing in his hand. But unfortunately, he is shot to death’.
• According to the Republic Act 9165, the maximum penalty a person can face for the sale, trading, administration, dispensing, delivery, distribution, manufacturing, possession and transportation of dangerous drugs and/or controlled precursors and essential chemicals is life imprisonment and a fine, which differs between the person’s actions.
• The War on Drugs, which was the basis for President Duterte’s campaign could make him and his chief subordinates criminally liable on seven grounds, both in the Philippines’ court as well as internationally.
• According to the Human Rights Watch Organisation, Duterte’s war on drugs is said to have not only violated human rights but has negatively impacted public health.
• The only reason he has not been imprisoned is because there is no evidence of him planning or ordering these killings to occur.

Why I chose this story:

I chose this story, mainly due to the fact that I am a Filipino and am worried about the state of my country. I often hear about these killings on the news or my family members who live in the Philippines. Ever since Duterte’s ‘War on Drugs’ started, I have not only been concerned about my family’s safety but also for the safety of other citizens. It is disheartening to know that many of those who are impoverished, are living in fear of who may be shot next. I chose this story to gain more information about the truth of these killings which are not published on news channels.

One of the challenges of conducting the vox pop interviews were finding people to interview, then going up to them to ask for an interview. I figured that the students who were walking around the school were probably headed to their classes and opted out of asking them. Instead, I asked the students who were sitting at the tables outside the lecture rooms as I thought that they would not be in a rush to go somewhere.

Another challenge I faced was that some of my interviewees were not entirely informed about the incident. After I asked them if they had heard about the Monica Baey incident, most of them would tell me that they did not know about it. However, when I re-phrased my question to ‘ are you aware of the recent NUS sexual misconduct case?’, they realised that they did know about the incident, just not its details. I had also provided them with the information about the incident which I had researched beforehand. For example, the punishments the perpetrator received as well as how Monica Baey had handled the case.

I think that the concepts taught during ‘the interview’ lesson were very relevant to my vox pop interviews. For example, researching the incident before interviewing people. This was very helpful to me, as like I have mentioned before, I was able to provide facts about the incident to my interviewees which had helped them to form their responses. I also think that being silent throughout the interview allowed the interviewees to think through what they thought about the subject matter and provide me with an honest response.

I do not think that listening to my interviewees was very difficult. I knew that it would take them some time to formulate the best possible response to my questions. They also did not stray too far from the topic and did not have long-winded answers which made it easier to understand their answers. I do not think that I struggled with formulating follow-up questions as they helped to elaborate points from the interviewee.

The text in brackets were my prompts, explanations and examples for my interviewees. I had also mentioned the list of punishments to the interviewees to give them a better idea on how to answer question 4.

Tertiary students disagree with the actions Monica Baey took

Name/age/school of interviewee: Sarah Tay, School of Applied Science

Date/time/location of interview: 11 July 2019, 11 am, benches at School of Applied Science

Q1. Hi, my name is Chloe and I’m from CMM. Is it possible to ask you a few questions for my journalism assignment? Sure Q2. Can I get your name, age and school? Sarah Tay from the School of Applied Science Q3: Are you aware of the Monica Baey incident? What are your opinions on it? Uh. I think that she is very brave. If you get sexually assaulted and you stand up for yourself, the victim shaming will be quite strong in a lot of situations and its very brave to talk so boldly and openly about it despite the backlash she knew would becoming. Q4: Do you think that the punishments and measures inflicted on the perpetrator were enough? No. It’s definitely not. What do you think should have been done instead? Uh, he should have at least been suspended. (NUS also has this policy of two strikes and you’re out for sexual misconduct cases). The punishment for the first strike should be more severe so that he won’t do it again. Q5: Do you agree with the way that Monica Baey handled the situation? Maybe not revealing his name.But, uh… (Like making the public aware of the case?) The public should definitely be aware of the case. But the thing about revealing his name, I’m not really too sure about my stance on that, I haven’t really thought it through. But at this point, I think it’s getting less about the perpetrator itself and more about how NUS handled the case. In that case, I think she should shout it out as loud as possible.

Tertiary students disagree with Monica Baey’s actions

Name/age/school of interviewee: Bryan Sim, 17, School of Business

Date/time/location of interview: 11 July 2019,11.10am, School of Business, outside LT19

Q1. Hi, my name is Chloe and I’m from CMM. Is it possible to ask you a few questions for my journalism assignment? Okay Q2. Can I get your name, age and school? I’m Bryan Sim, 17, from School of Business Q3. Are you aware of the Monica Baey incident? What are your opinions on it? No. (It’s the sexual misconduct case in NUS). Oh, that Monica-yeah. Uh. It’s bad. Q4. Do you think that the punishments and measures inflicted on the perpetrator was enough? I feel like this kind of case should have immediate expulsion. But then it’s the school policy. ( To be more exact, the school has a second strike and you’re out policy on sexual misconduct cases) You know how they say that people deserve second chances? If you were the one that did it, you would also want a second chance right? So yeah, I feel like its okay. Q5: Do you agree with how Monica Baey handled this situation? It’s too much. Mentioning the perpetrator’s name alone, his reputation will be ruined, now a lot of people know, so his future will be affected. Sorry, what is the question again ( repeats question) I mean its normal, what happened, someone filmed her in the toilet, right? (Yes, while showering) . I mean she was the victim, of course, she will react this way, but I feel like she reacted too much.

Tertiary students disagree with Monica Baey’s actions

Name/age/ school of interviewee: Jin Yun. Lin, 17, School of IIT

Date/ time/location of interview: 11 July, 12.30pm, School of Business, Biz Park

Q1. Hi, my name is Chloe and I’m from CMM. Is it possible to ask you a few questions for my journalism assignment? Sure Q2. Can I get your name, age and school? I’m Jin Yun Lin, 17, from the School of IT Q3. Are you aware of the Monica Baey incident? What are your opinions on it? Not really. (Are you aware of the NUS peeping Tom case?) Yes, I’ve heard of it Do you have any opinions about it? I feel disgusted, to be honest. Like, as a boy, you really shouldn’t do it, you should conduct yourself properly. Q4. Do you think that the punishments and measures inflicted on the perpetrator was enough? It depends on the person receiving it though, if he is willing to change then I think that the punishment should be enough for him but if he is not willing to change after all these punishments, then I think it’s not really effective. (Reports have said that he is feeling reflective and remorseful after what he did, so do you think it will have an effective impact on him? ) I hope it does. Q5: Do you agree with the way that Monica Baey handled the situation? I don’t think so. If you publicise it, other people will get involved. Now, with the internet and everything, people can search the perpetrator and attack him. It’s a bit unfair in a sense. If you have an issue you should just bring it up to the police or somewhere.

1. Breaboard’s mala

Engineering school’s mala is the most popular and recommended food item by the students of Temasek Polytechnic. However, the mala stall from Breadboard seems to get more attention than the stall from Short Circuit.

Joachim, 17, says that ” It tastes nicer and has faster service” while Felicia, also 17, states ” I like how they marinate it”.

2. Civilian slaps Amos Yee on his way to the State Courts

Neo Gim Huah, 49, slapped Amos Yee, the infamous blogger who criticised the late Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, as the latter was walking to the State Courts. The owner of the air-conditioning and electrical engineering company said that he ” wanted to teach him a lesson”

Neo had decided to do this by slapping him in front of members of the media and public to gain maximum publicity. However, he was arrested at 2 pm the next day and was sentenced to 3 weeks of jail time. The judge had said that this was to “prevent other individuals from taking matters into their own hands to carry out such actions”.

1. Breaboard’s mala

Engineering school’s mala is the most popular and reccommended food item throughout the students of Temasek Polytechnic. However, the mala stall from Breadboard seemed to get more attention than the stall from Short Circuit.

Joachim, 17, says that ” It tastes nicer and has faster service” while Felicia, also 17, states ” I like how they marinate it”.

2. Civilian slaps Amos Yee on his way to the State Courts

Neo Gim Huah, 49, slapped Amos Yee, the infamous blogger who criticised the late Prime Minister, Mr Lee Kuan Yew, as the latter was walking to the State Courts. The owner of the air-conditioning and electrical engineering company said that he ” wanted to teach him a lesson”

Neo had decided to do this by slapping him infront of members of the media and public to gain maximum publicity. However, after gaining the attention from the media, he was then arrested at 2 pm the next day and was sentenced to 3 weeks of jail time. The judge had said that this was to “prevent other individuals from taking matters into their own hands to carry out such actions”.

Partner: Marsha

1. A press release from Singapore Airlines

Yes, this story is newsworthy as it fulfils 4 of news values, timeliness, proximity, eminence and prominence as well as human interest. It has proximity as Singapore Airlines is a Singaporean company. It has eminence and prominence as it is a renowned company and it has human interest as people may be interested in their new service and how it cuts down the travel time of long-route flights. I think this story is one that people who travel frequently to other countries for a business trip, for example, will be more interested in rather than citizens who do not travel often or at all as they will be unaffected by this new service.

For this story, I would prioritise the Who as Singapore Airlines is a Singapore-based company, so people would want to know about the company’s new developments, as well as What which is that they are launching the world’s first Airbus A350-900ULR. The Airbus will enter service on 11 October 2018 (When), it will operate from Singapore and New York (Where) to provide more convenience for passengers of long-range flights as the travel time will be decreased. ( Why). This will happen due to Singapore Airlines’ partnership with Airbus. (How)

My angle for this article would be Singapore Airlines to launch its first long-haul flight Airbus. I would ask an employee of Singapore airlines for the price of a flight and its features to compare it with other airbusses to see what is unique about it. I would also ask about what encouraged them to launch the Airbus A350-900ULR.

2. The executive summary from the Select Committee on Deliberate Falsehoods

I think that this story is newsworthy as it fulfils 3 news values proximity, consequence and impact as well as human interest. This story has proximity as the incident as well as the committee combating it is based in Singapore. It has consequence and impact as the online falsehoods can affects the community, therefore it is a risk. It also has human interest as many people use the internet making them more susceptible to the threat. I think that this is a story that people need to read as in a time where everyone uses social media and the internet, we must be aware of the dangers surrounding it.

For this story, I would prioritise the What, which is the committee informing people of examples, impacts, and how to deal with these online falsehoods, as well as Why, as they want to help stop this threat. The Singapore government’s select committee (Who and Where) released guidelines on how to combat these online falsehoods (How). There was no date given in this executive summary (When).

My angle for this story is ‘Government to implement laws to fight online falsehoods’ I would ask committe members for the number of such online falsehoods occurring ss well as conduct a survey with citizens and ask how often and how many online falsehoods they encounter.

3. A speech from Minister One Ye Kung

I think this story is newsworthy as fulfils 3 news values, timeliness, proximity and eminence and promineTutnce. It has proximity as this speech occurred in Singapore and eminence and prominence as the person who gave the speech is a minister and is an important figure in Singapore. I think that this is a story that people need to read as it talks about developing Singapore’s education which will affect all current and future students of Singapore.

I would prioritise the Who, as he is a minister, which is a high position in Singapore, the What, which is telling other world leaders about Singapore’s achivements in education as well as how we will further improve. This speech took place on September 26 2018 (When) at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit which took place at the National University of Singapore (Where). This development will allow students to gain more knowledge and experiences (Why) through various opportunities like overseas exchanges, community and social work, internships and working on research projects (How).

My angle for this story would be ‘Universities in Singapore to focus more on hollistic development’. I would ask future and current students as well as teachers of Singapore universities what they think of the government focusing more on holistic development in universities as well as how will this benefit the future generations of Singaporeans.

Partner: Marsha

1. A press release from Singapore Airlines

Yes, this story is newsworthy as it fulfils 4 of news values, timeliness, proximity, eminence and prominence as well as human interest. It has proximity as Singapore Airlines is a Singaporean company. It has eminence and prominence as it is a renowned company and it has human interest as people may be interested in their new service and how it cuts down the travel time of long-route flights. I think this story is one that people who travel frequently to other countries for a business trip, for example, will be more interested in rather than citizens who do not travel often or at all as they will be unaffected by this new service.

For this story, I would prioritise the Who as Singapore Airlines is a Singapore-based company, so people would want to know about the company’s new developments, as well as What which is that they are launching the world’s first Airbus A350-900ULR. The Airbus will enter service on 11 October 2018 (When), it will operate from Singapore and New York (Where) to provide more convenience for passengers of long-range flights as the travel time will be decreased. ( Why). This will happen due to Singapore Airlines’ partnership with Airbus. (How)

My angle for this article would be Singapore Airlines to launch its first non-stop travel Airbus. I would ask an employee of Singapore airlines for the price of a flight and its features to compare it with other airbusses to see what is unique about it.

2. The executive summary from the Select Committee on Deliberate Falsehoods

I think that this story is newsworthy as it fulfils 3 news values proximity, consequence and impact as well as human interest. This story has proximity as the incident as well as the committee combating it is based in Singapore. It has consequence and impact as the online falsehoods can affects the community, therefore it is a risk. It also has human interest as many people use the internet making them more susceptible to the threat. I think that this is a story that people need to read as in a time where everyone uses social media and the internet, we must be aware of the dangers surrounding it.

For this story, I would prioritise the What, which is the committee informing people of examples, impacts, and how to deal with these online falsehoods, as well as Why, as they want to help stop this threat. The Singapore government’s select committee (Who and Where) released guidelines on how to combat these online falsehoods (How). There was no date given in this executive summary (When).

My angle for this story is ‘Comittee raises awareness of threat of online falsehoods’ I would ask committe members for the number of such online falsehoods occurring ss well as conduct a survey with citizens and ask how often and how many online falsehoods they encounter.

3. A speech from Minister One Ye Kung

I think this story is newsworthy as fulfils 3 news values, timeliness, proximity and eminence and prominence. It has proximity as this speech occurred in Singapore and eminence and prominence as the person who gave the speech is a minister and is an important figure in Singapore. I think that this is a story that people need to read as it talks about developing Singapore’s education which will affect all current and future students of Singapore.

I would prioritise the Who, as he is a minister, which is a high position in Singapore, the What, which is telling other world leaders about Singapore’s achivements in education as well as how we will further improve. This speech took place on September 26 2018 (When) at the Times Higher Education World Academic Summit which took place at the National University of Singapore (Where). This development will allow students to gain more knowledge and experiences (Why) through various opportunities like overseas exchanges, community and social work, internships and working on research projects (How).

My angle for this story would be ‘Universities in Singapore to focus more on hollistic development’. I would ask citizens what they think of the government focusing more on holistic development in universities as well as how will this benefit the future generations of Singaporeans.

On April 11 2017, Neo Gim Huah slapped Amos Yee as he walking to the State Courts for his hearing. Neo was fuelled by his anger towards Yee’s actions and decided to personally teach him a lesson. I think that the most important point of this story was why Neo slapped Yee.

This news story involves news values such as Proximity, as this story occurs in Singapore, Action, as Neo Gim Huah slapped Amos Yee, as well as human interest as it involves Singaporeans.

The context for this story is that Amos Yee had made a video criticising the late Prime Minister Mr Lee Kuan Yew, just days after his passing. Neo Gim Huah, who owns an air-conditioning and electrical engineering company was angered by this and took the initiative to ‘teach him a lesson’ due to his lack of faith in the Singapore justice system. He then proceeded to slap Amos Yee, in front of the media to garner attention for his actions.

I think that this story is prominent as it involves Amos Yee, someone had created a huge controversy in Singapore. It will inform people who are watching his case progress on the events occurring to him. It also involves a civilian who has no relation with Amos Yee, engaging in violent actions as well as publicising this. Readers will find this interesting as it is a very unique and rare situation to occur in Singapore.

This is about one of Temasek polytechnic’s most recommended food items, the Engineering school’s mala. However, one of the stalls is more popular for its mala than the other, why is this so?

I think that I would prioritise the ‘why’ for this story as readers would be more curious to find out the opinions of their peers on what makes the mala from one stall better than the other. Next would be the ‘who’, which would include the two mala stalls as well as the Temasek Polytechnic students who have eaten both types of mala. Then, it would be the ‘why’, which explains what is better about Breadboard’s mala in comparison to the one from short circuit. For example, an interviewee said that they prefer the way the Breadboard stall cooked the mala. Next, I would say that ‘what’ is important as it explains to the reader the basis of the story. Then, it would be the where, which will allow the readers to know where this story is taking place and may encourage them to visit these stalls to form their own opinion. After that, I would say when, as it is a story which is currently happening and finally the ‘how’ which is similar to the ‘why’, telling readers that people prefer how the mala is cooked at the Breadboard stall better than the one at Short Circuit.

I believe that this story is newsworthy as it fulfils human interest as it involves food as well as the views of their fellow students on the subject matter. It also involves proximity as this story is occurring in Temasek Polytechnic.

Temasek polytechnic’s mala is one of the most popular food items on campus, with various people recommending it as one of the top food items you must try. However, people also always recommend the stall at Breadboard rather than the one at Short Circuit.

My sources would be the students of Temasek Polytechnic, particularly the engineering students, who are more likely to frequent the two mala stalls.

I think that the multimedia elements incorporated into the online story give us a broader perspective of the event. Bryan Hopkins, a victim of the shooting, for example, was not a source included in the written story. However, in the video of the call, we can hear his personal recount of the shooting as well as video footage of people hiding in a freezer during the shooting. Pictures during the shooting were also included in the video, as well as scattered around the story. These pictures captured the panic of the concertgoers, the impact it had on the people who managed to escape the venue and the gruesome deaths and injuries of the victims. There were also pictures from CNN’s social media, which called for residents to donate blood to the shooting victims as well as from one of the singers from the concert informing people that they were safe and expressed his concern for the affected. The article also included hyperlinks which direct us to in-depth articles which talked about the dead victims, details about the incident, the shooter as well as discussions about gun laws in America. They also included a layout of the area of the shooting, allowing people to visualise the scale of the incident.

The multimedia element which caught my attention the most were the videos. The videos included not only interviews, and some pictures from the shooting but it also gives us footage of the incident from their perspective. We can see them hiding in the freezer and we see how the crowd tries to escape once the shooting starts. I think that because we see all these footage from their perspective, we can empathise with them more.