Newsbreak
Newsbreak
What is Newsbreak?
NEWSBREAK is now a mainly online publication. We aim to be the most credible news and current affairs magazine in the Philippines today.
We want our site to be a must-read for everyone who needs a better understanding of Philippine events thus we provide readers in-depth stories, investigative reports, incisive analysis, as well as insider stuff that give a ringside view of the workings of people, politics, and power.
We watch the following: Congress, the presidency, security sector, judiciary, the media, local governments, elections, business and the economy.
NEWSBREAK’s different sections appeal to a variety of readers. We have sections like the Inside Track, an intelligencer of juicy political and business goings on; Institution Watch, where we monitor the transparency and accountability of key institutions such as local governments, the military and police, the media, Mindanao, and the private sector; and Investigations, the site of our investigative reports.
A bit of background: in February this year, after six years of fighting for our share of the market, we ceased publishing our hard-copy fortnightly news and current affairs magazine. Our first issue was published on January 24, 2001, shortly after Edsa 2, when the Philippines was steeped in stories on people power. We were thus born in a time of change.
We were strong editorially but weak on the marketing and business side. We’ve learned enough lessons to guide us in reviving this venture.
We have since formed a new organization, the Public Trust Media Group, Inc., which is funded mostly by grants from international foundations and local individuals and groups.
Today, as an online publication, we have reputable media partners in cyberspace—www.abs-cbnNEWS.com and www.asiaviews.org. Our print partner is the Philippine Star.
Apart from our Web presence, we publish occasional special editions on a variety of public-interest issues. Find out more about them here .
Who are we?
We are journalists who believe in honest, independent, and spunky reportage. We believe in fairness and accuracy.
The core staff of NEWSBREAK is composed of senior journalists led by editor in chief Marites Dañguilan Vitug and managing editor Glenda M. Gloria. Marites and Glenda are award-winning journalists and authors who have nurtured a reputation of integrity and credibility. Together, they bring decades of experience to the magazine. Honed not only in daily journalism but in the academe, both hold postgraduate degrees from the London School of Economics and Political Science. They also have experience writing for international publications.
NEWSBREAK’s assistant managing editor Miriam Grace Go and senior writer Aries Rufo won third place in the 2004 Asian Development Bank Developing Asia Journalism Awards held in Tokyo.
In 2001, Ms. Go bagged the Jaime V. Ongpin (JVO) grand prize for investigative reporting for her package of stories on the unexplained wealth of Makati City Mayor Jejomar Binay.
In 2007, NEWSBREAK won the JVO grand prize in explanatory reporting for staff writer Carmela Fonbuena’s reportage on extra-judicial killings. In 2005, for our stories on the unexplained wealth of Army generals, NEWSBREAK won the 2nd and 3rd prizes of the JVO awards for investigative reporting.
In 2004, we won the JVO grand prize in explanatory reporting as well as the 2nd and 3rd prizes in the investigative reporting category
Applause
We have our share of positive feedback.
The prestigious US-based Foreign Policy magazine, in its September 2007 issue, reviewed our coverage of the 2007 mid-term elections. And in its November/December 2003 issue, Foreign Policy cited NEWSBREAK’s special issue on Mindanao as “comprehensive…and helps place the ordinary lives of Mindanao’s people in a political context.”
In July 2005, The New York Times featured NEWSBREAK as a magazine that challenges taboos. “Newsbreak, with its spunk and spice, has more than demonstrated its independence from the privileged and the powerful,” wrote Raymond Bonner.
Our editor in chief, Marites Dañguilan Vitug, was ranked 45 in Eurasia’s 2006 Global Leadership 50, mostly heads of states.
Eurasia, in its citation, said: “NEWSBREAK has since won acclaim for its critical coverage of politics and society. Other attempts to create similar newsmagazines have floundered due to erratic editorial content and the small readership available in Manila but Vitug’s team has proven to be resilient and continually gains access to insiders and operatives in Philippine politics. In 2005, NEWSBREAK’s in-depth reporting on alleged electoral fraud by the administration, supposed corruption in the military, the election commission, and the president’s allies provided the people with details and a point of view not often seen in the Philippines.”
Who owns Newsbreak
Newsbreak is owned by the Public Trust Media Group, Inc.
The members of the Board of Public Trust are:
Glenda M. Gloria
Chay Florentino Hofileña
Ma-An B. Hontiveros
Roel Landingin
Marites Dañguilan Vitug
Votes:7
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