Journalists, Here’s How To Make Your New Year Happy – Stop Complaining First And Start Understanding Where People & Events Are Coming From!

Journalist Ellen Tordesillas, says Rest of World 100, co-founded the non-profit Vera Files (restofworld.org) in 2008, “to provide fact-checking and analysis of Philippine political issues under President Rodrigo Duterte’s administration [as] she and her team of Filipino journalists impart the importance of separating facts from misinformation and disinformation online [that] has become especially significant as political misinformation becomes part and parcel of online life in the Philippines.” Really?

Thus,, it is not surprising that she shares on Facebook today, Saturday, 31 Dec 2022, the end-of-the-year sharing: “Hello 2023! New Year, new pieces of information. Continue to be critical and scrutinizing in 2023. “ And my comment to that is this: “Ms Ellen, au contraire – I will continue to be creative 2023 – you would not know I am actually being critical!”

Ms Ellen, look at the lower image (“2023” from pngtree.com): Something new from something old. Goodbye 2022, Hello 2023! It just needs some imagination – you can do it!

“There’s more than one way to skin a cat.” About that phrase, Collins Dictionary says, “There is more than one way to skin a cat; keep positive and try another method of reaching your goal” (Collins, collinsdictionary.com).

Ms Ellen, please note that I am coming out with this in my blog “Multiple I’s” – coming from Harvard professor Howard Gardner’s theory of “Multiple Intelligences.” Each of us has 9 intelligences – for journalists, you can be critical (“number/reasoning smart”) or creative (“life smart”).

So: before being critical, first understand where somebody is coming from. For instance, President Ferdinand “BBM” Marcos Jr wants a “P20/kg rice” because he thinks that that’s a welcome sound of music to people’s ears. Now, Ms Ellen:

That P20/kg rice is Mission – where is the Vision? Where is BBM coming from? I do not see anywhere.

Prophecy: “Where there is no vision, the people perish” (Proverbs 29:18, KJV). “Where there is no prophecy, the people cast off restraint, but happy are those who keep the law” (Proverbs 29:18, NRSV).

Hello 2023! New Year, let us gather new pieces of information to continue to be creative and contributory to the country in 2023.

At LinkedIn, Ms Ellen says, “I'm a trustee and writer of VERA Files, a group that undertakes in-depth reporting. I write a column for Malaya, an English newspaper with a courageous history” (LinkedIn, linkedin.com).

Nowadays, with the Internet, it doesn’t need much courage to bring out the worse or worst of people. But it takes much heart to bring out the best! Where is your heart, Ms Ellen?

With your “investigative journalism,” your forever aim is to bring out the worst of people. I say, Ms Ellen, instead be socially relevant enough to help bring out the best in 2023.

For instance, Ms Ellen, why have you not done any investigative journalism on why Climate Change is getting worse and how much greenhouse gases are generated by the prevalent Chemical Agriculture here and abroad? I won’t be surprised if You would be surprised!@517