Divide and rule

Populist crackdowns and media elites in the Philippines

Bibliographic Data

ID7478017
AuthorsRoss Tapsell (0000-0002-2925-3197, The Australian National University, Australia, corresponding author)
Year2021
Volume23
Issue10
Pages2192-2207
Publication date2021-01-21
Peer ReviewedYes
Open AccessYes
TypeARTICLE
VenueJournalism (JOURNAL)
Journal identifiersISSN: 1464-8849 • E-ISSN: 1741-3001
PublisherSAGE Publishing (PUBLISHER • US)
DOI10.1177/1464884921989466
OpenAlexW3122455641
LanguageEN
Citations received8
References cited21

This article examines the ways in which populist president Rodrigo Duterte has managed and controlled the Philippines media since his election victory in 2016. Existing literature has pointed to the important role the media has played in electing and sustaining the popularity of Duterte, but have not examined the role of ‘media elites’. Through personal interviews with media owners and others in Manila, this empirical research provides insights into the challenges facing the contemporary Philippines media, in particular those media elites whose companies criticise his administration. While Duterte – like most populists – claims to be challenging powerful ‘oligarchs’, in reality his administration has cracked down severely against some media elites and has nurtured coercive relationships with others. The result is a landscape where media elites are unable to coalesce around media freedom. The research provides relevant findings supporting global literature on the role of populists in enabling greater crackdowns on the mainstream and independent media

Administration (probate law · Freedom of the press · Mainstream · Media studies · New media · Political economy · Political science · Politics · Popularity · Populism · Sociology · Victory · Asian Culture and Media Studies · Law · Philippine History and Culture · Populism, Right-Wing Movements

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