About

BlogWatch began in November 2009 as a group of independent-minded bloggers and social media users helping with voter education. It has since evolved into a group of citizen advocates who engage government and the private sector, online and offline, for social change. Blog Watch is composed of an editorial team :Noemi Lardizabal-Dado,  Jane T. Uymatiao, Sonnie Santos,  and Bernadine Racoma.

About BlogWatch

Please read our Editorial Policy.

“The tiny pebble in the shoe, that speck of dust in the eye, a mosquito buzzing around the ear, that nagging itch — seemingly insignificant but cannot be ignored…”

In some way, that describes BlogWatch, a group of citizen advocates who now use the power of the pen and its collective voice, as well as the individual online voices of its members, to continue pushing for social change.

BlogWatch is a group of bloggers and social media empowered citizens who have been blogging, tweeting and creating digital content on politics, business, social, international, and cultural issues here and abroad. In relation to this we have been covering, crafting and participating in press conferences and events since the mid-2000s.

READ : History of BlogWatch

In particular, BlogWatch members have covered and hosted forums on the following: (i) national elections; (ii)  several current issues; (iii) milestone digital issues; and (iv) events of historical and cultural importance. Furthermore, Blog Watch has continuous and long-lasting engagements covering several foreign embassies, international organizations and multinational corporations. Due  to this continuing engagement, the members of BlogWatch have adapted the principles of transparency, editorial independence and the practice of fact checking.

We do not consider ourselves journalists, but bloggers and social media-empowered citizens. We work on our own time and we have no support from media companies but the content created adheres to our collective principles that have guided us through the years.

We believe in citizens getting involved in the participatory process of governance.

BlogWatch creates content, connects, and collaborates.

BlogWatch continues to be a forum for constructive engagement in the democratic process. We are composed of citizen advocates, independent-minded bloggers, and social media users who leverage new technology tools to advocate for social change and serve as a nonpartisan citizens’ watchdog  for transparency and good governance.

The BlogWatch network is intergenerational, ranging from 20-year-old to 60-plus-something bloggers, including netizens from various walks of life (students, mothers, employees, and self-employed citizens). Not all of us are bloggers. Some members of our network serve as photographers, videographers, or social media users.

Our individual advocacies range from education, support for health issues, disaster preparedness, environment, education, and livelihood to bridging the digital divide.

Some of our advocacy projects include #juanvote (Filipino netizens for honest, orderly, and peaceful elections) and #epalwatch (a shame campaign against grandstanding, self-promoting “epal” public officials).

READ: Disclosure policy

BlogWatch is not affiliated with any political group or party and does its best to remain nonpartisan by publishing, to the fullest extent possible, all sides of an issue. For transparency, BlogWatchers are obliged to disclose in their profiles any close affiliations with a politician, high government official, or political party as well as any government-sponsored consultancy agreements.

About this site

As an emerging source that documents social media buzz as it happens and breaks the news, blogwatch.tv, has been revolutionizing citizen media as a social media portal for content curation, short commentaries, breaking twitter news, live blogging or tweeting. Read more about us in media interviews.

BlogWatch does not accept compensation or payment in kind or in cash for any of our interviews. BlogWatch interviews candidates to provide more context to platforms and election issues. For candidates that want to schedule an interview with us, you may contact us via contact(at)blogwatch(dot)tv.

You can share your thoughts with the BlogWatch community. Fill up our registration form and be part of our regular contributors.

The views of BlogWatch contributors do not necessarily reflect the opinions of the Editorial Board and the rest of BlogWatch.

Then presidential candidate Noynoy Aquino with Blog Watch and VFI Executive Director Gaspar Vibal and VPHI President Esther Vibal (extreme right) on February 6, 2010

FAQ

1. What is BlogWatch?

When BlogWatch launched in November 2009, it was our vision to simply provide another avenue to promote voter education. We began as a motley group of 16 bloggers and over the succeeding months, we grew to about 25 by the time of the May 10, 2011 elections. By the time the elections were over, BlogWatch managed to interview seven presidential candidates, other candidates running for national positions, train with the Philippine Center of Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), attend several electoral fora and presidential debates, guest in several talk shows covering the elections, and host a 3-hour TV slot on Global News Network (GNN) last May 10, 2011 for its own election coverage.

Today, BlogWatch is a citizens’ watchdog for transparency and good governance.

2. Who are involved in BlogWatch?

Noemi Lardizabal-Dado was the Editor of BlogWatch from August 2009 till July 2016. Today, BlogWatch is composed of an editorial team : Sonnie Santos, Noemi Lardizabal-Dado, Jane Uymatiao,  and Bernadine Racoma.

BlogWatchers range in age from 20+ years old to 60 plus something and include people from various walks of life (students, mothers, employees and self-employed citizens). Not all of us are bloggers. Some in our group serve as photographers, videographers or social media users.

3. Is BlogWatch affiliated with any politician or political party?

BlogWatch is not affiliated with any political group or party, and does its best to remain non-partisan by publishing, to the extent possible, all sides of an issue. But because BlogWatchers are also voters and independent thinkers, our writers naturally have their own views and biases on different issues.

For transparency, BlogWatchers are obliged to disclose in their profiles any close affiliations with a politician, high government official or political party and any government-sponsored consultancy agreements.

4. What methodology do you use to write? What is your corrections policy

BlogWatch uses various social media networking sites and multimedia platforms to convey these stories through news articles, opinion editorials, photos, videos, podcasts, and social media engagement. We encourage our readers to send us claims to fact-check. We are also transparent on why and how we fact-check. We use tools like checkmedia.org, to verify digital media consistently and openly for our team and your readers.

Our articles can be shared freely through Creative Commons license; content is curated and contextualized by information from traditional media, opinions, primary interviews, and various social media platforms. We want our readers to be able to verify our findings themselves so we provide all sources in enough details so our readers can replicate our work, except in cases where a source’s personal security could be compromised.

Our Corrections policy

1. We always publish corrections at least as prominently as the original mistake was published.
2. We are eager to make corrections quickly and candidly.
3. Although we welcome letters to the editor or comments that are critical of our work, an aggrieved party need not have a letter to the editor published for us to correct a mistake. We will publish corrections on our own and in our own voice as soon as we are told about a mistake by anyone — our contributors, an uninvolved reader, or an aggrieved reader — and can confirm the correct information.
4. Our corrections policy should not be mistaken for a policy of accommodating readers who are simply unhappy about a story that has been published.
5. Information about corrections or complaints should be directed to noemidado @gmail.com
(source of corrections policy adapted from dataportability.org)

5. Where can I find BlogWatch articles?

Here are some of our old articles.

6. What are your other social media sites?

You can also find us here:

7. What gadgets or tools do you use?

Blogger Jane Uymatiao takes you behind the scenes and gives you a flavor of what BlogWatch is all about. We carry our tools when we cover livestreaming interviews or significant events like the Inaugural and the SONA. We carry our laptop/netbook, DSLR/Digital Camera or Videocam, Camera Phones with 3G and Livestreaming Capability, USB stick/s and other peripherals. The equipment behind livestreaming and podcasting makes a whole lot of difference in terms of the quality of streaming. Blog Watch is very lucky to have as our ‘partner-in-tech’ the CreatiVoices team headed by Pocholo Gonzales. Our project editor, who is an advanced iPhone user, serves as our backup livestreamer in case the WIFI goes down completely. Our livestreaming  is at our Facebook Page or YouTube channel.

8. Who owns and funds blogwatch.tv ?

The blogwatch.tv domain and hosting is paid for by Noemi Lardizabal-Dado and Jane Uymatiao. Most of the articles here are voluntary contributions without monetary compensation and some are through the writing grant from the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ). Some articles are used with permission.

8. What is the difference between https://blogwatch.tv and blogwatch.ph?

BlogWatch.ph used to be hosted under Philippine Online Chronicles (POC) where full-feature articles were paid for by Vibal Foundation. Blogwatch.tv is now our own website. The domain blogwatch.tv is paid for by Noemi Dado and Jane Uymatiao. BlogWatch.tv is hosted by Noemi.

Our articles can be shared freely through Creative Commons license. We are given free rein on our editorial content except for libelous statements, that are checked by the editorial board.

9. What is the contact information of BlogWatch?

Please email Noemi Lardizabal-Dado at [email protected] or [email protected]

More: BlogWatch in the News | History of BlogWatch

Updated November 4, 2021.