What are the societal consequences when press freedom is lost?
The project examines the 2020 shutdown of a major broadcaster in the Philippines, and what it reveals about the role of broadcast media when climate disasters strike. When the network was forced off the air, the country lost not only a major source of accountability journalism but also a direct channel for public-service information — including the typhoon warnings that reach remote communities ahead of rapid-onset storms.
This pilot project combines qualitative interviews with spatial analysis of signal coverage and disaster outcomes to test the feasibility of a larger study: whether the loss of media can be linked to a measurable human cost.
The project grows out of the early career research project TEMPEST (Typhoon Effects on Enterprises in the Philippines) (uni.oslomet.no), led by Associate Professor Fenella Carpena and financed by the Research Council of Norway, and is part of OsloMet's strategic research area A Durable Democracy.
