Janess Ann J. Ellao
Associate Director Professional Development Program
Janess Ann Jaucian Ellao received her MA in Journalism degree from the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC). She is the Associate Director of the Professional Development Program of AIJC. Ellao’s interest in journalism started when she was a campus journalist. She earned her Bachelor of Arts Major in Mass Communication Minor in Print Journalism from St. Scholastica’s College-Manila, graduating cum laude with distinction. As part of her undergraduate thesis, she co-authored a study on the practice of peace journalism by select dominant newsrooms in the Philippines. She pursued her career in journalism at alternative news website Bulatlat, where she covered and wrote stories on human rights, women and children, urban poor, migration, and other emerging issues that are underreported in the Philippine media. She covered various fact-finding and solidarity missions that investigated the plight of marginalized communities in far-flung communities and documented the impacts of militarization, landlessness, so-called development projects, and the absence of basic social services, to name a few. Her reports have been cited and recognized by international rights advocacy groups such as Save the Children and the Red Cross Award for Humanitarian Reporting. Ellao was also a media fellow of the Asia Pacific Forum on Women, Law, and Development for migration and migrant women human rights reporting, and the 17th Lopez Jaena Community Journalism. In 2022, she became the Managing Editor of Bulatlat, which has been subjected to red-tagging, distributed denial of service attacks, and a website blocking order. In 2023, Ellao co-authored separate modules on human rights reporting and land rights and trade union reporting with the support of German Embassy Manila and Google News Initiative, respectively. She also co-wrote studies on journalist safety, particularly on the gendered experiences of women truth tellers through the International Media Support, IGI Global, and Public Media Alliance. Ellao is currently Deputy Head of the International Association of Women in Radio and Television - Philippines. She heads its project on the Digital Safe House and Collaborative Platform for Filipino Women Journalists, an alternative reporting mechanism for Filipino women journalists who are facing attacks, specifically gender-based harassment. She teaches journalism and communication research at AIJC and Miriam College.
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Asian Institute of Journalism
and Communication, Inc.
2244 España Boulevard
Sampaloc Manila, Philippines 1008
- Phone :+63 2 8 740 0396
- Telefax: +63 2 8 743 4321
- Email: info@aijc.com.ph