Not a day passes without a news story on Mindanao in the front pages or prime time news of Philippine media. The stories range from in-depth analysis to absurd stories. Mindanao is a favorite topic among journalists because Mindanao stories have all the elements that make a good headline, i.e, conflict and drama.

Writing about Mindanao can be news by itself. A recent study by the Asian Institute of Journalism and Communication (AIJC) concluded that the Philippine print news media exhibited manifest and latent biases against Muslim Filipinos.  Manifest biases were demonstrated through stereotyping, labeling or “terrorist tagging,” inaccurate and imbalanced reporting, and negative reporting.  Latent biases were indicated by the lack or absence of coverage on Muslim affairs, “context avoidance,” and the lack of a Moro perspective.