The Wire

The Phillipines is possibly the worst place on earth to choose to be a journalist. More than 60 have died since the early 1990’s, a quarter of them in one horrific attack last November and three in June this year. It’s been a case of a corrupt government trying to silence a lively press. Miguel Syjuco was a journalist in Manila – he now works from Montreal. He’s also moved from journalism to fiction but his recently released book Illustrado packs a political punch. It’s a satire dealing with the corruption problems of his homeland.