THE launch of the book “The Power and the Glory: the  Story of The Manila Chronicle (1945-1998) “served as a reunion of sorts for at least 65 former ‘Chronicle’ staff members and contributors.  Veteran journalists graced the event, eager to see their colleagues in the defunct broadsheet that was part of the Lopez Group from 1947-1993.

Vice President Noli De Castro joined the celebration, congratulating Lopez Memorial Museum chairman Oscar M. Lopez for his efforts to document Philippine journalism history. The Museum published the book written by historian Raul Rodrigo.
Some 125 guests listened to stories of several generations of ‘Chronicle’ newsmen, as told by Quezon City Mayor Feliciano Belmonte (1950s reporter), Rod Reyes (1950s reporter and 1960s editor), Benjie Defensor (1960s managing editor), Amando Doronila (editor-in-chief 1972 and 1986-93), and Vergel Santos (1960s deskman and 1990s editor), with 1970s Chronicle columnist Behn Cervantes as emcee.

Born twice, in 1945 after World War II and in 1986 after the first Edsa Revolution, The Manila Chronicle was once home to the country’s best journalists, including all four Filipino Ramon Magsaysay awardees for Journalism: Zac Sarian (1974), Raul Locsin (1999), Sheila Coronel (2003), and Eggie Apostol (2006).

Advance praise for the book calls it “a wonderful read, with lots of colorful and telling detail” (Sheila Coronel), “an insiders’ history of postwar Philippine journalism” (Johnny Gatbonton), and “a finely detailed account...(that captures) the drama within and beyond the newsroom, (and memorializes) the men and women whose years with the ‘Chronicle’ would be among the best of their lives” (Butch Dalisay).

“The Power and the Glory” is available at the Lopez Memorial Museum. Call Fanny at (+63-2) 631 2417 for orders and inquiries.
During its two incarnations under the aegis of the Lopez family (1945-72 and 1986-93), the Manila Chronicle was the finest newspaper in the country. It assembled the most journalistic talent ever gathered in a Filipino newsroom The Chronicle was once home to all four Filipino Ramon Magsaysay awardees for journalism and many of the biggest names in the industry. Certainly, other Philippine newspapers were more successful as businesses. But none were better written or edited.
This book weaves together the story of nation that with the story of the men and women who covered that nation and how they did it. The ‘Chronicle ‘saga contained great friendships and at times intense interpersonal conflict; its reporters shared moments of high drama as well as low comedy. They were bound together by hard work, a quest for excellence and the shared experience of recording a – and sometimes influencing – Philippine history in the making.