Uncovering the beat : the real-world guide to reporting on government

This easy-to-use reference book compiles essential information on the workings of key government institutions; the presidency, Congress, the courts, the police, the agencies that regulate the economy and the environment, and those that provide education and health services.

It describes the structure of these institutions and the laws that govern them. It explains how these agencies work and untangles the often arcane procedures that govern their operation. Government is a maze, and Uncovering the Beat is a guide to that maze.

A road map, survival guide and security blanket, this book is meant for reporters, journalism students and others who wish to learn more about the current practice of day-to-day journalism — and also day-to-day governing — in the Philippine. It is a practical guide that goes into what the President of the Republic can do, how a law is made and how the criminal justice system is supposed to operate. Uncovering the Beat lays down the rules as they are written in the books, but it also gets real, by describing how rules are bent, mangled, ignored in courtrooms, jails, even the august halls of Congress.

Uncovering the Beat includes:

• Addresses, telephone and fax numbers of key government agencies
• Explanations of the functions and powers of key government officials and agencies including organizational and flow charts
• Summaries of laws and regulations that define what government agencies do
• Tips to reporters and researchers who wish to probe what government does