Brian Gorrell’s Story Increasingly Penetrating Mainstream Press

The blog of Brian Gorrell, the Australian who launched a personal Internet movement to get back the $70,000 that his former Filipino lover allegedly stole from him, is steadily penetrating the mainstream press. Although the people he exposed in his blog as cokeheads and thieves have not been identified or seen, this should be welcome news to Gorrell. (In a recent chat with him, Gorrell told me that while he disagrees with the way the mainstream press, including PinoyPress, deals with his story — specifically, that these vile people supposedly in high society cannot be identified for fear of libel — he, he said, gets it.)

Last night, TV Patrol World had a story on Gorrell. Perhaps this was a result of his rantings against the network, whose website recently ran a story that depicted as victims the people whom Gorrell had accused of being thieves? In both stories, the identities of Gorrell’s nemesis were not disclosed.

Prior to this, another ABS-CBN outfit, ANC, had a discussion on the Gorrell blog in its “Media in Focus” show. Of course, the Philippine Daily Inquirer has been covering the Gorrell saga, while the South China Morning Post ran a story.

It’s hard not to sympathize with Gorrell. His story is captivating because of all the dramatic elements in it — betrayal, sex, drug abuse, high society, homosexuality, etc. As we’ve pointed out in our interview with him, and as depicted in the TV Patrol broadcast, he just wants to get his money back so he can take care of himself. (He is HIV-positive.)

More than that, however, is the evident motive of the blog — Gorrell is on a crusade to redeem himself. He had admitted countless times that he had been stupid while dealing with his ex-lover who, by Gorrell’s depiction, stole not only the Australian’s life savings but also his self-respect.

Gorrell’s story, in other words, has all the elements of a terrific story that, were it not for the supposedly libelous nature of the accusations, would have made headlines in this telenovela-crazy country.

Perhaps Gorrell can take comfort in the fact that the line that separates mainstream journalism from such Internet phenomena as blogging is increasingly getting blurred. As a journalist, I’m not sure if that is a good thing. Then again, to a violated person like Gorrell whose story is shackled by the conventions of mainstream journalism (so that blogging seemed the only recourse), perhaps it couldn’t be any better. (CC Hidalgo)