News organizations that use ghouls & ghosts as news subjects: reviews by Maria Angelita, serendipity, papa smurf, cyrusfigueroa, kath turlao
(photo shot by Myra Lambino, this week’s pumpkin-carving party among friends in California)
Media Monitor No. 9 by Maria Angelita
“xxxOctober 26, 2014, Rated K aired their Halloween special entitled, “Rated Shocker”. It featured stories about the occult particularly ghost sightings, demon possessions, third-eyes, and the like. Though it is an entertaining episode, particularly for the horror fans, it is hardly something one could call a fair and accurate news magazine program episode.
“One such example is the first segment of the show which talked about a young boy who allegedly has the ability to see ghosts, demons, and “lost souls”. This ability is otherwise known as “having a third eye”. xxx lack of balanced reporting xxxfocused entirely on the magnificence of the boy’s “powers” by showing how he supposedly played with “dead people” without actually confirming the phenomenon with scientific experts. The only “experts” they got on the subject were a Catholic priest and a parapsychologist, hardly anyone that could give you a rational view of the situation. This is in violation of the KBP Broadcast Code of Ethics, Article 13 which states that a program featuring superstitious and pseudoscientific beliefs must not exploit people who could be easily swayed by such things. By showing one account after the other of the boy’s third-eye adventures without proper guidance of logical expertise, a simple-minded viewer might actually believe that such things actually matter.
“Another issue I have with the episode is the sensationalism of their re-enactments. It’s good that they’ve labeled their re-enactments as such but the images don’t have to be so gory. The ghosts were so bloodied up that it didn’t seem like they were writing for a news magazine program but more for a horror show.
“Of course, it is understandable that this episode in particular is a horror episode but the producers must not forget that their show is under the category of current affairs. They must not sacrifice the sanctity of balanced news for the sake of entertainment.”
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By serendipity
“xxxOctober 26, ABS-CBN News posted a video from Rated K about a white figure resembling a woman seen on cam during the shoot of a paranormal investigation in Tondo, Manila. According to the cameraman, Violan Pardo, he thought he saw the female ghost before he started to shoot.
“However, a videography expert explained that the image might be formed by lights bouncing off from the grills.
“The verification from the videography expert was important to lessen fright among the audience and to avoid inducing any superstitious belief.”
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By papa smurf
“On another episode of TV Patrol Pampanga, the news program covered a jeepney accident in Sta. Rita Pampanga where one of the passengers died and several others were hospitalized. The jeep hit a tree at one in the morning and the local police believe that the driver of the jeep fell asleep while he was driving. The segment then shifted its attention to the residents near the tree who claim that there is a woman who frequents the tree at night. According to one of the residents, there have already been past accidents at the same area where the accident happened. The report consulted with the usual paranormal expert and she claims that there is an angry woman that roams the area. She then adds that as All Saints Day comes closer, it is possible that more accident will occur.
“The issue with the episode is it induces belief in the supernatural. The episode goes through great lengths to connect an accident with the presence of a ghost who haunts the area. The reporter mentions that the accounts of the residents coincide with what the paranormal expert sees. Again, the program became more about entertainment rather than being deliverer of news. It is almost funny how the program spent more time covering the ghost story rather than the accident itself.
“According to the KBP, media practitioners must be careful in covering supernatural events. I think it is safe to assume that TV Patrol Pampanga does not agree with the KBP. This is the second time in two weeks that they featured ghost stories that are not news worthy in any way. The advice and the visions of the paranormal expert are very questionable and yet the program decides to consult with her anyway. TV Patrol Pampanga is guilty of prescribing pseudo-scientific beliefs. TV Patrol Pampanga must stop.”
“Umagang Kay Ganda did a segment about the historical Diplomat Hotel in Baguio City, but they focused about how it was haunted. They stated how a lot of people died in it during World War II, and that their souls are still inhabiting the hotel. They interviewed a student named Jhel, who claims that she saw ghosts in the windows. Chuck Tinte, the journalist, then mentions that the hotel was one of the most haunted places in the Philippines. The segment then moved to scenes when the news team brought a spirit medium into the hotel. She said that she saw several spirits, and there was also footage of her supposedly being possessed by the spirit of a soldier. All these were set to an eerie musical background. This can rattle the viewers and possibly make them believe in the occult. It’s not news, because there are no facts, only beliefs.
“Even though they interviewed a bishop who said not to believe in this, it was only a fraction of the segment. The occult details were given more priority, thus making it seem more important.
“This may also be seen as a mere stunt to get into the Halloween season, since there was no big event that happened at the Diplomat Hotel. It was more like a feature of a haunted place”
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Haunting (Weekly Media Monitor for October 22-28, 2014)
The link to the Oct. 26 episode of “Rated K” can be found here: http://www.iwantv.com.ph/TV/Video/Rated-K/24/58566
“xxxOctober 26, ABS-CBN aired an episode of “Rated K” (a weekly magazine program hosted by Korina Sanchez) which featured various stories about the occult and supposed paranormal events.
Being a magazine program, it is still expected of “Rated K” to be factual and objective in the stories they air. However, in one of the episode’s segments, a child was described to be in possession of the “sixth sense” (see above photo). What’s wrong is that the description makes it seem that the sixth sense does exist, and the segment itself fails to include the side of scientific experts. This is in violation of the KBP Broadcast Code of Ethics, which states that “programs featuring superstitions shall not induce belief in them”.
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By Kath Turlao
“On the morning show of ABS-CBN which is Umagang Kay Ganda, a story regarding an “amaranhid” was featured.
Even before, there is a belief in the Philippines regarding people who rose from death and by which, are termed as the “amaranhid” or “pinoy zombie.”
“According to the KBP Code of ethics, programs must not promote such beliefs and care should be taken to prevent the exploitation of people who may be easily swayed by such superstitious beliefs.
However,the story that the show featured was supporting that this superstition is actually true and that it happened in one of the barrios in our country.
The ninth media monitor can also be posted here. Reviews of Stories on the Occult and the supernatural reported under “News and Public Affairs” can still be posted, with additional bonus points (bonus for this category: once for each student) — the stories should be current.
(photo by Myra Lambino)
(this week and the next provide good opportunity to review ghost stories as “news and public affairs” reports; although these can still be submitted up to the last week of classes but, as stated, they should be up-to-date). Below are examples of reviews that got the full bonus points last week:
(The Haunting in ABS-CBN) written by papa smurf
“On an episode of TV Patrol Pampanga dated October 17, 2014, a segment featured a huge and old house in Florida Blanca that is claimed to be haunted by spirits. The house is said to have been a camp during the Japanese occupation and that many crimes were committed inside. The news program consulted a paranormal expert to describe what she sees. The expert claims that there are many ghosts inside. She adds that there are still souls trapped in this plane because theyhave unfinished business to settle. She recommends that to help these souls people must pray for them.
“The issue with the segment is it induces belief in the supernatural and the occult. According to the KBP, care must be given in reporting supernatural events. Media people must be careful not to induce belief in the supernatural and the pseudo-scientific. It is quite obvious that the way the segment was edited and the use of eerie sounds was meant to sensationalize the report. The segment even ended with a group of people holding hands to pray for the “ghosts” inside the house.
“By focusing on “ghosts” stories that are meant to entertain on a news platform, news programs become guilty of exploiting people who are easily swayed by superstitious beliefs. It is the job of the media to restrain itself with its obsession with the supernatural especially during the Halloween season.” ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@
(The Conjuring in ABS-CBN) review written by native roses
“Above is the link of Umagang Kay Ganda’s report about spirits haunting a certain school surrounded by different cemeteries in Cavite. According to the report, a person with a hunchback appears at the steps of the building and glares at the people she decides to reveal herself to. Mang Jose, a janitor in the said school also said that a man shows up at night in the attire of jeans and shirt and always gives the said janitor a furious look. Due to these reports, they invited a group of paranormal experts to observe inside the campus that is believed to be haunted by ghosts. According to Jimmy Panganiban, the head of paranormal experts, the school is haunted by different kinds of spirits, and that their power to be felt gets stronger especially this time of the year.
“This report violated the KBP Code of Ethics, Article 13, Superstition and the Occult. The report is unethical because it promotes unsupported beliefs and stories to many people to highlight the upcoming All Souls’ Day this November. It also did not state the name of the school and the last names of some of the persons they interviewed which are very necessary details in factual and proper reporting.”
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(The Elemental in ABS-CBN) by Shain Bianca
“Above is the report of ABS-CBN about the alleged ghost and fairy that was captured on separate camera shots.
“It was obvious that the report was edited in an uncanny or ghostly way. There was even one part where the door was slowly opening leading to a staircase. Another thing I noticed with the first part was that the reporter said, “sa ikalawa at ikatlong shot, makikita ang larawan ng batang nakadungaw sa kanang bintana…” the shot was focused but no child-like image can really be recognized from it.
“For the alleged ‘diwata’ that was captured at a waterfalls shot, it was mentioned that they let a photo editor check the said picture, but nothing was said about it later on.
“The report violated the KBP Broadcast Code Article 13, Superstitions and the Occult. Somehow, the report was inducing belief on the supernatural on the viewers by the way it was edited and by the last spiel of the reporter, which was “totoo man o hindi, pero para sa mga nakapunta na sa dalawang lugar na ito, sadyang may ibang nilalang umano ang nagpaparamdam sa mga bumibisita dito.” Although there was the “totoo man o hindi” clause, the latter made it sound like everything was definitely true.” ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@
written by Mark Sing
“xxxABS-CBN, through its morning show Umagang Kay Ganda, featured a street allegedly infested by ghosts that even show up on broad daylight, just like the criminal elements in the metro. The report featured the interviews of the residents who either live or are usual passersby.
The said report is in direct violation of KBP Code of Ethics for the Broadcast Media, specifically Article 13, Superstition and the Occult. The program is not totally devoted for superstitions and occult, but the way the story was presented, it was as if the infestation and existence of the ghosts is ultimately true. Furthermore, the said report is also in violation of Article 1 of the same code, given that the report is about unconfirmed reports of ghost sightings, and that it is not something that should concern the whole nation and that it seemed like there was no attempt to verify, through interviewing persons like scientistsxxx”
