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.”
;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@
(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”
by karenadsantiago: on gmanetwork.com/news/p1-5m-only-grace-poe-questions-purisima-s-huge-discount-on-land-cruiser
“According to the PPI Journalist’s code of ethics, one is expected to not distort the truth/essential facts and to air both sides of every story. This I believe was not fully followed in an article released by GMA News.
“The very title of the article already highlights a somewhat sarcastic remark against PNP chief director general Alan Purisima. (“1.5M Only?”)
“It is also noticeable within the article how much space is given to Senator Grace Poe’s quotes and points of arguments, while Purisima gets only two 1-sentence quotes out.
“The quotes selected from his side were also quite inconclusive and not as strong as the opinions laid out from Sen. Poe.
“The last 5 sentences of the article were even sub-titled “Inconsistent”, in bold letters at that. Under which is a few more quotes from the Senator, one of which supports the sub-title (“It is the inconsistency of some of your answers that gave way to suspicion of many”). Yet again, highlighting and clearly showing bias towards Senator Poe.
“While I understand that it is very difficult to be unbiased on national issues such as this, a journalist should still know how to separate personal feelings from their responsibility as expected by their profession. While discussions regarding financial issues of the country are a sensitive topic to most, if not all Filipinos, under the PPI code of ethics as well, one is innocent of a crime until proven otherwise. Therefore author Amita O. Legaspi should have been more cautious of the way he has framed his story.”
;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@
by kristina rivera on DZMM tweets
“Because of the ease of technology, I constantly find myself checking my twitter feed for quick news updates. I was a little disappointed to see DZMM post a tweet of an article with the headline “Starlet na huli sa number coding, pinalusot dahil may padrinong general?”
“It sounded like a headline from a tabloid. And as I clicked on the link, it showed that it was classified as “News”. It could have been acceptable if it was a report on traffic enforcers’ behavior towards letting people with connections get away with traffic violations. But instead, the article chose to highlight the fact that it was an FHM model who got away with the deed. It seems as though the only reason this was made to be a big thing was because she was a “starlet” and not because this is a rampant issue that needs to be addressed.”
;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@
by Kath Turlao: on n5e.interaksyon.com/videos/mag-asawang-gumawa-ng-crush-video-sa-tuta-makukulong-habambuhay
“xxx on the news in tv5 entitled, “Mag-asawang gumawa ng ‘crush video’ sa tuta, makukulong habambuhay.” It’s obvious that the news story was about the judgement on the people who made a crush video last 2011.
“The issue that I found here is the showing of screenshots in the video where they are really stamping on the puppy. Though it was crystallized, the gruesome part can still be seen. The blood coming from the puppy is evident. This is considered unethical because they can report on this story without showing those morbid pictures. xxx”
“On Tuesday, September 23, the online website of the Philippine Daily Inquirer released a feature article about “multivitamins that support an active lifestyle”.
“The article in question does not read like an article at all. In fact, it even reads as a promotional material for a product rather than an article itself. It completely failed to be objective and is obviously biased toward the “featured” product. Furthermore, it also failed to disclose that the product does not have any approved therapeutic claims.
“This is a direct ethical violation because it was intentionally made to look like an article when, in fact, it is actually an advertisement in disguise. (Not once was it even stated within the article that it is an advertisement.) This is a huge blow to the Inquirer’s credibility and integrity as the way the article was written was clearly meant to deceive its readers and advertise a product by stealth.
;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@ ;@
by Steph Ledesma on: “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho last September 18, 2014. It was a coverage of John Consulta which showed an ambush raid of 6 cybersex den in Bataan. Here are some positive and negative points of the coverage.
“One positive note on the coverage was the shots used. On the first part, it was noticeable that the cameras seemed undercover. Due to this, most of the shots were shaky and there were also some which did not show as much relevance to the entire coverage. There were times when only backs of NBI personnel were focused on, sometimes footsteps, and worse, plain walls. Maybe this was caused by the distraction and pace during the raid. Part of the guiding principles of journalists was to avoid undercover ways of collecting information for reports but as for this, these types of shots were fine since the purpose was to show how the raid operation went as they were trying to chase the suspects.
“On the negative side, I don’t think it was necessary to show shots of firearms being assembled. Aside from connoting violence, I think the shots of firearms should not be included since it doesn’t show much relevance to the coverage.
“Aside from the irrelevance of the gun shots, I noticed on the latter parts of the coverage that people on the background were on freeze. This was during John Consulta’s wrap up. Suspects on freeze with their hands on their heads could be considered normal or natural but it was unbelievable that even NBI personnel during an operation were on freeze. I think this was problematic because it was a clear manipulation of the supposed setting of the crime area.”
