FOURTH OF FOUR PARTS Students’ Critique of TV Patrol, n5e.interaksyon, ANC, Jiggy Manicad, Tinig
Media Monitor by Anna Paulina Matillano “Last Aug. 25, I watched the cover of TV Patrol about the people signing the petition for the impeachment of PNOY. There was this portion on the news segment where they said that people there didn’t even know why they are signing in the first place. To solidify their claim, they interviewed people who said that they really didn’t know what was happening, and that they just signed. “In the code of ethics, journalists are supposed to show all sides of the story. As I have seen on the news, I am quite sure that not all people were unaware of the situation. But they just only showed those who were ignorant of it.” ********
Media Monitor by seventeen “There was an audio report released by n5e.interaksyon.com entitled “Menor De Edad na rape victim, pinagtawanan lang daw ng pulis?” The news was about a complaint on the Women’s and Children’s Desk (WCD) of Dasmarinas Cavite. It was said that after filing a complaint against the suspect, the police on duty just laugh and disregard the issue. The reason behind this was that the suspect is a relative of Mayor Jennifer Austria-Barzaga, the City Mayor of Dasma. “According to the code of ethics, journalists should treat sources, subjects and colleagues as human beings deserving of respect. During the interview, Raffy Tulfo keeps on throwing questions to PO2 Mariano. She never enough time to explain their side. An ethical journalist should always give both sides of the story. How can the reporter do this if he wants to emphasize that the police on duty are wrong and that they held liable for that given only the side of the victims. Here’s the link of the audio report: n5e.interaksyon.com/audio-menor-de-edad-na-rape-victim-pinagtawanan-lang-daw-ng-pulis ********** By Kristine “Today, August 26, 2014 a news article was released on ABS-CBN New online. The article is entitled: “Give Miriam a chance, Bernas tells PNoy”. The article is all about an interview done by Fr. Joaquin Bernas on the show “Beyond Politics” in ANC. In the said article, the opinion of Fr. Bernas regarding speculations that the president wants to have his term extension, were stated. “I believe that there was an ethical provision violated here. The article failed to avoid “improper emphasis”. While it’s true that Fr. Bernas said “PNoy must give Miriam a chance”, it’s not really the main point of the said interview and he only said it in a joking manner. The title given to the article was very misleading; if I didn’t bother to read the whole story or listen to the interview I would probably think that Fr. Bernas was somehow endorsing senator Miriam Santiago for the 2016 elections. ( link: abs-cbnnews.com/give-miriam-chance-bernas-tells-pnoy ) ******** Media Monitor by native roses “Above is a YouTube compilation video of Jiggy Manicad’s three failed reports in GMA 7’s ’24 Oras’. “The first few seconds of the video showed Manicad’s first mistake in terms of reporting the right and proper news to his audiences. He said, “Mike, nasa labing libong libong extra nga ang kukunin nga daw…” Even though the video only showed the part where he committed a mistake by not saying the exact and right number of extras or by sharing a very vague information, I managed to find the full version of the interview to see if in some way, he at least tried to rectify his error. The full version of Manicad’s interview, however, justified that there was no correction of substantive errors. “On his third report (according to the order of reports in the video), Manicad said, “Labing walong oras ang inabot bago matunton ang bangkay ng isang batang pitong taong gulang na nalunod sa Pasig River. Aksidente lang umanong nahulog ang ilog sa bata… o ang bata sa ilog.” It was an obvious mistake and even though he corrected himself, the message sent was still unclear to people. I guess in some way, people would automatically get the hint of him correcting himself when he said “…o ang bata sa ilog,” but to some, especially to overthinkers in which I can actually relate to in so many levels, it might probably appear as if it was one way or the other. The river might have fallen to the child OR the the child might have fallen to the river. I know that to some people this is purely illogical, but I think the main job of a reporter is to clarify and give accurate details to his or her listeners to avoid misunderstanding and passing of wrong information. “On his second report, however, Manicad apologized for his mistake and corrected himself promptly. “Yung composition kanina nakita natin yung pagdagsa rin ng mga tae… ah, sorry po… ng mga tao.” His coverage was clear, and to that, I praise him for it is great to correct oneself when one has committed a mistake, honest or not. xxx” *********** Weekly Media Monitor (Aug. 20 – 26) by itsthemediamill.wordpress Article: tinigngplaridel/cmcsc-inherits-debt-from-past-members “On the 20th of August 2014, Tinig ng Plaridel, the official student publication of the UP Diliman College of Mass Communication, published a controversial article entitled, “CMCSC inherits debt from past members”. It reports that the current student council has to deal with the debts of their predecessors, and it is emphasized that two former council members who wish to remain anonymous lent their own money to fund the projects. I found many things about this article that were questionably ethical. “First, the headline. The headline is worded in a way that it makes the previous council look bad. It presents them in a bad light, as if they have neglected their duties and let their successors deal with the consequences. The promotional strategy used in releasing this article was through sharing the link on the Tinig ng Plaridel staff’s individual Facebook accounts. On a platform where posts are only seen for a few seconds, the headline can really cause alarm, especially since the word “debt” has a bad connotation. A journalist, according to the SPJ Code of Ethics, should make certain that headlines, news teases and promotional material, photos, video, audio, graphics, sound bites, and quotations do not misrepresent. “Second, the fact that the two council members’ identities were not disclosed, and their reason in doing so was not mentioned as well. Yes, generally people have the right to choose to be anonymous, however a journalist must question the motives when they choose to. Since this is the student council, politics plays a huge role here. News must be impartial, no matter what color you support. “That brings me to the third thing. Why was there only one source? The previous CMCSC should have been interviewed as well, as to explain what really happened straight from the horse’s mouth. It is a journalist’s duty to present news as accurately as possibly, and the most effective way to do so is by getting all possible information from all vantage points, especially since these are testimonials. “Lastly, I want to point out how the only listed event/project that was explored was Gawad Daluyong. This move, I think, wants to brand Gawad Daluyong as a train-wreck of a project. The article even states that the winners only received a trophy, and not the cash prize that was promised. What’s the story behind Siklab? Was it not also a notable project that garnered a pretty reasonable portion in the pie chart? “As media practitioners, we must make sure that we publish balanced news, no matter what our views are. If we let politics cloud our judgment, then the truthfulness and accuracy of the article might be compromised.” *******************
Students’ critique of Inquirer, ABS-CBN, GMA7, yugatech site
(blog admin’s note on the third post: There is a continuing debate on whether children or minors who have been killed, as news subjects, should be named. Some news editors argue that since they are deceased, the restraint should be relaxed. That debate has not been resolved.)
“xxx “Pangasinan mayor killed on eve of anniversary, son’s wedding”
“It was a statement almost ripped from a romance-action flick; like a phrase to describe the climactic scene in your typical Filipino box office starring maybe Robin Padilla. It made me wonder however, if the whole wedding part was a relevant detail at all in the course of events or is this an example of improper emphasis.
“While it is a necessary detail that the mayor was out inspecting a venue for the event when he was shot down, I don’t see why the fact his son was having a wedding had to be part of the title. The fact that his son was getting wed is not a pivotal detail to the mayor’s assassination at all so headlining the story as such seemed more of a subtle attempt to garner emotional attention. It’s not a major offense probably, but it did make me furrow my eyebrows a bit. It reminds me of TV Patrol during times a celebrity passes away and how they often thrust loved ones into the spotlight turning supposedly solemn wakes into a drama setting. This kind of strategy of course sells, and in some way makes certain stories more memorable because of the sympathy-factor involved. It does however, in my opinion, also some way takes the attention away from the injustice that actually happened and the gravity of the actual crime.
“Journalism is supposed to be, as much as possible, stated in a very matter of factly manner. While it is in certain angles still a business and a livelihood for many, using sensationalized titles like this should be left to entertainment magazines.
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Media Monitor by Mark Sing
“Many news organizations have inflicted a certain level of harm to the families of the Bulacan State University (BSU) students who have died last week during their field trip in a river in Bulacan.
“News organizations like ABS-CBN News, GMA News, and News5, and even print media organizations have revealed the names of the students who have met a tragic demise during their academic field trip, which authorities have found to ignored the rules set by the Commission on Higher Education (CHED). These news organizations could have emphasized and focused on the negligence on the part of the BSU officials. Instead, these organizations revealed the names of the dead students. This has harmed the reputation of the students who passed away. The organizations also interviewed the survivors, who have experienced trauma and were made to reopen the healing wounds by recounting the last moments that their fellow students were still alive.”
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Damoves (Weekly Media Monitor for Aug. 20-26) By Jag ohwellmanuel.wordpress
“YugaTech is one of the most well-known tech sites in the Philippines. Run by professional tech blogger Abe Olandres, the site has been featuring various stories and reviews on different technology products and companies since 2005.
“On August 22, 2014, the website released an article which features a certain PDF editing software. At first glance, the said article looks like a review. However, after taking a closer look at it, it can be deduced that the article isn’t a review at all.
“If …. an advertisement, it will be contrary to what is stated in the blog’s advertisements page, which states that the site does not accept paid advertisements or advertorials. Interestingly, not once within the page was it disclosed that the said article was sponsored by a certain software developer at all.
“The Code of Ethics of the Society of Professional Journalists states that journalists must “distinguish news from advertising and shun hybrids that blur the lines between the two.” Deceptive advertising practices have started to become more widespread on the Internet, where a number of features and news articles appear to come from non-biased sources, when in fact, they do not. In this case, there is a fine line between featuring a certain software and advertising it. Regardless of the type of content, journalists, whether on traditional or new media, must always make it a point to clearly delineate which among their articles are news and which are not, because compromising their credibility in exchange for money greatly undermines the integrity of the media in general as a public trust.”
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(Note for the post below: Dear ivy: This is a rant about the news subject himself (Ramon Bautista), and not a review of the news content or media content. The news story here is the yahoo.ph story that you linked, and you have no review of the news content itself. If you want to produce a critique of the live performance of the news subject, review it as media content , or find the online version as post by itself (and not as part of a news story) and write your review. Also, your use of the word “metaphor” is wrong; he used it not as a metaphor but as a sexist slur or derogatory label. I will give you another chance to submit another one, with deductions, in addition to next week’s media monitor, but only for this time)
Media Monitor 1 by Ivy M. de la Cruz at ivymdelacruz.wordpress
“The 16th of August 2014 marked the annual celebration of Kadayawan Festival in Davao City. But the celebration turned out to be a mockery party. Comedian-writer-film maker – Ramon Bautista was the invited guest and he cracked a joke saying Davao is a city of “hipon” (shrimp), a metaphor used for women with sexy bodies but ugly faces. This stirred up outrage and disappointment among the audience and the Davaoenyos and called the attention of various groups of women in the city particularly the nuns. They immediately suggested for comedian’s banishment from the city. Heeding this call 3 days after the incident, Davao City government released a resolution declaring Ramon Bautista “persona non grata”. This means he is from now on prohibited from entering the city and will be arrested otherwise.
“A provision in the resolution says: this is being done to let the people and world know that such action is not tolerable and an extremely corrupt influence to the youth.[1]
It is condemnable that public figures, such as TV personalities, we put into the spotlight forget the responsibility that comes with it. We give them the fame and fortune by patronizing them but they neglect the purpose it serves; to set a good example and influence people in a good way. But as to what seems to be the usual scenario, they take so much pride out of it and blatantly abuse the privilege. They end up hurting and disappointing the ones who gave them the luxury of fame. We can see that this “bad patronization” of inappropriate stars proliferates and doesn’t produce good results that can contribute to nation progress. There should not be a room for ill-mannered stars in the media because media is supposed to empower people not to degrade them. The power to inspire people becomes an abstract idea and a sugar-coat to exploit popularity. It is also worth note-taking that Bautista as a comedian and media personality clearly violated the code of media ethics. He is a radio host and a certified film maker so he should but abide and work by the principles of responsible entertainment media. Ethics provides that a media personality should avoid using foul and offensive language; “denigrating or degrading any person by reason of sex, creed, religion, belief.” Comedians, as entertainers should always take into account the dignity and morale of their audience before saying a word or cracking a joke. After all, they are performers who are supposed to joke around and make fun of themselves, let alone their audience but not to insult their being. This should serve as a lesson for the viewers as well; to carefully choose the public figures they look up to and consider their personality at utmost regard before the looks, the punch lines, and entertainment they offer. The most promising star is not the one who makes people laugh or cry but the one who moves them to do better things.
Reference: 1. “Davao City Councilor says Ramon Bautista’s Apology ‘half-baked’”, ANC|Yahoo! Philippines News, ANC-Wed, Aug 20, 2014. Web. Accessed Aug 23, 2014. (anc.yahoo.com/davao-city-councilor-says-ramon-bautista-s-apology-was–half-baked)
