With ABS-CBN, before you can even get your head around evaluating the content of their programs, you need to get past their garish manner of presentation first — all those bells and whistles and fancy jeepney-like colour and graphics splashed all over the screen is quite an assault on reasonable taste. Compare the news programs of ABS-CBN with other news programs around the world and you will see the stark contrast between the whimsically-sensationalist shout-out style of ABS-CBN and the serious, sober, and considerate manner of the other programs.
To be fair to the immensely profitable business that is ABS-CBN, there seems to be more than an ounce of business sense in what seems to most to be just a case of harmless tackiness. It has to do with the nature of the audience they “serve”. Quite simply, Filipinos respond to this dazzling display of colour and sound. Look no further than that enduring embodiment of Filipino aesthetic sense — the jeepney. Strong colour and sound distract Filipinos from the mind-poison that is the payload of these Big Media products.
Titillate then moralise
Take the way ABS-CBN features “immorality” on, say, the beaches of Boracay. They first open by “reporting” the “facts” by splashing video exposés of “lascivious” public spectacles a-la those Filipino-specialty million-viewer “scandal” videos that infest YouTube and other video sharing sites on the Net. But here, it’s all in the packaging. Shrink-wrapped as a “news report” and sold under the banner of a well-established and supposedly “respected” brand owned by a big media conglomerate, resides the payload of titillation — the active ingredient that hooks in viewers and rakes in the revenues — delivered by this fine specimen of ABS-CBN programming.
The notable feature here is how the report is capped by some air time given to Mayor what’s-his-face of Boracay Island who claims that he does not encourage this sort of distasteful behaviour and supposedly laments the lack of a legal framework to crack down on it. They even enlist the moral guidance of morality beacon Ruffa Gutierrez, star of the 1996 sexploitation flick Ang pinakamagandang hayop sa balat ng lupa to contribute her two cents:
“Bilang Pinay I’m still very conservative, ayaw ko naman gawin ng mga anak ko yun one day…for me that’s just not right [...]“
Classy.
This is a feature of the Filipino character which I highlight in my book, specifically in this excerpt:
In her article “Between Sensationalism and Censure” (Philippine Journalism Review, April 2002, pages 35-37), Diana Mendoza observed how the bizarreness of Filipinos’ regard for sexuality is reflected in Philippine cinema. Her observations are gleaned from among others, comments made by sociology professor Michael Tan of the University of the Philippines in the Sixth International congress on AIDS in Asia and the Pacific held in Melbourne, Australia from the 5th to the 10th October 2001:
Commenting if the Philippines could be at the forefront of education on sex and sexuality Tan said no, because “media have very sensational coverage but they still have this patina of moralism which is strange.” He said this brims over to the film industry that churns out movies carrying the “crime and punishment” theme — for instance, movies with pots of adultery that run steamy sex scenes but which towards the end, mandate that the adulterer, who is always the female, gets shot or imprisoned.
“With these endings, movies become a morality play after two hours of titillation,” he said.
Furthermore:
Tan said Filipino movies also carry the “crime and redemption” theme, in which a sex worker eventually realizes there is a better life outside prostitution, but only after the audience [have] been treated to several sexual episodes.
More disturbing than simply being uncomfortable is how inconsistent and misguided Filipino responses to issues of sexuality can get. The Filipino Male enjoys the better half of a double standard that prevails in Philippine society. And this is what contributes much to the bizarreness of Filipinos’ regard for sex.
Filipinos have a one-dimensional regard for malehood and this is reflected in the behaviour and demeanour of the most powerful men in our society — most evident, particularly, in how they get away with banal impropriety and even the most heinous of crimes. That is why I find myself being merely bemused by all this “indignation” being displayed in our society against “corruption” and “injustice”. Filipinos — particularly our males — are raised to be corrupt and unjust from childhood. What we see as corruption and injustice in politics and governance are merely superficial manifestations of a more deeply-entrenched inherent character of corruption and injustice in the bottom-most underbelly of the Filipino psyche.
Validate then shame
Unless that deeply-entrenched inherent character of the Filipino that predisposes him/her to engage in (when in power) and tolerate (when not in power) corruption and injustice is rooted out, all this posturing, grandstanding, and platitude-brokering in the name of “justice” and “transparency” we see in the way Media reports Philippine “politics” and the way Establishment bloggers and “activists” wax poetry about these comes across to the more insightful of our lot as no more than a circus to amuse ourselves with.
Indeed, Filipinos are inundated by news “reports” that abound in hienous criminality amongst the powerful of the land. In my view, this astounding volume of sensationalised criminality actually provides a steady diet of validation for the renowned culture of crime that resides deep in the psyche of every ordinary Filipino. It is a kind of a perverse endorsement for the continued petty criminality that we see on the streets of Manila everyday. The immense scale of criminality amongst the powerful makes the petty criminality of the ordinary Pinoy schmoe pale in comparison, thereby reducing the incentive among the ordinary to reform their ways themselves.
Add to that the simple fact that most of these high-profile crimes never get resolved, or when they do remain disputable at best. Then the game becomes one of shame-mongering rather than a focus on the Law and the continued application of the legal framework to tease out the Truth.
Either way, there is a story to tell. Therefore, who emerges as the winner in all this? Who else but the Media. At the end of the day, Media shareholders are laughing all the way to the bank while their CEO’s salivate over the next publicity “contract” to support the next political “campaign”.
* * *
Convert opinion-shapers and “reform” Philippine Media?
The biggest temptation for people who would like to see genuine change happening in our society is to go after the easy targets — the politicians, the oligarchs, and the resource-rich. The idea behind such conventional approaches is that the Filipino is the hapless victim in this gawd-awful mess that is the Philippines.
But see, the Philippine Media — like the Government — cannot be reformed. Why? Simple: the Media industry is made up primarily of privately-owned or publicly-held business enterprises that compete for public attention (just like the Government is made up of politicians competing for essentially the same asset). Yet therein in that last statement lies the solution. For it is in the nature of the public attention that Media giants — and our politicians — compete for that determines the content that they produce. Indeed, Filipinos have it in themselves to bring Philippine Media down to its knees. But like the Vote, Filipinos true to form failwisely. to wield this power
About the Author
benign0 has written 162 stories on this site.
benign0 is the webmaster of GetRealPhilippines.com and also writes articles at GRP@blogspot.
i have never been a fan of ABS-CBN shows. i really hate how they exaggerate and sensationalize an issue.
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ABS-CBN is the Daily Punctilio IRL. Anyone who’s already familiar with the Unfortunate Events books will know that the Punctilio is as sensationalised as ABS, and much like the latter, most of the people (namely the masses in the Series) who have read it doesn’t give a say as to whether the news is truth or just some manipulated piece of yellow journalist garbage.
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yung katrina scandal video, nasa baba yung URL. Blurred yung vid pero malinaw yung url. Parang tanga lang, ano?
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That’s why I only watch cable. Too many real-life clowns on local TV.
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Even their manner of cutting to commercials is exaggerative.
“TV…… Patrol”
Might as well add a picturesque skyline on their background as their style of broadcasting already resembles the KCTV.
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abs-cbn is tabloid on tv and sadly, it has become the standard by which other networks have taken. i lament the fact that they have successfully eroded the values, and proper language, of the people they allegedly “serve”.
bongV, great article. however, can i ask thee a tiny bit of favor? can you please not use the phrase “at the end of day”? it just reminds me too much of this student council gov’t. :p they, and the rest of the yellow zombies, just love using it. (unless you meant it as a sort of tongue-in-cheek thing…in which case, hahaha!)
more power to you and AP!
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ici Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 1:34 am
oops! benign0 pala…hehe…sorry! but really, great article.
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benign0 Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 5:03 am
No problemo.
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naku abs cbn na yan, kapag walang maibalitang mabuti sa manok nila, sine-sensationalized ang ibang issue
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It doesn’t help that the constitution stipulates that while other businesses can have up to 40% foreign ownership (which is a problem), media cannot – it should be 100% Filipino owned. That is why the media is under the control of vested interests – because it is protected from those who can challenge the wrongs.
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ChinoF Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 8:52 am
This is the kind of arrangement that allows trash shows like Wowowee and Willing Willie to air with little challenge.
As well as the reason why Channels 4, 9 and 13 can’t be sold to other companies… no other Filipinos wants or can afford them.
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 11:12 am
HA!HA!HA!HA! Goot deduction, Chino. Those who control the idiot media, controls the minds of Dumb Filipinos. Filipinos has access to outside sources thru internet but they use internet to Friendster instead. HA!HA!HA!HA!
UNLEASH AMPATUAN!!!! UNLEASH AMPATUAN !!!!!
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Dodong aka Ka Kiko Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 3:19 am
Agree Chino. Here’s one instance where culture degrading activities interplay with legal structures. Apparenly, the constitutional restrictions not only protect the profits of the local media owners, they also prevent the raising of industry standards on media culture practices through healthy competition. DK
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Excellent article. I remember when Maguindanao Massacre happened, TVPatrol was so quick to put the blame on then President Arroyo. They even counted the days till justice will be served. Pressuring the government to act swiftly, which was ok, till TVPatrol started their “trial by media” session.
Since GMA have the balls to do so, she declared martial law in order to route the suspects (this is also important since police officers cant just serve 200 warrant of arrests to a hostile private army). This was necessary because without martial law, the suspects can easily use the law to evade persecution. The problem was TVPAtrol became too critical of GMA’s moves. Claiming its going to be a precursor to another Marcos-style Martial rule.
On the other hand, when Wowowee Stampede took place. Which was a total neglect of duties on the part of the abscbn management, they didnt do this countdown thingy. 78 dead and 300 injured. It has been almost 5 years and still, no justice served for the victims. The SC junked the case I believe. And dont forget the Hacienda Luisita Massacre which Kapamilya network is very silent about.
And the thing that infuriates me most is when abscbn blurs the line between Newsreporting and Commentary. I remember Anthony Taberna reporting about simple crimes or low-lever corruptions, and for this closing remarks, he will always find a way to connect those crimes and corruptions to then President Arroyo. That to me is irresponsible journalism.
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kickapoo Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 7:52 am
It seem like other local networks werent silent on the Hacienda Luisita Massacre case afterall:
http://www.gmanews.tv/story/183662/after-luisita-massacre-more-killings-linked-to-protest
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The Lazzo Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 11:00 am
I watched ’58′ at the gym once. TVs and treadmills really compensate for a lack of ‘view’ out the nearby window, but I digress.
I’m surprised they mentioned that many of the journalists were from ‘peryodicos’ that tagged along mainly because politicians down south liked to pay them (with envelopes of cash!) for publishing space. Naturally, a big-name delegation would have lots of them tagging along. Even more so that they also mentioned how these journalists often received much more preferential treatment afterward when it came to compensation to the families.
Then of course they pointed out how many people were killed under the Arroyo administration, implying the Arroyos just paid those families more to silence them. q; Datuism’s been going on at least since Magellan was sent on a hit-job to kill Lapu-Lapu.
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 11:10 am
They were quick to blame Ampatuan in the absence of formal investigation and quickly connected Ampatuan to Arroyo . They publish tsismis on ZTE without documents and evidence. They outed Nicole. They cannot analyze Lozada cannot live on 150,000 peso bribe to live in Hong-Kong forever more. They cannot analyze their fellow broad aster Failon for obstructing investigation for wipe cleaning crime scene of his wife. FILIPINO PERYODISTAS ARE ALL IDIOTS!!!!! ALL OF THEM ….
Since Arroyo is guilty by association, therefore, it is easy to deduce that Honsan-Ramos-Enrile are associated with Marcos. Then, I ask this question, who were the people of the idiot Philippines were revolutionizing about?
NOT ONE IDIOT PERYODISTAS HAS ANSWERED THAT QUESTION.
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daaaang!… when it comes to flip sexuality, my colleagues and i do not have to rely on flip media hype to know the hot spots… we just visit the nearest whorehouse/bar/college campus in town… voila! flip sexy gurlz abound… (clarification: i’m the designated driver… nothing else… peks man)… as for flip spokesperson on family values and/or morality issues, ay sus ginoo, prez gung gong is a bigamist (left hand and right hand, sometimes both), first sister, a notorious man-eater-bed hopper, a sex gymnast; cabinet members and their kabits, padre damasos and the suckristans, teen-age preggies on every corner…. ohhhh… don’t get me started on everyday murder and mayhem… hay naku, flips are ‘sang tambaks na tanga na, tapos, ginugung gong pa!
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 11:04 am
HA!HA!HA!HA! Flippers are so concerned about MORALITY. They tear down EDSA sexy billboard. MTRCB slash and burn films of poor taste. Don’t they know that it is IMMORALITY that made Philippines baloooned to genetically defective 100,000,000 Filipinos? MALICE IS IMMORALITY. IMMORALITY GIVE US ERECTION. WITHOUT ERECTION WE CANNOT HAVE S-E-CKSX. WITHOUT S-E-CKSX Filipinos cannot breed like rabbits.
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I do not have TFC channel. I do not have cable. I do not have Television. It is soooo 2000ish. I filter what I watch in the ‘net. Read the news I wanted. Visit people in social networks without driving. Shop naked in virtual store. Work naked from home. Post assignments in electronic boards. Video-conference from the beach. Download eBooks from http://LAPL.com or Library of Copngress (of course not the Philippine congress, Philiphifines do not spend on books much more librarIES THAT IS WHY HOW IN THE WORLD JOSE RIZAL’S 2 BOOKS TURNED PHILIPPINES INSIDE OUT UPSIDE DOWN) etc … etc … ABS-CBN? HA!HA!HA!HA!HA! That is so 60ish …. Filipinos still watch television? Read newspapers? Hmmmm …. I should go out one of these days in the real world … I’m just holed up in cyberspace …. HA!HA!HA!HA!
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The Lazzo Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 11:39 am
I didn’t know the Lafayette Association of Professional Landmen wrote books!
Seriously though, that’s what I got when I clicked the link. You probably mean http://www.lapl.org/ .
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 11:59 am
Yep! LAPL.ORG Los Angeles Public Library. Thanks for the correction. LAPL is one of the few libraries there in AMerica that offers eBooks.
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ulong pare Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 1:37 pm
daaaang! to get the latest and the greatest happenings in flipland, i hang out at seafood city, trophy lounges, flip restos, churches, and flipland independence/national holiday picnics and fiestas… the church the is best place to get the worst tsimis/gossips…. also, thrift shops, junkyards, and garage sales… flips frequent these places for ukay-ukay garbage… and, the informations are first-hand…
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daaaang!… over breakfast of tuyo and sinangag, washed down with kalamansi juice, i peruse the flip newspapers (tribune, pdi, manila times, bulletin, star, abante, etc) and listen intently to radio veritas, dzbb, and the sexy gurlz’ moanings and groanings next door, etc., etc… all of it scrutinized with critical and open mind… by alas nueve de manana, i’m exhausted…. with all the katangahan the media is spouting, my brain turned into a mushy glob … then, i glanced over my 60″ hdtv 3D apps capable to watch wowowee/bakya shows… gyrating flips from pre-teens to mamasans… ay sus ginoo…. that’s why i spend most of my quality days napping under my mango tree… under the watchful eyes of my voice-activated slaves…. saraaaaaap ng buhay flip!!!!
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 12:44 pm
Veritas was a goot peryodiko then. I read Veritas. I got tired reading Veritas. Because their englischtzes is too much to comprehend. Whenever I read Veritas I have to have a dictionary on my side. They quote too many dead poet society members. Too much unneeded adjectives. Too much nonsense. I stopped reading idiot peryodiko when our local USIS (United States Information Service) opened that offered more foreign newspapers. There I found that american editorials are short, informative and fun to read. That is what our idiot peryodikos are lacking an englischtzes that is fun to read not SCHOLARLY. From then on I became anti-Filipino-style-englsichtzes. See, they thoughted that writing long syntaxes in hundreds of paragraphs made them readable. NO IT IS NOT.
So, my OFW parents had a play. They gave me a newspaper and edit it and yet still redeable and understandable. I edit the editorial and column. Show it to my OFW parents. If my parents still understand the gist of the article then I am goot. It’s a goot game.
I STILL DO PLAY THE GAME. I read blogsites. Print them. Slash and burn them. There was one blog that I edited from roughly 10 pagagarparings I whittled it down to 2 or 3 paragraphs.
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Weizz Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 9:40 pm
Wait. Even in College press conferences, editorials are suppose to be short o.o Are the big names breaking their own rules? Forgive me, I had an unconscious urge to avoid reading local news for a few years back. It was a “media diet”. I enjoyed the presentation of foreign news. Also the presentation of comedy from the likes of Colbert and Stewart.
I learned more about the constitution and politics through comedy than books. I guess as someone said before, people now a days treat their politics as a joke and their comedy seriously! Haha
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 12:48 pm
After frequent visits to USIS, an american woman spotted me. She asked me if I wanted a “library card”. I said, “yes”. She took me to a room. Had me fill out a form. Two days later I was called back in for the “library card”. She asked if I am inteested to join CIA ! WoW!!!! USIS is a tool of CIA. It is a CIA recruiting operation. NOW I AM A MEMBER OF CIA. That is because I am very goot in analytics.
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Good that the video taken in Boracay was brought up. That was offensive. Not the video in particular, but the way ABS-CBN made an issue out of a non-issue. Not only did the video intrude on a couple who minded their own business, but the news department played judge, jury and executioner to make the couple appear like criminals. The couple should sue the station for invasion of privacy. The nerve of Kapamilya to include remarks by that twat Ruffa, who’s had a few racy moments “spread” on the internet years ago. Ahh, but this is a land of hypocrites.
It’s all in a day’s work for ABS-CBN…a network that feeds it’s “CULTURAL DIARRHEA” to a public who’s minds are already full of sht. The public eats it up, and eats it up good…and they can’t get enough of it. The bad part is, the network is here to stay whether we like it or not….and there seems to be no cure for the disease. All our barking against them continues to fall on deaf ears, so I really don’t see how the way they control the culture can ever be changed by peaceful means. The Lopezes swore in 1986 that what happened to them during Martial Law will never happen to them again. They seem to have figured it all out so far.
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ulong pare Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 2:01 pm
daaang!… the abs-cbn video was/is just another blip in the flipland information highway… why do flips pay so much attention to a blip? … plain stupidity… like a moth to a flame… burn, baby burn…. kasi puro gung gongs!
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 2:06 pm
Lookit, no matter how people hide their carnal contentment, people would still know how to do it. OK? How in the world Filipinos balooned to 100,000,000 idiots if they did not do it. Sex is goot. Sex is the vehicle to make god’s command true “to go out and multiply”. God says “out” in the open definitely not in the bedroom.
By the way, since ABS-CBN is soooo against public s**ecxs, did they redicule themselves for outing Nicole?
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We have Wowoowee Philippines…Wowoowee Media…Wowoowee Mindsets…Giling-Giling …Igiling mo, Baby!!!…
Now people are fornicating in public places in Boracay Island…Kris Aquino, the whore…made this generation of fornicators…
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 2:08 pm
Fornication is not xrated if no one is looking. I love fornicating in the open. It connects us to our being animals. WE ARE ALL ANIMALS. Where in the world you thoughting Adam and Eve “made love”? And who were watching? HA!HA1HA1Ha! You’d be amazed who were watching. HA!HA!HA!
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Hyden Toro Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 3:34 pm
Where are the Guardians of Morality now? The Bishops , the Priest,Pastors,etc… They should round up the Boracay Island Fornicators. Torture them on torture racks. Exorcise the Devil of Lusts in them. Then, if the Devil of Lusts will not come out. Burn these Fornicators on the Public Plaza in the Boracay Island…
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Weizz Reply:
January 8th, 2011 at 7:12 am
I still think with the current stance, value of sperm and egg is higher than actual life?
daaang!… the abs-cbn video was/is just another useless blip in the flipland information highway… why do flips pay so much attention to a useless media blitz? … plain stupidity… like a moth to a flame… burn, baby burn…. kasi puro gung gongs!
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Renato Pacifico Reply:
January 7th, 2011 at 2:12 pm
Because the stupid Filipinos gather around the flame like a moth not knowing it’ll burn them.
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Re observations of bizzareness by Diana Mendoza and UP Sociologist Michael Tan, here are some thoughts. I’m not sure if what I say here still holds true today because I never got to practice entertainment law. During my law school days however, I remember having class discussions on the legal prohibitions against pornography. There’s this legal test which in essence says that a film is pornographic if it appeals to the “prurient interest.” Don’t ask me what it means exactly because I really have no clear idea. I recall things said however that it is supposed to be something that’s just pure sex with no moral lessons whatsoever. And so the enterprising producers of Tagalog sex films always inserted some kind of “moral lesson” into their “sex films” in order to circumvent the prohibition. They will then argue that it has some moral lesson in it, after 2 hours of sex play of course. LOL. Without this “moral lesson”, the sex films will fail the “prurient interest” test, be rated as “X” and will not reach the big screen.
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I guess the daily nationwide “payload of mind poison” has gotten into the inner systems of many. Will need to detoxify…
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