ARTICLE | Analysis of Current Situation of Media in the Philippines

Analysis of Current Situation of Media in the Philippines

Ten years ago, what you would normally see on TV are programs which have social value like positive Filipino culture, advertisements that show the hopeful spirit of the Filipinos, and news that are not covered just to arouse curiosity. 
Today, the tables have turned and most things we now see are plain pieces of junk or capitalistic in nature. Ten years if we consider is not long enough but what we have witnessed at the turn of the decade, the Philippine media has overly transformed from its original role of educating and informing the people, for it has shifted its attention to mere entertainment alone coupled with its profiting interest. At the end of the road, the viewers are the ones who suffer because of this despicable practice. 

We say that media is the fourth guardian, the watchdog of our society, well in part that is true but generally, media no longer serve that purpose. Media is now an instrument to further self interests of people who are in power whether in government, business or religion. The unwilling victims, the audience, could not do anything but get ride in the wave, especially those uneducated, thinking that what media show is what the people should follow. However, if we look at the situation closely, should we really follow media’s agenda when all that we find there are commercialism and profanity. 

Before, the latest children can watch television was until 10pm when ABS-CBN’s The World Tonight would air. That would mean bed time to children. But now children are encouraged to stay up until the wee hours of the morning watching some stupid shows like Games Up Late or Kuya Germs’ Walang Tulugan plus there’s always the cable and internet which really distracts not just children but also adults (I’m also a victim for I couldn’t sleep enough when I feel it my responsibility to check my email everyday). 

Interestingly, I’ve read this article about time and how people have wasted or mismanaged their time and the culprit, who else but the development in technology, media. According to Francis J. Kong (1996), 

“Developments in science and technology are so rapid that today’s gadgets become tomorrow’s antiques. Yet even if they promise ease and convenience for today’s generation, they turn out to be sources of distractions their parents never had –cable TV, videos, laser discs, the Internet, among others (14)”

My point is this, media no longer serves its purpose but instead serves the people who only want to make money out of it. If indeed media is on the service of the Filipino, then why make fun of poverty and encourage mendicancy (Wowowee)? Why create sensationalism in the news and headlines of actors and actresses’ lives as if that’s the most important thing in our country (yeah right)? Why create needs and fuel viewers desire to purchase things which are not needed at a time when we should be living frugally, and what’s worse is that not only desires are created but also our nationalism is brought down thanks to the idolatry of Western concepts of beauty and fashion, etc. These things make you think why media is not helping anymore but instead become agents of chaos.

Theoretical analysis of media

Being the source of information (entertainment) of the people, media are the ones that create images of what is happening in society. It is by principle a reflection of the current situation, therefore people believe what they see on television and are very much affected and influenced by what they see. I have often heard people say that they think information they see on television is true because they (media) won’t be broadcasting them unless they are facts since there are internal and external regulators of media content such as media company inspectors and Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas (KBP). However, this confidence need not be true at all. There are reported cases where media has twisted/ sensationalized events or framed media content in such a way that it will fit self interests of involved parties.

Interestingly, people’s knowledge are affected by what media feeds to them and this was studied by DeFleur which was called the psychodynamic model. Accordign to this model, media do not only act directly on individuals but also affect the culture, the stock of knowledge, the norms and values of a society. They make available a set of images, ideas and evaluations from which audience members can draw in choosing their own lines of behaviour (McQuail & Windahl, 1993). And this is what really happens at the present. People see news reports on the reshuffling of the Senators’ positions in the case of Angara and Villar and people’s concern are directed towards it thinking that this may be a move for a constitutional amendment prolonging the tenure of Macapagal as president, then shift to economic crisis in the world and the people feel bothered by the coming Christmas and they might forget about what happened in the senate. 

Even the government know this tactic so they create events which will mislead the people. Marcos was a brilliant and cunning example of this before he started Martial Law. He had to make it appear that the entire situation of the Philippines is bad enough to put it under martial rule. And what about the business side, of course, they are aware too of media’s power to influence people’s concerns. That’s why they make people feel ugly so they will consume and buy products which are in itself not needed. You go to a market and one product will have at least ten brands. It’s as if you are given the power to choose but in reality you are a victim of commercialism. I could go on with this but the be and all of it is that media is now used for promoting needs and not informing the audience of what they should know.

The future of media

As I see it, traditional media will soon be replaced by new media such as the internet. In the Philippines, based on the readings that Prof. Paz Diaz has given us, an estimated 83 million Filipinos are living in the country and 2 million have internet access. With the rapid development of information technology, it is not far that television, radio, and newspapers will soon be out of the fray. I’ve already seen this happen in South Korea. Living in South Korea for 9 months, I have observed that although still uses TV and occasionally newspapers and radio, people have moved to internet and new gadgets like PSP, P2P, and iphones. In this gadgets, they can watch, read and listen to TV programs, radio shows, and even read books and access the internet. We are very much aware that people are not mere passive receivers of media content and people know this too. They are aware that they become victims but they choose not to counter it because they do not have an alternative. I guess we need to change both sides, the media and the people. On the one hand, change media (which might be a gargantuan task) into becoming more informative just like during the Spanish, American and Japanese times. 

But of course, the climate dictates what to wear so we can’t say that media can transform that easily. On the other hand, people should work more to be more critical and skeptical of what they are seeing. When news reports about the lives of actors and actresses, they should always ask, ‘and we should care because?’ Only then I think will that striking balance become available in the current media situation of the Philippines.


Sources:

Kong, F.J. (1996) Only the real matters. Metro Manila: Business Matters Publishing.

McQuail, D. & Windahl, S. (1993) Communication models for the study of mass communication. USA: Longman House.