A Moment of Remembrance

September 11

Five years ago today, the United States of America, together with the whole world, has witnessed the destruction of an Amercian dream. The twin towers of the World Trade Center, which has been the epicenter of business in America were seen all flamed, and after a while, collapsed like a superpower that was forcely brought back to earth.

It was a surprise visit of a nightmare that brought instant turmoil to people who were suddenly awakened by the horrific scene of seeing the towers fall apart and of seeing how many lives were instantly claimed. It was a moment of complete grief and a moment of a bitter and tragic surrender.

The superpower that was suddenly beaten by an underdog nation, was seen in complete silence right after the screams of people and the screetching erruption of the tall buildings, which then appeared to be indestructable.

The silence, which was mixed emotions of complete grief and agony, was converted to flowers and prayers... the silence, was brought to a place of remembrance...to a place where anger and revenge was still useless.

And now we remember the way it was. After five years spent mourning from the tragic demise of lives, a fresh start is bound to be completed. This is a start of waking up from a horrific nightmare... a rebuilding of the disheartened spirit of the people and a beginning of a hopefully reunited peace.

Let us pause to look back today to the way it was five years ago. A day that should be remembered not only by the Americans but by each people of every race. The damage has been done and we should take heed to the silent voices inside of us whispering that we should be united as people. That claiming lives doesn't necessarily equate victory. That war on nations is never a tool to achieve greatness.

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Blogging: From the Mouth of a Journalist

Blogging is an entirely breakthrough phenomena in the world of journalism as it submerges both journalists and mere writers into the world of online writing. Prof. Rolando Fernandez, editor-in-chief of the Northern Luzon Bureau of the Philippine Daily Inquirer and a journalism professor at the University of the Philippines Baguio, is no indifferent about the occurrence of online journalism in our country.

“Blogs mean that more people have access to information. Newspapers are controlled by the rich people, while in blogs, anyone can have their works published” Prof. Fernandez said as he talked about the advantages of blogging.

When asked if blogging is a form of journalism, Prof. Fernandez was fast to answer. “Definitely. Blogging has a bright future. Whether you are a pressman, journalist, all are the same – they are just a name.”

He was well aware that many of his co-journalists practice blogging, which was the reason why PCIJ held a “blogging” conference from where he attended. The journalism world in the country, therefore, sees the occurrence of blogging as an important issue that needs to be heard and requires proper attention.

Since bloggers range from professional journalists to mere writers, Prof. Fernandez found the reality as an advantage to journalists. “There’s no change in writing style, there’s still the basic rule of accuracy. Because you have learned the basics, you have the edge over those who have no training at all with journalism”.

He was well aware on how true-blue journalists stand out when it comes to writing and on how journalists exude more edge over the mere writers who try so hard to write in a journalistic way.

The overall talk he headed generalized that blogging should not be seen as a threat to the journalism profession. He emphasized that history have told us that the print industry has survived through the years and that blogging itself will never eradicate the passion for print. “Blogging or online reporting is not even an alternative… online technology and old media compliments each other,” he argued.

The experience of hearing these words from a respected journalist like Prof. Fernandez has paved the way towards an understanding that blogging is not necessarily a bad idea when exercised in the world of journalism.

As a pressman himself who has practiced journalism as a profession for many years, Prof. Fernandez was hopeful, as he has always been, that blogging is a breakthrough phenomenon that shall bring the print industry into another level, and not necessarily bring printed newspapers to its sad end.

Not in my lifetime will I see the death of newspaper in the country. And he is right. Definitely.

Screams of the Unsung Heroes

As a journalism student who should have known better about how much journalists engage their readers and on how others, if not all journalists, sensationalize their stories for the sake of readership, I was still caught by a certain Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism article about the Filipino domestic helpers in Lebanon. It wasn’t the writing itself that aroused the vulnerable side of me but the distressing reality that the investigative report exuded.

Right after the onset of bombings in Lebanon caused by the said country’s dispute with Israel, cries from the once unheard voices of Filipino domestic helpers immediately echoed in. A great number of these domestic helpers, mostly women, narrated how much fear and remorse they survived through during their stay in Lebanon. And it pains me to realize how many of these “human faces” in the report went through these horrible experiences from such a foreign land as Lebanon.

The disturbing part of the story is the alarming number of people who have gone mad and literally jumped off the buildings where they live in. Some stories are even more alarming as some claimed that those who died didn’t commit suicide but were really thrown off from the buildings by their evil employers.

The plight of domestic helpers is no strange issue in our country. We have heard these stories long before the war in Lebanon and even way back Flor Contemplacion’s tragic death in Singapore. However, no matter how much sufferings are documented from our withdrawn Filipino domestic helpers, no one, not even the Philippine government, eases away their pain. The government may have rescued them from the hell that they call Lebanon but their struggle with regard to finding a decent job still hangs in the air. It is a known fact that the rapid growth of Filipino domestic helpers is rooted from the economic dilemma of our country to provide decent jobs to millions of Filipinos. And our poor Filipinos resort to traveling to strange places to search for greener pastures and feed their loved ones back home. However, many of our Filipino don’t just battle homesickness brought about by their being away from home, they are also faced with different horrible experiences with their employer that range from exploitation, maltreatment, rape, and worse, murder. Now the beautiful picture illustrated here are faced by people, who primarily bring pots of gold to our government, and lest we forget, to our so-called economic growth. As stated in the article, Filipino domestic helpers are treated like a commodity that employers can demand to do anything that tickled their fancy.

The experience of being away from is horrible enough, but the nightmare that overseas Filipino workers face with their employers is way too much to handle. If only the government would provide decent jobs for our people, I am quite sure that Filipinos won’t need to go away from home. If only the government would “honestly” care for the welfare of Filipinos, then maybe upsetting incident that the ofws struggled through in Lebanon wouldn’t have been possible. Filipinos, in our native tongue, practically have “mababaw na kaligayahan”. A peaceful and able livelihood is enough for us to live. However, even the minimal dreams that we have in terms of livelihood is not even maintained by the government. This is a Philippine reality unfolded through the years.

So now, what do these Lebanon survivors have at hand? They may have been resuscitated from the evils of war between two foreign nations but they are yet to battle another hostility called unemployment, this time, in their own native land. Hundreds or even thousands of ofws from Lebanon are currently and patiently standing by, waiting for things to happen just in case their luck still exists.

In the strictest sense, the Lebanon incident is practically the biggest issue of ofws since Flor Contemplacion’s unjust death in Singapore. aTheir stories were screaming justifications that something has to change, and it’s up for the government to figure out how it should overhaul itself to favor of our helpless ofws. The plight of ofws is a matter of a political, economic and social issue that needs to be resolved, that is, if the government still has the interest aside from pursuing other concerns to its own ends.

The SONA That Was (and has always been)

Every poor nation has an equal chance to dream for progress; an identical opportunity among 3rd World countries to dream of making it big someday and saying goodbye to the slums of the present life. There’s nothing wrong with dreaming because it keeps people in believing that hope still springs, that someday, we will all have our own happy endings, that Cinderella will eventually find her prince.

This was exactly what I felt while watching President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo’s SONA last Monday. The feeling of hearing wonderful promises is overwhelming, like finally getting a sip of the words that you’ve been thirsting to hear. Her plans are ideal; better yet, brilliant because they all promise every imaginable program to battle poverty and combat every problem that has been a pain in the neck among Filipinos eons ago.


All Smiles

With her seemingly sunny aura last Monday, PGMA laid out her plans for this year. The SONA experience this year is undeniably more peaceful if we compare it with the one she had last year. The last SONA was a difficult endeavor for the president who was accused of cheating on the 2004 elections because of the infamous Hello-Garci tape that shocked the whole archipelago. An apologetic SONA occurred as thousands of protesters throughout the country rallied for her to step down from her chair. But it seemed that Gloria Labandera had all the luck in the world because she was able to proclaim a yet another SONA this year – this time, however, with her having a smiling face and witty aura.

Despite the uproar of typhoon Glenda, Gloria was able to deliver the speech that defined the moment. Wearing an overrated and glittery red Filipiniana, the president was all smiles as she delivered her future plans for the country and boasted her government’s so-called accomplishments last year. Ironically, she was herself that day; we witnessed a Gloria who was seemingly happy about what’s going on.

The opening part of her speech was dedicated to give credit to people whom she believed have performed well during the past months. They are the military people, congressmen, senators, whom she retold were the ones who made a difference for our country. The president gave ample time for these people to be recognized and applauded for their "deeds". And if we look close enough, they are also the mere people who stood by her when everybody else didn't. Sure thing, her allies were the only people left to thank for because her "best friends" were outside the Batasan shouting curses and mockery she could never have imagined. The cunning and the brave were outside, dripping wet because of the typhoon, while she was inside, comfortably speaking about how wonderful the country has been for the past months.


Too Good To Be True

This year's SONA, she focused on the development of the provinces that constitute the super regions in our country. Her plans are perfect and substantial because she gave emphasis on giving the rural areas equal chances for progress. She made it clear that each super region has its own strength that should be recognized and further developed. She had the perfect plans, a too good to be true campaign for a country that has succumbed to poverty through the years.

She also discussed how much improvement the country gained in terms of its economical progress. She said that more jobs were given to Filipinos, more housing projects were provided for the homeless, and more lands were awarded to those who deserve them. And to top the best laid plans, she was confident enough to promise building airports, railways, roads, and ports for an easier and more accessible transportation.

Drama Queen

In the strictest sense, the drama of this year’s SONA is overwhelming. Aside from an ironically smiling Gloria, the 166 rounds of applause on the event made it more theatrical. The constant cheers among members of the congress and senate on every statement that she uttered added up to the feel-good aura of the show. And to further give a pleasant scenario of the event, PGMA invited the people that made a difference this year such as Manny Pacquiao, the Mount Everest trio, SEA games winners, and Miss International Precious Lara Quigaman.

The intention of every SONA is too much ideal that sometimes, it isn’t reality at all. There’s a fine line between believing and making-believe, between knowing your capacity to move a nation and fooling yourself and the people on promises that will eventually be broken. It’s all been said but never done, I can hear the Filipinos lament. But being hopeful people that we truly are, we are yet to see, for the nth time, how presidents make and break promises.

How Nationalism Sells

To us Filipinos, Bandila, means more than just the flag consisting of three stars, a sun, and the blue and red tandem that we have grown so used to through the years. If we travel back in time, the yesteryears may prove to us that Andres Bonifacio, or Jose Rizal, or any of our heroes for that matter, died to seize freedom for our country – to release us from the evils of colonization, to bring national liberty, and to honor what’s still left with the Filipinos back then.

If we trace back to our country’s colorful history, we can eventually recognize that our national liberty began during the raising of the Philippine Flag or Bandila on June 12, 1898 in Kawit, Cavite. It was yet a victorious event to our forefathers who bore the insolence the colonizers and shed blood for our country.

With this recollection of how it was during the hard days, we can now assume how our Bandila have played a seminal role to the culmination of a patriotic dream for our country. Bandila is a symbol of hope and courage to Filipinos to attain the national identity that we are exploiting today.

This backgrounder may have been the reason why ABS-CBN, one of our country’s leading television networks, chose Bandila as the title of their latest addition to their news programs. Succeeding the former show, The Insider, Bandila is aired every 10:30 in the evening right after the network’s primetime programming. The news program is being hosted by three of ABS-CBN’s top news anchors. Headed by Korina Sanchez, the show is handled by Ces Oreña-Drilon, and Henry Omaga-Diaz.


The Cure

We have always known that ABS-CBN’s news programs have declined as much as ratings and criticisms are concerned. It is undeniable that GMA truly made it as the more respectable network with regards to news reporting. Award-giving bodies, such as the recent Manila-Rotary Club award for the said network is enough to prove that GMA is the network of the hour. Its news programs are being commended for exuding the real virtue of news reporting – the fearless, accurate, and balanced way of presenting the sides of every news story.

So, what’s left to do with ABS-CBN than to combat the nemesis and do something innovative and edgy not only to divert the audience’s attention but also, and more importantly, to at least save the declining credibility of their news programs. It’s always like that in the media, how one network struggles not to be outdone by the other– the overwhelming competition of television networks that sometimes lead to cynicisms and even grave rivalry.

In a nutshell, Bandila is ABS-CBN’s answer towards the total overhauling of their news service. Something that may, or may not, bring back their credibility that has been tainted by “politics” and ethical issues on their news presentations.


Nationalistic appeal

As the program’s title implies, Bandila stands for bringing back nationalism to Filipino audience’s hearts. The title tries to exude to its audience the program’s nationalistic concern as it attempts to move the hearts of Filipinos in reliving the very essence of our national flag.

Bandila, as news program, endeavors to bring its audience right through the core of our Filipino identity, a unifying symbol above our already divided society. Bandila symbolizes a common thread that tries to bind our differences as Filipinos.


Innovations

The principle of novelty has always been prevalent in mass media. Creators make it a point to provide breakthroughs to provide a new taste to their programs because it has always been proven that mass media audiences appeal to what’s and fresh and new on television.

Given the said principle of mass media, there are some innovations that Bandila tries to exude. Some of these changes are good and some can also be considered as plain mockery of the very essence of news reporting.

Since its ABS-CBN’s newest news rendition, Bandila tries to be modern in terms of its appearance. Considering the fact that it’s a late night program, it tries to achieve the look and sound of an appealing news program. The production design is indeed visually-stimulating. The dominating color, blue, which actually stands for hope and peace, battles the reddish appearance of its rival program, GMA7’s Saksi.

The animated logo of the program is quite interesting as well, if not visually disturbing. The said moving logo actually defines how mobile and interactive Bandila appears to be, in contrast to the notion that news programs are supposed to be timid and strict.

Another breakthrough that the news program launched is its original soundtrack. Unlike other news programs which only scored musical or instrumental music, Bandila’s opening and closing billboards is inspired by the program’s theme song “Bandila”, which is performed by Rivermaya. As far as news program history is concerned, this is the first time that a news program agrees to put lyrics to its musical scoring. And to have Rivermaya, a well-known alternative band here in the Philippines, perform the soundtrack is yet another story.


Target audience

With such a breakthrough program format, Bandila, thus, transcends from its supposed target audience. Late night news programs are supposed to attend to working professionals whose works make them unable catch the usual 6:00 pm news programs. However, with an innovative appeal, Bandila tries to transcend to a broader target audience.

The reasons for a modified target audience is already prevalent as soon as the show piloted. First, unlike the former Insider that was aired every 11:00 pm, Bandila pursued an earlier timeslot, which is 10:00 pm. This goes to show that it tries to cover even the audiences of the tele-dramas, from which the news program comes after. The audience flow then is supposed to retain since Bandila comes right after the tele-dramas. With this kind of strategy, women and youth, which are the target audiences of these tele-dramas get to watch Bandila without even intending to.

Second, the mere fact that Rivermaya performed the theme of the news program implies how it tries to captivate the “younger” audience. Rivermaya is one of the most sought-after alternative bands to date; thus, having them on the background definitely puts a youthful sound for the program. It can be said then that Bandila repackages the conventional late-night news programs from hard-hitting and boring to something that’s interactive and stimulating that might as well appeal the younger audiences.


Core Of Its Contents

Bandila’s news presentation takes us into a newer level of news reporting. The three news anchors have this “conversationalist” approach to their audience. Instead of the usual hard-core presentation of news, Oreña-Drilon and Omaga-Diaz seem to just talk to each other about the news for the day. Bandila’s connection to their audience is far more personal than any other news programs.

In every sense of the word, despite the innovations that the show made, Bandila actually making a good stand as an all-new news program. The human-interest factor to its reports are present as it takes it audience to a comprehensive and up-to-date reporting. The very virtue of any news reports such as accuracy, fairness, and balanced reporting are the things that the program is yet to prove to its audience. Since the program is still on its first month, it must struggle to achieve the very essence of its name.

Bandila is indeed ABS-CBN’s breakthrough; something that will eventually overhaul its News and Current Affairs desk. The only thing that the show is supposed to do at the moment is to be true to its promise of an accurate, fair, complete, and aggressive news presentation. Must it live up to people’s expectations of a nationalistic approach to its news – must it make our Philippine flag proud.

Pacquiao's Media Domination

The Pacquiao Mania is definitely in the air. The Pambansang Kamao who was recently awarded by the Office of the President as “Champion for Life” together with other luminaries like the Mount Everest Trio and Miss International Precious Lara Quigaman, is not only winning over the hearts of Filipinos but also championing television appearances and advertisements.

Last week was an overwhelming victory for Manny Pacquiao against Oscar Larios. The twelve-round-fight was a crucial endeavor that Manny won over in the end. It wasn’t a knockout, as everybody else expected; but, seeing Oscar Larios fall apart from time to time with Manny’s punches is enough for Filipinos to believe that Manny is the man of the hour. Through his victorious fights, he has been the hero of the day to most Filipinos who would rather watch his battles than watch Gloria Labandera on what pathetic thing she’ll do next in TV.

And through this triumphant year, this 27-year-old native of Genaral Santos City who once sold fishes for a living is now seen strutting his unbeatable “kamao” in advertisements and television programs. He has been the crowd favorite among product endorsements that range from food chains, athletic merchandize, pain relievers, and even videoke gadgets! Even with his obvious “bisaya” accent, the popular culture has submerged into the “Pacquiao Mania”.

The opportunities for Pacquiao instantly overflowed. Unlike other hopefuls in showbiz who could sing very well, Manny Pacquiao, whose songs sounded so much edited, was able to grab a record deal with Star Records. “Para Sa Iyo” invaded the airwaves and has even become a hit to Filipinos. There once came a time when children in the streets and grown-ups from different walks of life seemed to hum along his new song – an explicit example of Pacquaio Mania. He was everyone else last-song-syndrome from then. Now, we can just visualize how well packaged Pacquiao has been to become a singing boxer. Where else in the world can you find a boxer who also sings? Only in the Philippines, so they say.

And to compliment his already mediated life, Star Cinema recently launched “Pacquiao The Movie” starring the hunky Jericho Rosales as an unbelievably Manny Pacquiao, and Bea Alonso as his wife, Jinky Pacquiao. The movie retold about Manny’s seemingly Cinderella story; the from rags to riches drama of a poor boxer who’s fate walked an unbeatable turn. With some obvious cinematic alterations, the film revolved around the glitz and glamour of being a celebrated boxer and the controversies about being famous. Once again, with the launching of his self-titled movie, the man of the hour has yet another victory to look forward to.

We can blame ABS-CBN for the emancipation of a repackaged character for this Filipino boxer. The network, just like any other media outfit, knows very well how to earn money. Imagine buying the airtime for Pacquiao vs. Larios fight last Sunday and earning so much from it. It was also said that the ratings for his latest televised fight here in the Philippines outdone the ratings of his celebrated rematch with Morales in Las Vegas. The overwhelming victory for the “Pambansang Kamao” has also become a surefire success for ABS-CBN.

The Pacquiao Mania is an explicit example of how media works with particular people and on how it mediates and sensationalizes people’s lives to its own ends. But, Manny Pacquiao was lucky enough to actually control the limelight because not all people get to have mass media’s interest and eventually, win people’s hearts. Imagine how much money he gets with his endorsements and television guestings? The cynicism here does not only involve mass media but Pacquiao as well. It’s not only money that he gets but also the veneration of people who believe he’s a new-age hero.

Right now, there’s no stopping Manny in winning the hearts of people and bringing mass media into another level. The pang-masa charisma of Pacquiao is his ultimate punch towards his unlikely mass media domination. Now, we just have to wait on what project he’ll do next because he seemed to have done it all. The “Pambansang Kamao”, the “Champion for Life” still has a long way to go.

Saving The Day

First there was Kristala. Next, there came Darna. And then, Captain Barbell appeared in the scene wearing his overrated costume that we have known through the years. We see these Pinoy Superheroes strut their stuff and effortlessly battle with the conventional evils, those with ugly faces with overdone make-ups who unessesarily die at the end of the show.

Indeed, the superheroes are back in saving the world, and even in resuscitating the television industry from the evils of, err, bankruptcy. They are revived from a sound sleep and are now leading the primetime programming experience into another level.

I can’t say that I am the biggest fan of Darna but I do believe that she’s popular enough to make my younger girl cousins imitate her in every step of the way – from those kiddie costumes to school stuffs to finding their own "Efren" someday. It’s really funny to observe how much these superheroes affect the Filipino people and how they regained strength in the mass media despite of their partial demise decades ago.

Now, it is not only the television that they conquer. Their quest for world domination is also prevalent in the advertising industry. I have seen television commercials lurking on the superhero-saving-the-world themes. And even the latest PLDT commercial shows a new-age superhero promising high-speed telephone connection with unlimited calls stuff. Whether we admit it or not, our Pinoy superheroes are back in the game and intends to stay a little longer.

The sudden boom of superheroes in the mass media is quite unthinkable, if not practically alarming. Suddenly, they win over the television and advertising industry which were then dominated by western thinking. Suddenly, I find myself watching Captain Barbell wander around the metropolis on TV and observing this new superhero in the latest PLDT ad. This new trend in mass media spells out a headstart for a fresher thinking among the Filipino audience.

I really have nothing against this new trend. I believe that the boom of Pinoy superheroes aren’t necessarily there for nothing. In our world grown dark with poverty and crime, these superheroes stand for another hope and courage within. They bring about the bright side of battling with the evil, the you-know-who in our country. And since these images of superheroes sell, there shouldn't be a reason for the television and advertising industries to depart from them. These may be the reason why the advent of Kristala and the rebirth of Captain Barbel has been a surefire hit to the Filipino viwers.

In one way or the other, mass media is smart enough to seek for ways to sell and be in control. This may be regarded either positively or negatively. It is positive because mass media evolves, that it doesn’t necessarily stick to one genre; and this evolution makes Filipinos intelligent viewers. However, it is always negative whenever the media seem to be too much in control of the masses – using superheroes to direct the minds of people to a certain ground, a ground we call commercialism.

Our country is slumped for ages now. The Filipinos are tired already and they cling to the boom of the superhero age not only to submerge to mediated reality for a while but also to believe that there is still hope for all of us. Captain Barbell teaches us that battling with evil is easy, and so does Darna who makes us believe that it only takes good looks and superpowers to battle with ugly Valentina. These are mass media images of the superhero-age making their way to people - finding their way to the hearts of the oppressed and the underdogs.

I am never a fan of superheroes but just like everyone else, I fall for the idea that a hero will arise to save the day.