Since I am not yet assigned to a particular practicum site, my interviewee is someone from the media industry I just know. A fresh grad of AB Mass Communication Major in Broadcast in Centro Escolar University, Ms. Joena Marie Manlangit, 21 years old, is from San Mateo Rizal. She is currently a researcher in GMA Network for the programs Reel Time, Motorcycle Diaries and Best Men.
I interviewed her over the phone because it is the best way to talk to her amidst her busy schedule as a researcher. I asked her about the Source-Reporter Relationship topic and I also tried to connect our conversation with what we are studying in Media Ethics.
I asked her how is it being a researcher, interviewing a lot of people, getting involve with many issues in life. She said it is hard. You have to be realìy good in public relations. You have to be charismatic but not sympathetic. You have to be knowledgeable of the people that you will meet. You should learn how to adapt to their way of life so that you may be able to get their sides easily. And no matter what happen you have to get the answers to your questions no matter what.
All along, I thought their subjects are paid in trade of their stories shared to a lot of people but they are not. She said that the company prohibits that because it adds bias to the scene. But she admitted that she gave money to some of her interviewees. She said it is unfair to them especially that their subjects all have compelling situations in life. In short, they belong to the poverty line. It is her way of bringing her thanks to them and she sees nothing bad about it.
She advised me that in this line of work. You should have a strong heart. There is no room for tears because the subjects might be affected if you will show them that. You should not be sympathetic. Maintain the source-reporter relationship. Do not go beyond that line or else something wrong might happen in the end. Like for example when she is working on the documentary entitled “Tulo Boys”. She developed friendship within them. But after the project, she was not able to sustain the communication and so her interviewees got mad at her in the end. At the end of the day, you were just a person who’s mission is to get the facts right and do not have the obligation to be in a good relationship with them even after the project.
She told me a truth I can never forget. Subjects in the stories are used. You use them to get what your job requires you to do. I asked her, ‘Do you think it’s ethical? She said it’s not. You became a user. Getting what you need to them and then leave them afterwards. But that is how business in this industry works. As for her, she makes this thing right, by giving something in return to the interviewees even if her company prohibits it. With this I remember the paradigm that I saw in our lesson, the thin line between a person’s professional ethics and moral ethics. And if I were ask if I would do the same, I would say yes.
In any job, ethical dilemmas are to be solved. It is indeed really important that all parties at stake are to be considered, not only the professional rules but also your moral obligations as well. I admire how Ms. Manlangit is able to deal with the usual problems as a researcher. As I see it, she tried her best to be a good employee and a citizen as well. It is a balance between two equally important things to her.
Advertising as of today is obviously on to a step by step proceedings through modernization.
Advertising is the one of the smartest and influential way of promoting your products, goods, or even your bet in an election (just sayin’).The new generation of advertising creates a more twisting concepts and creativity that will give every consumer thinking.
The more they think of that product, the more they want to explore it, and in the end, they’ll purchase it. Advertising it is!
But in some other aspects of promotionals and advertisements, it is not sometimes the goods that is wavering around the mediums of media, it is the endorsers who gave impact to the products they were paid to endorse to.
For me the Women in this industry are the most effective product endorsers. They had the power to move the viewers through their unique style of promoting goods.
Some examples of women who dominate the advertising industry are Kris Aquino, Anne Curtis, Sam Pinto, Solenn Heusaff, and Lovi Poe.
As you see most of them are Ladies who has a sexy image to the public. They are the most powerful form of celebrities that can make all consumers buy the products they are endorsing.
For Kris Aquino, yes she is sexy in her own way too, but the others I have mentioned our really the new breed of local celebrities who use their sex symbol for the sake of making a big impact on the product.
In line with the movie that we watched at the MIR, Jean Killbourne’s “Killing us Softly”.
She explains all the types of media forms that we cannot see on what we are watching, reading, etc.
It is an eye opener to every one of us because in this business, the more you have the witty creativity, the more you should know your limits as well.
She added the women are the more consistent because it gets the viewers attention easily especially to men.
Yet some commercials have open up so much of their minds they forget the limitations of what they must offer only to the viewers. Not what they wanted to but what they must just put into it. Simple yet effective way and not to the extentof some vulgar and malicious scenery that would made the observers feel disturbed.
This is the new form of advertising, sexy women, sensual form of promotions, lusty minds of the viewers and in the end another big impact in the market.
“Broadcasters are like… Jack of all trades, master of none…” ---Mr Joey Collantes
This is just one of those insights that he gave which made an impact as I had this interview with him. Mr. Joey Collantes is one of the anchor/reporter at Radyo Veritas 846. He has been in the media industry for a long time he said. He started being an announcer and a field reporter at Radyo Patrol. I’ve been quite shocked by the fact that he is not actually a Mass Communication graduate instead he’s a Commerce Economics graduate of FEU. He has ventured the field of the Media industry because of his friend working at ABS-CBN who teased him to try to audition as a reporter which eventually became the start of his career in media.
As I asked him with his views and personal experience with regards ethical issues on source reporter relation he said that there is a lot of things that a Mass Communication graduate should know upon entering the world of media because he considers media people as “know-it-all” he added that not all who are in the media are graduates of Mass Communication but we as mass comm. students should know the law though we are not taking law, we should be aware of who is the secretary of the DOT though we’re not taking tourism, we should know about the epidemic diseases which is rampant in the country though we are not actually taking up medicine. That is the job of being in media he said, being versatile, flexible and prepared. He also said that there is a high expectation when it comes to those people who are graduate of mass communication that is why we should not settle for any mediocrity.
Ha also added ethical issues with regards getting a news story. Upon getting a story, “Be First, Be Right but Be Right first”. A story must not be aired if and when it is not confirmed because it is not proper. “Una ka nga nakakuha ng istorya pero mali naman yung ibinalita mo wala rin yun, sino mananagot? Di ba?” he said. Some stations are just protecting their own interests he added. Another is the inappropriate languages, anchors/reporters on radio are being grounded by the KBP guidelines with regards inappropriate languages however there’s no move being taken except to reprimand the reporter.
As we end our interview he said that not all mass comm. Students who will graduate will venture into the field of media but wherever we will be working soon is that we give our best and build a strong work ethics particularly on time management and being prepared on whatever our job may take us.
I also had a brief interview with Mr. Jemuel Go a reporter at radio veritas and professor at CEU teaching Media Management.
He has shared his views with regards ethics on the same issue of source reporter relation. He said upon gathering news story in Radio Veritas they are looking for a news which is newsworthy that will not violate the rules of the KBP and the rules and policy of radio station, if it did violate the rules of the two, because or bias is on the church, they will not air the story.
He added that in reporting the story, it will not stop there, there should be change, there should be an advocacy, and there should be values. As he said that information is essential to formation that leads to transformation. Follow rules and regulations, program policies, guidelines and media ethics so that you don’t have any problem with regards ethical issues that’s it, as we end our interview.
Setting the Minds of People?
by: Cecilio Ronquillo
Advertising is very influential to everyone, we can say that no one can escape to it, everywhere we can see it, from Television to radio, print ads and even thru telephone directories. This form of media is actually affects our lifestyle and set the minds of people on what to wear and what to eat. All advertising agency nowadays make used of seductive models to attract people to patronized their certain product.
These Advertising agencies produced commercials and print advertisement that is very attractive to their audience and prospective clients, but the problem is that these agencies produced a kind of commercials that tends to make the audience and buyers to believe on what they see on print ads and TV commercial that is actually is not existing in the real world. Because of the advent of technology, we can now easily transform an ugly person to a very good looking subject, a messy room to a clean room, a dirty face to a clean face, we should be thankful in the creator Photoshop and other editing software that enhanced the subject to turn to its fine-looking angle. But dilemma in here is that we are fooling everyone to believe on what they see on the advertisement, it may affect their self esteem because people believed that if they have the same apparel with any fashion icon or model, they think that are in, but if they don’t have it, they consider themselves as not acceptable by our society.
Advertisers change their subjects into an object which means everything that you seen on their ads is actually not true, it is either edited or retouched wherein we should not practiced it because it may affect ones identity and hurt someone’s feeling. The effect of this is people are trying hard to be like what they see and if they can’t attain the beauty that they want it may lead to depression and obsession. So let us move and pass a bill that lessen down the editing system in commercials, we should not fool people, we must promote things that is not against the will of others as well as in the will of our creator.
During the viewing of the video of “Killing Us Softly 3: Advertising's Image of Women” I was absent but I was able to watched it on the internet to cope up with the discussion. I was absent because I had a fever and I can’t get up in my bed so I’ve decided to not to attend the class.
As I have watched the video, I learned some ethical things in advertising. First we must not use the women’s body in adverting. Second using women’s body in advertisement is violence against them. Third using computers in adjusting the women’s body must not be tolerated because it is insult to them. Some people said women’s are the best instrument in advertising but as I have watched the video they are not perfect for advertisement because it may be able to harm them. We cannot say they are best instrument by showing their body because it can be violence against them. Editing the picture of a woman for advertisement is not a good idea, editing the whole picture meaning destroying the true image of the women. I know woman’s body can easily attract the attention of the viewers because of its beautiful figure. Women’s body is a gift from god. They must not be a model to attract consumers they are not instruments for advertising and that must be the first thing to change in ads the attitude of people that harms the moral dignity of the women. We advertise not just for the consumers but also to educate the public.
Some advertisement here in the Philippines also using the women to attract consumers, example of it is the Colt45 ads that if you buy the product of them, you will given a chance to date the one of the hottest woman in the Philippines Christine Reyes. The theme of the commercial was Christine Reyes was wearing a two piece bathing suit and massaging by a not a handsome guy or I can say an old man and in the end of the commercial the bra wearing by Christine is pulled by him. The idea is very intelligent and I salute the commercial because of it. Of course using a beautiful icon to promote is a very powerful ads. Imagine if you buy the product there will be a chance to date with Christine. I’m sure men will never reject the opportunity of having the chance to date Christine Reyes, they will surely buy the product just to have a date with her.
However, after I have watched the video, I am disappointed to the commercial of Colt45 because they used Christine Reyes just to promote their product and the theme of their ads was violence against women. The print and TV ads of it was showy on the perfect body of Christine Reyes and I learned that it is not a perfect idea to promote the product. All in all after I have watched the video advertising is not just to attract consumers but also to educate the viewers.
Admit it. Mass media is everywhere. We live in the modern world of media. Whether we like it or not, we are surrounded by countless mediums that compete for our attention all over the society. TV, radio, magazines, newspapers, advertisements, films, and even the Internet and the latest technologies where we are all hooked in, we can see different kinds of media that inform, educate and entertain us. And as time flies, the industry has tried innumerable ways to keep the public hooked with the media. And the present trend that is quite concerning is the use of sensual images in trying to get the public’s attention; particularly, images of women which display nudity and sexuality. This kind of technique is mostly used in the advertising industry, using exploitative images to draw attention to products, which was noticed by Jean Kilbourne: the woman behind the Killing Us Softly series.
Yes, it is in human nature to be curious about sex. God gave man the power to reproduce, thus it is not morally wrong to induce sex in the media as it is part of humanity. However, too much can be morally and ethically wrong. Studies show that the use of sensual images can indeed increase the sales of a product; that is acceptable if the products are related to the said sensual images. But some advertisers go beyond their limits when they use such sensual images in products which are not really inclined with each other. That is just wrong. To make profit out of half-naked women in their bikinis and sexy clothing and the use of double meaning phrases that titillate the minds of the consumers when the products don’t really go together with the ad is a show of how people nowadays can resort to uncreative ideas just for the sake of money. There are many ways of catching the public’s attention. It’s not all about sex.
On the other hand, it is pleasant to know that here in the Philippines, the shows and ads that make the Filipino favorites are not all about sensuality unlike those of the other countries. Since we are a family oriented society and there are values in our culture that coincide with the idea of femininity, conservativeness and modesty, the Filipino favorites are still the ones which have the concept of love for family and fellow Filipinos, happiness, charity, liveliness and wittiness. I applaud the makers of the films, shows and ads here in the country as they don’t resort to the sensuality that is vastly spreading in the other countries. As a future media practitioner, this lesson is what I should bear in mind. Creativity is much more important than resorting to mundane ideas that just bring in money. With a creative mind and a lot of effort, it is not impossible to reach the top.
“The world is better viewed through the lens of a camera. No matter how simple an object is, one click is all it needs to be appreciated. The lens captures the beauty that the naked eye usually cannot see.” – Jasmine Romero, reporter (ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol)
As I sat down with Ms. Jasmine Romero (former DZMM anchor and now a correspondent in ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol), I showed her a couple of photos that I found on the Internet as we began our talk. There were three sets of pictures.
As I was about to ask my first question, she interrupted me and asked the same question that I had in mind, “What do you think of these photos?” I thought hard. Not wanting to embarrass myself as I know little about image ethics. And tried to answer as considerately as I could. In the first set of photos of the fifteen year old who was shot dead, the photo on the left was most definitely a newsworthy shot as it would catch the attention of the public if it were disseminated widely. A heartbreaking shot, to be honest. And for the second photo, it was an awkward angle to the story. Indeed the photographers looked like vultures to the dead girl’s body. An unethical shot. For the second set of photos: first thing I had in mind was: CHEAT. They cheated the public as those DPWH officials faked their so-called visit to Roxas Blvd. after Typhoon Pedring. And for the third photo: well, it’s for beauty’s sake. If I were to be a cover of a magazine, I would love to have edited teeth as well. (I’m not very comfortable with my smile you see). And she set aside the photos and we started our short conversation and I got a few important pointers that Ms. Jasmine shared with me.
Image ethics cannot be understood fully as one’s ethics to images may vary. It would depend on the person looking at the photo, whether they would judge a picture as ethical or not. But as media people giving news to the public, it is only about the TRUTH and nothing but the TRUTH. Yes, you can enhance the color, the hue, sharpness, saturation and brightness of the photo, for appreciation’s sake. But that is all. Changing the shape, appearance, color, position and adding or withdrawing something from a photo, that is a NO-NO as you are already changing the story and reality of the event. Some people might think a photo taken is too strong for their eyes, or too revealing, or too exploitative. But a photojournalist cannot change what’s in reality. He/she should reveal the truth, or else, one’s credibility is at stake.
And yes, I agree with Ms. Jasmine. I believe that each person has their own perception. One might think a picture of a naked body with tattoo is beautiful, one may think it is too vulgar. One person might think a photo of a body mangled with animal bites is too unethical to see, and one might think that picture is a warning to everyone to be extra careful in the woods as to not have the same end as the dead person in the picture. Many will critique the photos taken by news people. However, the decision to take the shot is still within the photographer. Is the picture newsworthy? Will the people remember me for this shot? And most importantly: To shoot or not? That is the question.
The film KILLING US SOFTLY was a very effect eye-opener for everyone who watched it; whether they will agree to Jean Killbourne’s words or not, it certainly told very important messages about some negative effects and role of media that most of us do not easily see for ourselves. Honestly speaking, if I were not able to see the film and clearly understood its messages, I would not be able to have a higher level of awareness to these kinds of problems and issues in the role of media specifically in advertising.
In our group discussion, when relating these issues here in the Philippines, we all agreed that it can somehow be different but not entirely. Jean Killbourne’s speech was mostly about general observations and I observed that most of these problems about definitions and labeling of femininity and masculinity usually were affected by the kind of culture in which the people were raised. For example in US, there is a tendency that because they have a much more liberated set of lifestyle, people will have much more different perspectives when dealing with issues about how women and men were mostly defined and given a role in media like in advertising.
Going back here in the Philippines, it’s not entirely the same but it’s not also entirely different. I think because we have different cultures and traditions which greatly affected how we portray and perceived such images that we see in media. I think in the Philippines, we still have those limitations when giving roles to women and men. Like in women, we still have that sense of being conservative to how we look and how people should see us. Though some may challenge a much extreme image, not all women can easily devote themselves to do the same and treat that as part of our new image. What I am just trying to say is that, when comparing all of the messages that Jean Killbourne said from the film, to the case here in the Philippines, those issues may not be that evident compared to other countries like US.
One of the questions we’ve discussed in our group is about the preferences of various types of media. Most of us preferred TV compared to films or music. I too, prefer television because TV is like a complete set of all the types of programs, shows, videos, genre, etc. In TV, you have more options and can control what you want to see or watch. And I can say TV is one very powerful and influential media compare to others and its already part of daily lifestyle of most people. One thing that made this preferable is because its accessible, it has both image and audio compare to radio, and even if films also have images, audio and special effects, it still much limited compare to TV. Not all people watches films all the time, it depends to what type or genre of film.
Most types of media have their own stereotypes or labeling towards selected themes or images that they portray for their audiences. And these stereotype images or concepts can be very influential especially if the medium is as powerful and accessible as television.
I usually see these stereotypes in programs like the soap operas. One notable example can be in the concept of stepfamilies. We usually see ultimate conflicts and source of drama when the story revolves around a stepmother being very abusive on her stepchildren. It’s a common flow in the story but I’ve watched plenty of programs having this concept and I think this can somehow affect the reality of how people perceive real life stepfamilies or the stepmother-stepdaughter relationship. When it comes to romance or love stories, there is that usual stereotype on girls or women to have the role as the damsel in distress and men always have the much stronger role. I rarely see local programs with women having a dominance and stronger role compare to men.
These are just some example I usually see in television programs. I think the stereotypes we see and its power of influence towards its audiences, like in television, greatly depends on the content of the program. I see more of stereotypes role on dramas and love stories.
When talking about content or genre of program, or films, I personally prefer inspirational type of stories, also, action, adventure and mystery ones. I do not prefer much of dramas or soap operas and even reality shows. I prefer program contents or stories which do not stick to the usual types of stories and stereotypes instead include different types of twist in the story.
All in all, I’ve learned and realized some important lessons from the film Killing Us Softly and also from our group discussion. I find most of Jean Killbourne’s messages very interesting and very relevant for all people, not only those in media. I learned that when it comes to issue like the not-so-good portrayals being seen in media and how it influences its audiences, it means so much to be aware of these ‘public health problems’, as Jean Killbourne called it.
It’s necessary to keep in mind that we should not always believe whatever things or images we see in television or in ads. It can somehow defy how we perceived reality. However, that’s when the media’s reliability and credibility to give good influence should enter and should challenge this very problem.
