Media in Focus

Was able to finally catch Cheche Lazaro's show on ANC, Media in Focus. It's good to finally have a show about the media, and I can't imagine anyone more qualified to handle the show. Cheche is arguably the most credible broadcast journalist on Philippine TV today and I feel that she alone has experience, the skills in interviewing and analysis that will carry such a show.

I've known Cheche for more than eight years, having worked with her at Probe Productions. I was also one of her students at UP College of Mass Comm, and as early as then she was very into new technology and had a vision of the impact it could have on the media. She gave us readings on convergence (this was ca. 1994!) and it was from her that I first learned of the concept of electronic mail. She told us that an "address" no longer meant your home address, but your email address. As early as that, she wanted her students looking into the changes that technological advances would bring.

It was cool then that she tackled blogging on her show. I only caught the last half of the program but the discussion was very interesting. She had for her guests PDI Editor John Nery, the sassy lawyer Connie Veneracion and political analyst Dr. Ronald Meinardus. They discussed the concept of blogging and why it became such a phenomenon. They also explored the implications it had on the media as an alternative way of gathering opinions and fact.

I was particularly interested in Dr. Meinardus's insights about how blogging can be a very powerful tool, especially for the youth. But he also emphasized on how podcasting will soon "explode". Pinoy culture, he says is a very aural culture. We would rather listen than read. This is true, he says in the way we would listen to the news rather than read. If we do read, the text must be very concise, easily digested. This is why texting is popular. He predicts that when podcasting enters the mobile realm big things will unfold.

I believe blogging will be bigger than it is now. Young people, especially those in the middle class are fast becoming a very informed and quietly powerful lot. They have networks that can form consensus and opinion quickly. Communication is open and flows continuously therefore information is easily available. Their ability to move an agenda within their respective disciplines will be potentially powerful, especially when the kids who spend hours on chat and Friendster are finally the ones running our businesses and our governments. There's still much to be said, read and heard on blogging, and I'm sure a universe of bloggers know it won't be long before they take it to the next level.

ANC is aired every Thursday at 6.30 pm.

Related links:

The Couch Kamote
Yugatech

Epiphany

While writing down feedback to give to our wedding videographer, it hit me: I was able to condense into four important points what, in my opinion, makes an effective video production!

They are:

1. Upsots
2. Natsots
3. Transition
4. Cutaways

All these four items add the needed texture to a production, making it richer to view, more coherent and more interesting. Most of all, it gives a sense of authenticity, of actually being there.

How wonderful! Seeing what was lacking in our wedding video allowed me to summarize all my years of broadcasting production technique into four words. Of course, the over-arching goal of any production is to show, not tell, and these four items allow you to do exactly that!

How exciting! Can't wait to expound on these items. But I will do that another day because I really must get some sleep.

I can't wait to start teaching again.

Swan Show

I was half embarrassed and half engrossed as I watched "The Swan". It's been on cable for quite some time but I only succumbed to it last Saturday, when I was left at home for some quiet time.

It was amazing how these women transformed from ordinary-looking, nobodies with low to no self-esteem, into, well, swans. There's something about make-overs that keep me riveted. But, like my venerable professor, Prof. Enriquez always says, think about pleasure. Why is it a pleasure to watch? What gives you pleasure? Whey are you glued to your screen even if deep inside you know it's all manufactured?

It's the age-old idea of making dreams come true instantly, I guess. Think Cinderella. Only here, the abuse is self-inflicted. The women are their own wicked step moms and Drusillas and Mildreds. With a wave of the liposuction wand, the once-frumpy housewife is bodacious. In the course of one episode, she is "repaired" and "restored", in mind, body and "spirit".

In the particular episode I was watching, one of the ladies was a 30-year old housewife whose self-esteem was non-existent. SHe felt so bad about everything she did, and how she looked that she didn't even feel worthy enough to undress in front of her husband. Constantly depressed and unmotivated, she wasn't even following instructions from the surgeons and psychiatrists. She felt she was a complete failure and was undeserving. This was what they wanted "to cure".

I was thinking, why should it always be portrayed as the woman's fault? Maybe the husband wasn't encouraging enough, or she was surrounded by peple who were so critical. Maybe she just needed more attention from her husband. They should bring him in for a talk, not just the woman.

The woman's depression seemed to go really deep. Even when she finally looked in the mirror at her transformation, I didn't look or feel like she was totally convinced or happy with herself. I dunno. That's just how I felt. She got kicked out by the way, and wasn't going to make it to the pageant. I wonder how that's going to affect her self-esteem.

For all intents and purposes, the panel of "experts" tasked to carry out the transformation did their job, because she looked different. Lots of make-up, a revealing dress, a new hairstyle, a new body. But I wondered about her self-esteem. I wonder how her mind would rationalize her not winning. Would she punish herself again?

I was amazed at the pain they would subject themselves to to look like Barbie. It was unbelievable--bone reconstruction, lifts, tucks, sucks, weights, etc. All this to appeal to a certain standard of beauty that has become the reason for their depression in the first place. It's as if they're manufacturing depression to earn off it. Or something like that. If you feel bad about yourself, come on over and get some collagen injections or a liposuction, so people will think you're hot and you won't feel so bad anymore.

Ugh. But the point remains: I was riveted. Til the end. I was amazed at how much they changed. And how good they looked after. I wondered though if that goodness was only skin deep.

BBC restructures for digital age

This is a smart move.

Streamlining and adopting new content formats will push (again) the BBC five years ahead of the lot. In the Philippines, the networks are still pretty tied to the old models. They're afraid to try anything new, reasoning that half the population still isn't wired anyway, so why risk it?

With content alone, they are afraid to risk, causing massive stagnation. They don't realize they're part of the reason why their target audiences are turning to other sources for content that is customized for them.

Download now!

All the books you ever dreamed of owning can be yours! World E-book Fair will allow us to download e-books FOR FREE til August 4th! Unbelievable! I don't know where to start!

Free up space on your PDAs, hard disks and flash drives. Or better yet, but canisters of blank CDs now!

Wooohooooo! Heeeere we gooooooooo!

Four years later and I am still mourning the loss of quality programming for young people in this country. ANd I mean on a wide scale. It's frustrating how networks and advertisers only think of human beings between the ages of ten and sixteen as nothing but angsty, materialistic, self-centered, and consumed with thoughts of the opposite sex.

So far the only saving grace is the Kabataan News Network on channel 5 (Saturdays, 3pm). Contrary to popular belief, there are also people in this age group in the other regions of the Philippines. And they have more to say than "like, totally". Like, they're totally different from the faces and voices that bombard us on local primetime tv. And they do so much more than just "act" and sing off-key.

These people--the KNN reporters-- belong to bureaus spread all over the country. They actually conceptualize stories based on issues affecting them. They're not made-up cliches from some clueless scriptwriter who think human beings between the ages of ten and sixteen as nothing but angsty, materialistic, self-centered, and consumed with thoughts of the opposite sex. They think up the stories, write them, shoot them with their own cameras, and interview. INTERVIEW! On their own. Then they send in their tapes, scripts, and edit guides for execution in the editing offices in Manila.

That office is the Probe Media Foundation, that oversees that these young broadcast journalists from different bureaus submit on time, maintain the quality of the production, do minor script clean-ups and critiques. But that's it. The stories come straight from the reporters, and one can rightly say it done for kids, by kids. And it's no wonder the effort is supported by UNICEF. And rightly so.

It's too bad it's the only show of its kind on Philippine TV. And here all these individuals and organizations keep going on about how kids need a voice, how they're working on bringing quality tv for kids to uplift the youth bla bla bla. *SIGH* I just wish they actually DO something about it, rather than just sit around and talk about it. The KNN reporters actually beat them to it. Like, totally.

It's time to start practicing in my field of training again. After years of searching, I think I've found a way to tie up what I'm doing now, what I learned in the past and where I want to go with the knowledge.

And the great journey starts with a single step. This one was taken with my right foot. hehehe.