Are you the perfect Pinay?

“Paglaki ko, gusto ko malaki suso ko…kasi yan po ang maganda at hinahangaan.” (When I grow up, I want my breasts to be big because that is what is beautiful and admired.)

My jaw dropped, nearly down to my knees. Although I did not hear the child say it herself, it was both a shocking and an enlightening piece of statement for me, for the host, and for the guest. I watched an episode of Media in Focus on ANC two weeks ago. Hosted by Luchi Cruz-Valdez, she talked about “The Perfect Pinay” with several guests from the media, most notably Emily Abrera, the incumbent Chairman Emeritus of advertising agency McCann Erickson Philippines. Abrera related to Valdez the results of a research they did on little kids aged five to seven. They asked the kids a lot of questions, one of which was what they want to be when they grow up. That was when a young girl dropped the bomb at their feet.

What the little girl said was not even close to what she should have answered but it definitely gave us an inkling as to how advertising has corrupted the most innocent of minds. We are raising a generation that is heavily exposed to mass media advertising. Television, print, radio, and the web all carry different kinds of messages that a young person absorbs, consciously or unconsciously each day. Due to the recurring nature of mass media, messages are reinforced, causing people to believe in them after several constant repetitions.

They say beauty is in the eye of the beholder but in reality, people generally have a common notion of what is beautiful and what is not. One of my teachers used to joke around saying, “If you don’t have good self-esteem, don’t look at the magazines. You’ll only get frustrated.” The beautiful image, the image of a “perfect Pinay” always presented by media is one who is fair-skinned, slim, booby, and flawless. No wonder people spend billions and billions of money on liposuction, breast enhancements, whitening products, and slimming pills just to fit the high standards of beauty that media has set. What the people don’t know and we probably never will is how much enhancement is being done behind the glamorous commercials and photo shoots. We will never know, for instance, how much of the pictures we see on the glossies are edited with photoshop or how the models were positioned against the camera to hide the wrong curves. So you see, the very industry that tries to promote the concept of a “perfect Pinay” is struggling to meet the standards of beauty, as well.

What I just don’t like about this whole distorted image of beauty is its effect on a child, like the child who was the inspiration for this article. Children are still at their formative years, trying to establish their own identity – trying to establish the kind of person they want to be. Exposing them to the image of beauty like the one currently projected by mainstream media will affect the way they want their own image to be. I wonder if in the future, we’ll see more people looking like they just popped out of a magazine. Even so, this view of beauty is so superficial I think God would complain that this is not the way He envisioned beauty to be. For such a deep word such as that being equated to merely being white, slim, booby, and flawless – oh my, we have a LOT of serious work to do.

The Miley Cyrus brouhaha

It’s not one of those art versus pornography debates. Posing bareback while clutching a piece of silk cloth to cover the rest of her body, 15-year-old teen icon Miley Cyrus is a far cry from the sweet and innocent character she plays in Disney channel’s top-rating Hannah Montana. Since 2006, Cyrus has been hitting the boob tube with her portrayal of ordinary girl-next-door Miley Stewart who has a secret life of a pop star in the person of Hannah Montana. The show was an instant blockbuster, thrusting Cyrus further into the limelight. Last year, Forbes named her as one of the top 20 earners under 25 and today, she has earned two multi-platinum records. But along with her rise to fame comes an expected price: a bout of controversies.

In her case, all of them were controversial photos that spread through the internet. There are pictures of Cyrus sharing what seems to be licorice with a female friend, causing rumors of her being a lesbian. Then there are pictures of her wearing underwear with pouting, seductive lips. There are also pictures of her and her boyfriend kissing. The most recent addition to her growing collection of controversial photos was the bareback one that Vanity Fair released, stirring the sensibilities of a culture that witnessed similar precedents. Parents were a bit shocked and grew concerned of their little girls aged 12 to 18, who adore and emulate Cyrus short of kissing her toes. Will Cyrus continue to be a “good” role model? Will she follow the career trajectory of former teen stars Lindsay Lohan and Britney Spears?

I started watching Hannah Montana last year and I enjoyed the show for its wholesome and comical nature, which makes it very lovable indeed. Had I been younger, I would have worshipped Cyrus like a goddess. However, I’m way over my teen years and all this hullabaloo over one photo doesn’t affect me at all. In fact, I love the photo. Very artistic and beautiful. Question is, do teenagers think the same way?

After the controversy broke out, I decided to watch Hannah Montana a little more closely. Like most people, the young can easily fall into the trap of thinking that the actress in real life is the same person they see and adore on television. They forget that they are two different persons existing in two different worlds of television and reality. It doesn’t help that the character’s name Miley is the real life actress’ name and the father of the character is played by her real life dad Billy Ray Cyrus. How can we tell the difference between the Miley on TV and the Miley in reality?

I may never know the real Miley Cyrus – the one without the lights, the camera, and the heavy makeup. If the Vanity Fair issue gave away a part of who she really is, I certainly don’t mind. After all, she is 15 and counting. We cannot hold her back from growing up into a more mature person. Whoever she is, I will still love the Miley on TV. If she graduates from her teenybopper role and start taking on more mature characters, well, that’s a different story.

The Glare, the Blot, and the Wave

What is there behind the glare of the lights, the blot of the ink, and the wave of the sound?

Political scientists define democracy as the rule of the people, by the people, and for the people. To us Filipinos, it means nothing greater than the shedding of the lifeblood by a few of our fellow countrymen in sheer defiance of passively sucking the miasma of tyranny and oppression that slowly poisoned the whole nation. Our country has a long, despotic history of colonial rule. Add to that 20 years of Martial Law and we now see a nation battered by the past and bereft of a “real” identity. But on the other side of the coin, history made a vigilant people out of us. EDSA 1 and 2 proved that we are no longer tolerant of erring leaders – that we no longer wanted to be subjected to any kind of force that would suppress our will. We thirsted for freedom more than anything else!

FREEDOM. It is one of the most basic tenets of democracy. Freedom of speech. Freedom of the press. Media is, after all, the fourth estate that helped restore this democracy – from the underground newspapers run by propagandists during the Spanish colonial rule, to the radio power during EDSA 1 and to the multimedia revolt of EDSA 2.

Idealistically speaking, media exists as a supporting link in a check-and-balance system of a democracy. But being a private enterprise, media has its share of issues that are too hard to ignore.

Media as a business is one big issue because the question on objectivity and fairness is always raised against the social, political, and economic interests of the media owners. The clash of news versus entertainment is another battleground as news organizations are reminded to fulfill their social responsibility and public accountability. Media practitioners today face serious threats as the country climbs to the second spot of being the most dangerous place for journalists to work in. Since the Marcos era, the number of journalist killings has been rising. And out of this number, only a few were resolved.

This year’s celebration of press freedom week attempted to touch base with these issues through a film showing, panel discussions, and open fora on matters relevant to the industry. And so, as a mass communication student myself, I thus make an attempt to make some sense of all the inputs I have consolidated during the weeklong celebration.

KILLING JOURNALISTS: The Cebu Experience

As their contribution to the press freedom week celebration, Sun Star Cebu copy editor Publio Briones III produced and directed a documentary, Killing Journalists: The Cebu Experience written by none other than Sun Star Editor-in-Chief himself Atty. Pachico Seares and edited by Ruel Antipuesto. The title of the documentary speaks volumes of the topic: the spate of killings that has claimed numerous lives of journalists.

The film showing was followed by an open forum with a panel of reactors from different media organizations/institutions and with a curious audience of students, some journalists, and visitors from other sectors of the society.

The film pointed out that most of the killings are not job-related. Some journalists sidelined as police assets and public relations agents for politicians. Others practiced corruption. Although journalist killings can be considered as an attack to the media, the motive is not to stifle the media people but rather to correct or probably to strike back in vengeance for what the media people did that have no bearing at all in being a journalist. Which brings us to the issue of secondary employment.

It is a well-known fact that a journalist’s job doesn’t pay much, which is mainly the reason why some journalists resort to other income-generating side lines to augment their salary. Madam Mayette Tabada rightfully raised the issue on how the news organizations can assist their reporters in assuring them the security of their tenure so that they will no longer seek other jobs that could compromise their safety and values (conflict of interest).

“Why hire them (reporters with secondary employment)?” somebody pointed out. If secondary employment is the root of the killings, why should media institutions plunge deeper into dangerous grounds? I am only familiar with Sun Star Cebu’s policy on secondary employment – that reporters are required to divulge their side line jobs. But it doesn’t necessarily prevent reporters from taking other jobs.

Personally, I think we should accept as part of the reality that we cannot control other people’s decisions to take other jobs for extra income to sustain their daily needs.

“What about killings that are work-related?” Somewhere along this line of thinking, my thoughts branched out to the Mass Communication students. Since we are well-acquainted with both the skills and the ethics of working in the media, why are these still happening? In our ethics class, the best standard of ethics is a clear conscience. Lunsay nga konsensya, if Mr. Leo Lastimosa were to put it. But a closer look at the media right now would reveal that most of them are not Mass Communication graduates. I remember Ms. Portia Dacalos from the Office of the Student Affairs once asked me why is it that our course is female-dominated yet media remains to be male-dominated. (although the latter is starting to change through the years) Point is, where are Mass Communication graduates going? And why are they not in the media industry? It’s an interesting topic of study. Is it because of the relatively low financial compensation? Is it because of the dangers of the profession? Is it because of disillusionment? I can only speculate.

For those interested in pursuing a career in journalism however, I emphasize that ethics and conscience should be the guiding principles in reporting the news. Sun Star columnist Eddie Barrita said, “Don’t call him crazy even if he is.”

I would also like to note that the kind of media that we have right now is an “attack-and-attack” media, which I believe is not a healthy sign of the current state of the industry. When I interviewed radio personality Nanding Celeste for the CJJ2 handbook, he said: “Musaway gani ka, kanang dili sad ka salawayon. Unya pananlitan mu-criticize ka, kinahanglang naa kay suggestions… the principle is this, musulti lang gyud ka sa tinuod. I think media should go beyond criticizing the government or the ordinary people because theoretically, agenda-setting will mould people’s minds that officials are generally corrupt and there is no hope for our country to prosper so we might as well leave the country for good. I am not favoring the side of politicians. I myself am convinced that corruption exists. What I am trying to say is that we have yet to see a kind of media that would offer solutions (constructive criticism) and not just merely comment on what is happening around.

To end this reaction, I would like to share this quote from Nanding Celeste who has spent 47 years in the media industry. (Note: He said this in the context of “new trends” in radio broadcasting, like being able to say bad words like “buang” to a judge on air.)

“Himuang inspirasyon ang proper ethics sa journalism. Sunod gyud sa inyong nakat-unan, nga dili tungod kay nay bag-ong trend nga wa gitudlo diha kaninyo nga mulunot mo sa bag-ong trend.”

Goodnight and Good Luck

Directed by George Clooney, the movie “Good Night and Good Luck” candidly portrays the conflict of interests surrounding the broadcast media industry. At the outset, the battle between Edward Murrow and Senator Joseph McCarthy is the most obvious conflict. Exchanging heated words on air, the two caught the attention of all America. Further analysis however, would reveal that behind the broadcast media’s ubiquity and influence, issues exist such as news versus entertainment and business versus social responsibility.

The face of Filipino prime time television is ENTERTAINMENT. Which is why we now have Koreanovelas and fantaseryes invading our households every night. Apart from the statistics that indicate a greater number of the masa than ABC classes, I believe it is more of the culture that we have. Filipinos are very fatalistic – bahala na, to put it more concretely. Somehow, we are a passive people, brought about by the long periods of colonial rule. Television is our escape medium from all our troubles. Momentarily, we are swept by dramatic and comedic moments on television. But it doesn’t mean that media should necessarily give what the people want. If the media has a firm will to give the people more relevant programs, it actually can. However, most or all of time, at the mercy of the second issue highlighted in the movie.

Business vs. Social Responsibility. Here is a snippet from one of my past interviews with Super Balita Managing Editor Emmanuel Mongaya:

“We try to cater to BCD nga market bitaw. Sa BCD market, the usual tabloid stuff. Hold-up. Patay. Artista. What sells. Kung as far as social concerns, we try to put it inside. Ambot lang. Nasuwayan namo sa una, mga issues nga makaayo sa tawo [ibutang sa front page], di mamalit. Daghan kaayong magreklamo mga teachers, students. Ethics kuno, nganong pirmi patay. Pero people don’t buy it. Mamatay ang newspaper.”

The quote vividly illustrates the conflict of running a paper (or a media institution). Media is a private enterprise our country so although it is free from government control, its freedom can not go that far as it should brings profit to the media owners or please its advertisers. Again, it is one reality we can never change.

But news reporters can still control the way they report the news.

“Tell stories in an engaging, relevant manner. There has to be a clear connection to the readers.” Eileen G. Mangubat, Cebu Daily News’ publisher tipped the students during the open forum following the film showing.

So what is there behind the glare of the lights, the blot of the ink, and the wave of the sound? What is there that controls the fate of the people struggling in their snares? Is it really a what? Or would it make more sense if I say who? And if I do, who?...

eThIcS UnLiMiTeD

Note: This entry has been stalled for almost a month due to piles of workload in Development Communication 142 and Communication 140 subjects. Peace!

When the Yuletide season’s up and kicking high in the sky, everyone’s supposed to be gay and bright with the generous giving and sharing of blessings. But even when you’re (mis)placed about a few notches “higher than ground level” (and makes you nearer the sky, and therefore heaven?), surrounded by the most Christmas-eous ambiance of flaming torches, dashing gladiators in chariots, and cuddly baby Jesus in His swaddling clothes, you still can’t miss out the humanly flaws in this “divine” grace.

Consider this: The second our teacher dismissed us from an afternoon class, I dashed out quickly to take the next jeepney that would take me to Bethlehem’s alter ego, only to find out I would be trapped in a hellhole the next few hours.

I had taken up a media ethics class the previous semester. Whether I like it or not, a stinging voice in my head reminds me each time how to behave as a journalist whenever I’m thrown on-field for an article assignment. That day, I was in the company of older, more experienced, and expectedly more ethical media persons. To my dismay, I found out that they have either forgotten or have chosen to ignore the ethical standards of being in the media.

Rule on freebies: When you’re covering an event, it is a basic ethical rule not to accept freebies given only to you or to media persons covering the event. If it is given to everybody, it is safe. But to ask for it? And blatantly at that? “Oi, (motioning to the media escort), asa naman amoang freebies?” to quote one media person. Then without another word, grabbed the nearest giveaway the hand could reach and started thrusting the giveaways to other media persons. I was a neophyte and they didn’t know me that well yet so I was quite thankful that they didn’t pay attention to me at that moment. But then, another media person saw me and was feeling a bit generous that day so the media person said, “Give her one, too.” The escort gladly handed me the giveaway – not really expensive but utilitarian. It was as if the escort stuffed the giveaway into my mouth. I could not utter a word. He handed it to me with a wide smile (I could not fathom if it was genuine wholeheartedness, hypocrisy, or just plain submissiveness) and simply uttered, “Thank you.” I was about to refuse it but the escort got ahead of me and I didn’t want to appear ungrateful. I accepted it submissively.

To date, I still have that giveaway, making me feel sad that some people in the media bend the ethical rules and lower the ethical standards at times. I blame myself too, for not refusing it. But my greatest disappointment was that they have portrayed a wrong example. I was supposed to look up to them, recognizing their experience in the field. They were supposed to be mentors to younger and amateur media persons.

But well, what do I get for ranting and raving about something that won’t make those people hand the giveaway back? It’s ONLY ethics anyway. Where the greatest compromise lies with a not-so-great value of TRUST towards a not-so-important chunk of the PUBLIC.

If not for me, then doesn’t the society deserve better?