Covering Baron and Richard
Covering Baron and Richard
Posted 10:46pm (Mla time) Feb 07, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the February 8, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
TWO news stories would have simply landed in the "roundup" of the crime and police beat, if at all, had they not involved young male actors. The stories ranked fairly high in the TV news lineups in the days leading up to "Media Nation 2," a summit of Philippine media practitioners held over the weekend.
One story involved Baron Geisler, a former child actor who has made the transition to teen roles. He was haled to a police precinct after his vehicle collided with another. It wasn't the collision, though, that was newsworthy, but rather actor's behavior. TV footage showed an obviously drunk Geisler.
The other story featured Richard Gutierrez, perhaps the most popular among today's teen stars, who was accused of punching an alleged "gatecrasher" at his recent birthday party.
Adding spice to the match-up of these stories is that Geisler and Gutierrez are contract stars of the country's biggest TV networks that have been embroiled in years of heated competition. It thus became of particular interest to viewers how the news directors of both ABS-CBN Broadcasting and GMA Network would handle the stories that put their home studio talents in not-so-flattering light.
On the evening the story on Geisler's accident broke, "24 Oras," GMA Network's primetime newscast, not only included the story among its lead-ins, it also gave it prominent play, airing the report early in the program and giving it generous airtime. "Mom, let's check out [ABS-CBN’s] Channel 2 and see how they cover this story!" my teenage daughter urged, smelling a media dust-up in the making. Disappointingly, neither "TV Patrol," the primetime newscast, nor "Inside Story," which airs late in the evening, carried the story.
Geisler eventually did make an appearance on the station's news shows, but a day later, by which time he was sober and sufficiently contrite.
Was it a case of self-interest overruling sound news judgment? Did the ABS-CBN Talent Center, to which Geisler belongs, flex its damage-control muscles?
* * *
ACCORDING to someone fairly high in the Channel 2 news organization, the explanation is more innocent and much less sensational than one would suppose.
"Our reporter had the footage," said the news executive, who looked into the matter. Unfortunately, the reporter failed to sign in the story and footage in the station's logbook, on which news decision-makers in all the network stations base their lineups. "I really felt bad, because the footage was really fascinating," the news executive remarked.
You can choose to believe the explanation or not. But both ABS-CBN and GMA Network news executives should be aware by now that when it comes to covering stories that bear on the interests of their owners and talents, the "market" is more aware of possible bias than is supposed.
The Richard Gutierrez "assault" story is a graphic example. ABS-CBN covered the fracas but devoted more time to interviewing his alleged victim. GMA Network, on the other hand, focused on airing Gutierrez's explanation, and that of his mother and friends, for the incident.
GMA Network’s Channel 7, of course, could have chosen to simply ignore the story. After all, Gutierrez is an important talent. When I congratulated GMA Network news anchor Mike Enriquez for carrying the story, which involved a big star of the station, he retorted: "What do you mean, a 'big star'? He's the station's major star!"
* * *
DOUBTLESS, many of you are asking by now if you should even care about these stories, much less about how they were handled.
The breaching of the once-impregnable line between news and public affairs and entertainment is often seen as the reason for the "dumbing down" of public debate, as well as the emergence of that bastardized creature known as "infotainment." Media owners often justify the dilution of traditional news and public affairs content by saying they are only giving the public "what they want," having learned that it doesn't pay to give the public "what they need." Gabby Lopez, ABS-CBN chair and CEO, in his address to "Media Nation 2," referred to the tendency of news consumers to "watch news with the heart rather than the head" by asking: "Would we rather talk of VAT [value-added tax] or what happens to Lucy Torres?"
“Magpakatotoo tayo” [Let’s be true to ourselves]. Between value-added taxes and gossip about the "klepto" tendencies of a celebrity, wouldn't we rather go with where the gossip takes us?
* * *
CERTAINLY the highlights of the first day's sessions of "Media Nation 2" were the back-to-back addresses by the owners of the country's broadcast giants, Lopez of ABS-CBN and lawyer Felipe Gozon of GMA Network. Both were candid and spoke bluntly to their audience of media practitioners about the conflict between their mandate to create profit for their investors and their duty as media managers.
"It's difficult to be optimistic about responsible journalism in a competitive setting," Lopez admitted. "If your company doesn't sell, it will have to stop operations," added Gozon.
While both confessed to seeking "balance" between corporate profits and social responsibility, they were equally blunt about how, given the market they operate in, news and public affairs are now judged by the same yardstick -- ratings -- as are all the shows in the entertainment jumble.
This wasn't always so. Airtime for news and public affairs shows was once viewed as the "fee" a network pays the government in exchange for the broadcast franchise granted it. It was this arrangement that allowed news and public affairs departments to remain faithful to their mandate to gather, disseminate and analyze the news "without fear or favor." The same mandate holds, even if this news is about contract stars; but it becomes more difficult in a setting where ratings hold sway.
[GMA Network is a parent of INQ7.net. – Ed.]
Posted 10:46pm (Mla time) Feb 07, 2005
By Rina Jimenez-David
Inquirer News Service
Editor's Note: Published on page A15 of the February 8, 2005 issue of the Philippine Daily Inquirer.
TWO news stories would have simply landed in the "roundup" of the crime and police beat, if at all, had they not involved young male actors. The stories ranked fairly high in the TV news lineups in the days leading up to "Media Nation 2," a summit of Philippine media practitioners held over the weekend.
One story involved Baron Geisler, a former child actor who has made the transition to teen roles. He was haled to a police precinct after his vehicle collided with another. It wasn't the collision, though, that was newsworthy, but rather actor's behavior. TV footage showed an obviously drunk Geisler.
The other story featured Richard Gutierrez, perhaps the most popular among today's teen stars, who was accused of punching an alleged "gatecrasher" at his recent birthday party.
Adding spice to the match-up of these stories is that Geisler and Gutierrez are contract stars of the country's biggest TV networks that have been embroiled in years of heated competition. It thus became of particular interest to viewers how the news directors of both ABS-CBN Broadcasting and GMA Network would handle the stories that put their home studio talents in not-so-flattering light.
On the evening the story on Geisler's accident broke, "24 Oras," GMA Network's primetime newscast, not only included the story among its lead-ins, it also gave it prominent play, airing the report early in the program and giving it generous airtime. "Mom, let's check out [ABS-CBN’s] Channel 2 and see how they cover this story!" my teenage daughter urged, smelling a media dust-up in the making. Disappointingly, neither "TV Patrol," the primetime newscast, nor "Inside Story," which airs late in the evening, carried the story.
Geisler eventually did make an appearance on the station's news shows, but a day later, by which time he was sober and sufficiently contrite.
Was it a case of self-interest overruling sound news judgment? Did the ABS-CBN Talent Center, to which Geisler belongs, flex its damage-control muscles?
* * *
ACCORDING to someone fairly high in the Channel 2 news organization, the explanation is more innocent and much less sensational than one would suppose.
"Our reporter had the footage," said the news executive, who looked into the matter. Unfortunately, the reporter failed to sign in the story and footage in the station's logbook, on which news decision-makers in all the network stations base their lineups. "I really felt bad, because the footage was really fascinating," the news executive remarked.
You can choose to believe the explanation or not. But both ABS-CBN and GMA Network news executives should be aware by now that when it comes to covering stories that bear on the interests of their owners and talents, the "market" is more aware of possible bias than is supposed.
The Richard Gutierrez "assault" story is a graphic example. ABS-CBN covered the fracas but devoted more time to interviewing his alleged victim. GMA Network, on the other hand, focused on airing Gutierrez's explanation, and that of his mother and friends, for the incident.
GMA Network’s Channel 7, of course, could have chosen to simply ignore the story. After all, Gutierrez is an important talent. When I congratulated GMA Network news anchor Mike Enriquez for carrying the story, which involved a big star of the station, he retorted: "What do you mean, a 'big star'? He's the station's major star!"
* * *
DOUBTLESS, many of you are asking by now if you should even care about these stories, much less about how they were handled.
The breaching of the once-impregnable line between news and public affairs and entertainment is often seen as the reason for the "dumbing down" of public debate, as well as the emergence of that bastardized creature known as "infotainment." Media owners often justify the dilution of traditional news and public affairs content by saying they are only giving the public "what they want," having learned that it doesn't pay to give the public "what they need." Gabby Lopez, ABS-CBN chair and CEO, in his address to "Media Nation 2," referred to the tendency of news consumers to "watch news with the heart rather than the head" by asking: "Would we rather talk of VAT [value-added tax] or what happens to Lucy Torres?"
“Magpakatotoo tayo” [Let’s be true to ourselves]. Between value-added taxes and gossip about the "klepto" tendencies of a celebrity, wouldn't we rather go with where the gossip takes us?
* * *
CERTAINLY the highlights of the first day's sessions of "Media Nation 2" were the back-to-back addresses by the owners of the country's broadcast giants, Lopez of ABS-CBN and lawyer Felipe Gozon of GMA Network. Both were candid and spoke bluntly to their audience of media practitioners about the conflict between their mandate to create profit for their investors and their duty as media managers.
"It's difficult to be optimistic about responsible journalism in a competitive setting," Lopez admitted. "If your company doesn't sell, it will have to stop operations," added Gozon.
While both confessed to seeking "balance" between corporate profits and social responsibility, they were equally blunt about how, given the market they operate in, news and public affairs are now judged by the same yardstick -- ratings -- as are all the shows in the entertainment jumble.
This wasn't always so. Airtime for news and public affairs shows was once viewed as the "fee" a network pays the government in exchange for the broadcast franchise granted it. It was this arrangement that allowed news and public affairs departments to remain faithful to their mandate to gather, disseminate and analyze the news "without fear or favor." The same mandate holds, even if this news is about contract stars; but it becomes more difficult in a setting where ratings hold sway.
[GMA Network is a parent of INQ7.net. – Ed.]
posted by Dante at 12:00 AM
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