Contemporary Communication Issues in the Philippines

Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits

Manila Imperial

Convenience, Profit and Homogeneity

Many studies and articles revealed that news programs being produced by the national media

networks in the Philippines are Manila-centric and have limited coverage on areas outside national capital

region (NCR) (Bugaoisan, 2002; Department of Communication Research, 2007; Department of

Communication Research, 2008; Vitug, 2008; Rimban & Cabaero, 2008; CMFR 1, 2005; Francisco &

Peralta, 2014).

According to the study titled Nagpapatrol 24 Oras: Dissecting the Anatomy of Early Evening

Television News Program2, 65% of the total news items produced by the flagship news programs of the

major television networks in the Philippines feature incidents in Metro Manila. Only 25% of the news

gathered outside the country’s capital is mostly from Luzon while the remaining 10% covers global news

beats.

Ryan I. Juega3, associate producer and news writer for 24 Oras4, supported the statistics of the

study above. He said that only 25% of the program contents for 24 Oras are gathered outside Metro

Manila. He explained that news producers are trying to include many regional stories but due to limited

time slot, as in any free air television programs, only big and breaking stories from regional sources make

it to the final program line-up. He also noted the despite the nationwide airing of evening news programs

like 24 Oras, the target market is still the mega Manila audience for the very reason that news center

headquarters are based in NCR.

Marites D. Vitug, a seasoned journalist, also emphasized on her article Media Conflict in the

Philippines5 the lack of interest of national media to the significant events outside Metro Manila. She
1
Center for Media Freedom & Responsibility is a non-profit organization for press freedom.
2
The study was spearheaded by the Department Extension Research Program of the Department of Communication
Research, College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines- Diliman, in 2007
3
Ryan I. Juega is also a news editor of GMA News TV Channel 11’s Balitanghali.
4
24 Oras is the flagship evening news program of GMA Network, Inc.
5
The essay Media Conflicts in the Philippines written by Marites D. Vitug was among the articles published in Media
and Conflict Reporting in Asia in 2008. It is an international journal produced by the AMIC Asian Communication
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 1
specifically mentioned the sentiments of Mindanao-based peace advocates about the lacking interest of

national media on the peace talks in the southern part of the Philippines.

The Kondrad-Adenauer-Stiftung (KAS) Democracy Report in 2008 published a study from

Rimban & Cabaero (2008) regarding the status of Philippine media landscape. The report said that there

are several reasons for the media coverage exclusion.

One of the main factors is the geographical locations of many areas in the Philippines where

communities, such as ethnic minorities or indigenous people, reside. The physical inaccessibility of these

communities makes it challenging for the news producers to gather materials for a story. Consequently,

this trickled down to just conveniently gather accessible stories in urban events prompting media critics to

call this Manila-centric or city-centric reporting.

Also, the study mentioned the highly commercial and profit orientation of the media contribute to

this communication dilemma. Program producers tend to gather and broadcast convenient and familiar

issues that sell and will attract audience.

Ben G. Domingo Jr. 6 (personal communication, December 2, 2014), one of the founding

members of Journalists Association for Enlightened Nation (JAENA), said that the Manila-centric nature of

news programs contents rooted from the center-periphery principle.

“It is applicable not only to media but also to politics, economy, education, etc., such that

activities are focused on and controlled by the center while the periphery satisfies itself with whatever

amount of content, time, power, resources, talents, etc. that the center may want to share, if it shares any

at all," Domingo said.

Domingo also shared the criticism on media outfits as primarily a business enterprise. He posited

that since bulk of advertisers and consumers are situated in NCR, the concentration of media coverage

and attention will be evident in the metropolis where business could generate profit.

In Tuchman study (as cited in Bugaoisan, 2002) this media scheme is called glut of occurrences

which explains that story selection is imperative for a news organization to filter the influx of news stories.

Series in Singapore.
6
Ben G. Domingo Jr. is a publisher, editor consultant of various community newspapers in Regions II and III. He also
taught journalism at UP-CMC from 1989 to 1997.
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 2
The basic way to fulfil the principle is to appeal to the taste of the audience, to focus on the items that will

sell. This way, the media management can increase revenue.

Capital Danger

The issue of Manila-centric news programming is not only the criticism on how journalists choose

the convenient way to get the information and the depth, or the lack of it, on the story they offer for airing.

This communication dilemma provokes much more danger subtly affecting the viewing crowd.

The study Nagpapatrol 24 Oras, posited that the issue on metro-centricity of local evening news

programs diminishes the showcase and the exploration of cultural diversity in the Philippines.

As Stephen Littlejohn said on his book Theories of Human Communication, “the irony of media,

especially television, is that they present the illusion of diversity and objectivity, when in fact they are

clear instruments of the dominant order.”

All the messages we see are product of the accepted and creative materials prepared by the

people behind the camera. More often than not, many information were filtered during the creative

process, thus we see a one way output. People often accept “constructed” message as “normal” without

even questioning it.

The metro-centric media coverage can also be pointed to the much more complicated issue of

media ownership and politics.

Media problems are interrelated. Monopolized, profit-driven and mainstream media outlets have

the tendency to distort the information average audience in order to serve the economic and political

interests of its owners, clients and advertisers.

On the book How to Watch A News?, Steve Powers interestingly draw the crucial role of a

journalist in constructing what we see in the tube. “Our journalist has chosen what about it is worth

seeing, it is worth neglecting and is worth remembering or forgetting”, Powers said.

Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 3

 Sheila S. Coronel’s investigative report The Media, the Market and Democracy: The Case of the

Philippines described this as homogeneous reporting and programming. Media outlets tend to produce

and broadcast cookie-cutter contents that will sell which leads to the tabloidization of news contents 7.

The Viewing Crowd

Television still remains as the biggest source of news and information among Filipinos (Rimban &

Cabaero,2008; TNS Digital Life 2012; Dumdum & Garcia, 2011; Nielsen Report, 2012 ). According to the

KAS Democracy Report in 2008, almost everyone in the Philippines has access to television: 97.5% in
8
Luzon Island, 98.2% in the Visayas and 92.6% in Mindanao. Nielsen Holdings Inc. also released a

report in 2010 showing 91% of the 2,000 Filipino respondents said that they obtain information from the

television.

In TNS Digital Life 2012 study (as cited in Francisco & Peralta, 2014), 89% of Filipinos rely on the

television as their primary source of information. This can be further support by the another report from

Nielsen Holdings 2012 on Asian media which recorded 33.1 million television viewers in the Philippines

with an average annual viewing time of 107 hours.

Considering the significant statistics below about the dependency of the Filipino audience on

television, it is imperative to revisit how media and communication practitioner handle contents and over-

all plot of programming especially with news items lobbied for airing.

Media Linctus

Emergence of Regional Networks

With the issue of Manila-centric media programming in the Philippines, several steps have been

materialized to balance and optimistically cater much more heterogeneous faces to present in the local

television scene.

7
Lifted from Media Debate Essay: Concentration of Media Ownership submitted for Comm 201 class
8
According to Nielsen Holdings N.V. website, they are a global information and measurement company
with leading market positions in marketing and consumer information, television and other media
measurement, online intelligence, mobile measurement, trade shows and related properties.
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 4
 Diversity can be one of the main considerations. Since everyone has different and unique

interpretation on media products, it is important to appreciate and recognize all the opinions, including the

minority, to create a well-represented nation.

Regional stations spread out all over the archipelago trying to reach unreported or underreported

sectors and issues ((Rimban & Cabaero,2008).

Fuega said that regional network channels and programming is an innovation of major media

channels based in Manila to provide more space for local news to be heard by their immediate community

since the major news program counterparts have limited time allotment to cater every regional news

contents pushed for nationwide broadcasting.

Moreover, Annie Pasion, (personal communication, November 28, 2014) news editor from TV

Patrol Cagayan Valley9, explained that regional news coverages share a significant part in the national

media outfits. She pointed out that many local stories are lobbied for national airing which are vital to the

over-all completion of a news program in the national scale. National media networks are physically

expanding their networks in the provinces to strengthen the connections of with the local scenes. These

provincial offices have been efficiently watching their areas for stories that can be aired nationally.

Pasion also noted the relevance of metro-centric news on the rural scene as a precautionary

guide especially on the issue of security and peace order.

“A bank robbery in Quezon City, for example, can provide a lesson to the people here in the

province. Anyone who watches these stories can react like they could have prevented the situation.

These stories raise warning and precaution”, said Pasion.

On the other hand, Domingo provided a familiar dilemma on the emergence of regional news

channel. He said that regional networks are just recognition of the emergence of robust growth centers in

the regions which if tapped properly can further boost the big networks’ revenues and profits.

9
TV Patrol Cagayan Valley is the flagship news program of ABS-CBN Regional Network Group Isabela TV-2.
Its 500-watt power output covers Santiago City, Nueva Vizcaya, Cagayan, Quirino and parts of Mt.
Province, Kalinga and Ifugao. The 10-kilowatt relay station in Mt. Amuyao, Barlig, Mt. Province makes
ABS-CBN Isabela the sole network that airs the only TV news program in Cagayan Valley.
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 5
 “It may look like this is their way of helping strengthen the ‘periphery’ but deeper analysis will

show that these peripheries, from the perspective of Metro Manila, are in fact ‘centers’ themselves, from

the perspective of the region, with their own corresponding ‘peripheries’, “said Domingo.

Domingo’s observation can be supported by the study of Francisco & Peralta (2014) which

revealed that programming of regional channels are patterned on the national news platform counterpart,

thus, it looks relatively the same in terms of physical aesthetics (studio, music score, etc.,) and contents

as in the Manila-based news programs formats. The study also revealed that regional network channels

also have the tendency to be metro-centric focusing the news items on the key cities or municipalities with

the region.

“Peryodistang Yapak”

It is also interesting to discuss a less popular genre of reporting, the barefoot journalism. Since

media involvement and exposure are the major considerations in metro-centricity reporting, linking the

grassroots community to journalism can strike a difference on the flow of the traditional television news

programming.

According to Domingo, barefoot journalism is defined as a system, or may even be regarded as a

philosophy, of involving the common “tao” in the production, particularly the generation of news reports. It

is a reaction to the common notion and practice that ordinary individuals are merely passive recipients of

news provided to them by such platforms as newspapers, radio, television, etc. Instead, it believes that

every individual, specially the underprivileged, has the right and duty to get involved in reporting the news.

Just like any platforms introduced, barefoot journalism has its own share of criticisms. On its

inception10 in the early 1970’s, it was viewed as too idealistic, very ambitious and impractical to the extent

that it cannot be really take off side by side with the traditional journalism (Arao, 2008).

Also, the debate on the legitimacy of barefoot journalism as journalism also surfaced. But

Domingo said that barefoot journalism is indeed a legitimate journalism since it embodies the ultimate

application of democratic participation in journalism.

10
Barefoot Journalism was conceptualized by the community journalists in Region III during the early
1970’s.
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 6
 “Every person has the vested right and the corresponding responsibility to report on events and

issues from their own bottom-up perspective”, Domingo emphasized.

Citizen Journalism

Another remedy conceived to encourage participation and exposure of outskirts group or

communities to the mainstream news programming is the development of citizen journalism.

Domingo mentioned that citizen journalism is an offshoot of barefoot journalism. But unlike

barefoot journalism that mainly encourages the marginalized sectors and remote community members to

take part of the journalism processes, citizen journalism embraces everyone including the privileged.

“The citizen journalism of today can be seen as a morphed version of the barefoot journalism of

three or four decades ago. The difference is that the term affluent ‘citizen’ includes everybody, including

the affluent, in the reportorial process”, Domingo explained.

Media networks have embraced citizen journalism through the use of mobile phones and social

media to deliver the news. This is evident in the two media giants in the Philippines, GMA Network’s

YouScoop and ABS-CBN’s Bayan Mo, Ipatrol Mo.

In 2007, ABS- CBN launched Boto Mo, Ipatrol Mo which was initially planned to use solely for

election related news. The number of citizen patrollers11 reached to more than 80,0000 on the same year

of its launching (Quinn & Kierans, 2010). The success of the project made ABS-CBN to re-launch it as

Bayan Mo, Ipatrol Mo (BMPM) which now caters all happenings aside from election-related news.

Like BMPM, GMA’s YouScoop was created as a platform where citizen journalists could

submit election-related reports. It was eventually developed for an online portal for first-hand photos and

videos of news sent by YouScoopers12.

One of the biggest news first delivered through BMPM was the Maguindanao Massacre in

November 23, 2009 (Quinn & Kierans, 2010). It was the country’s worst election-related violence with at

least 60 people were killed including 30 journalists.

11
Citizen patroller refers the BMPM contributors.
12
YouScoopers is the term for YouScoop contributors.
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 7
 Here is an example of a tip from a citizen journalist sent via text message about the massacre on

November 23, 2009 at 3:47pm:13

“Maguindanao gubernatorial aspirant Toto Mangudadatu’s wife was

kidnapped together with sisters of Mangudadatu and media men as well as
legal counsels enroute to Shariff Aguak to file certificate of candidacy for
gubernatorial position in behalf of Toto Mangudadatu. The PNP ARMM were
immobile because they were under the command/control of the incumbent
Maguindanao governor- Ampatuan family. The 6id [infantry division] army
have played dumb and blind despite heightened reports that there is a plot
against Toto Mangudadatu.”

At 3:58pm another text message followed:

“We plead that this incident be given attention and that in depth investigation
be given as well as impartial report. The atrocities of Ampatuan family in
Maguindanao is a secret public knowledge. All are immobile for their fear of
life. These people are playing gods here.”

Breaking news and sensitive topics like the Maguidanao massacre cannot be immediately

broadcasted unless verified. Veracity of the messages collected by these media organization should be

handled cautiously and need careful processing before putting it on-air.

"We had editors who checked names and facts, so our audience could be confident the news

went through an editing process. Plus our editors add background material and enhance the content”,

said Howie Severino, veteran journalist. He also reorganized GMA’s YouScoop in 2009 (as cited in Quinn

& Kierans, 2010).

Pick-up Points

Aside from media networks themselves, different institutions in the society like the government,

influential personalities, and even news sources have the power to shape the content being shared
13
The transcription was lifted in Quinn & Kierans (2010) article titled Citizen-Aided News in the Philippines and was
published in Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung Report in 2010.
Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 8
publicly. Journalists have an unwritten consensus on selecting what news is worthy which reflects that

values are social construction by humans and can definitely be reconstructed (Pavia, 2012).

According to Domingo, media audience in the provinces should vigorously lobby their desire for

regional stories.

“In television, for example, they can start by patronizing the news programs of regional networks
more than those produced and aired in Metro Manila to create a visible increase in viewership ratings

which are crucial in television management decisions on matters of logistical support”, Domingo said.

He also liberally suggested a possible formula for evening new programming, unsaturated from

metro-centric content. A good mix could be 75% local, 20% national and 5% foreign and national and

international news contents should be localized or linked to local events and developments.

Moreover, Pacion gave emphasis to the meticulous preparation of all-inclusive news materials

either for national or regional channel broadcasting.

“It takes a careful writer to provide significant information that can cater not only to a particular

audience but to a much larger scope. Metro-centric news can still be relevant even to those residing in

the provinces if the stories are written in such a way that can provide a lesson or a warning to the

audience”, Pacion stated.

Ultimately, awareness is the starting point for delivering fair and diverse news content that will

reflect a well-represented nation. With the spectrum of ideologies among the producers and consumers of

media, it is imperative not to rely on sole interpretation of issues concerning sensitive media topics to

single or powerful resource. Norms are not always right and appropriate. No one has the final and

exclusive solution except to continuously explore various questions concerning the issue of Manila-centric

programming.

References

Annie Pasion (personal communication, November 28, 2014)

Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 9

Arao, D.A. (2008). Understanding Barefoot Journalism: Interview with Ben Domingo. In Philippine
Journalism Review: The CMFR Refereed Journal (71-80). Philippines. Center for Media Freedom
and Responsibility (CMFR).

Ben G. Domingo (personal communication, December 2, 2014)

Bugaoisan, D.D.A. (2002). Frame of TV News, A Descriptive Study and Critical Analysis of the News
Production Process in the News Organization of GMA 7 (Unpublished Graduate Thesis). College
of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines- Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

Coronel, S. (2001).The Media, the Market and Democracy: The Case of the Philippines. In Philippine
Press Freedom Report 2008. (59). Philippines. Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility
(CMFR).

Department of Communication Research, Department Extension Research Program. (2008). MULAT,

Manunuri ng Ulat. College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines- Diliman,
Quezon City, Philippines.

Department of Communication Research, Department Extension Research Program. (2007). Nagpapatrol

24 Oras: Dissecting the Anatomy of Early Evening Television News Programs. College of Mass
Communication, University of the Philippines- Diliman, Quezon City, Philippines.

Dumdum, O., & Garcia, C.A. (2011). Casting Credibility: Patterns of Audience Assessment of TV News
Programs. In Plaridel (51-70). Philippines. College of Mass Communication, University of the
Philippines- Diliman.

Francisco, M.M., & Peralta, A. F. (2014). Naimbag nga malem, Luzon!: Evaluating the Structure and
Credibility of Regional Television News Programs in Northern Luzon (Unpublished
Undergraduate Thesis). College of Mass Communication, University of the Philippines- Diliman,
Quezon City, Philippines.

Littlejohn, S. (1983). Theories of Human Communication. CA, USA. Wadsworth, Inc.

Quinn, S., & Kierans K. (2010). Citizen-aided news in the Philippines. In Media Programme Asia
Asia's Media Innovators (Chapter 10). Germany: Kondrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.

Rimban, L., & Cabaero, L. (2008). Philippines. In Grabow, K., & Rieck, C.E. Editor, The KAS Democracy
Report 2008 Media and Democracy (82-93). Germany: Kondrad-Adenauer-Stiftung e.V.

Ryan I. Juega (personal communication, December 2, 2014)

Santos, K. (2010, July 10). Media-Philippines: Citizen Journalism Gets Public Involved. Inter Press
Service News Agency. Retrieved from http://www.ipsnews.net/2010/07/media-philippines-citizen-
journalism-gets-public-involved/

Vitug, M. (2008). Media and Conflict in the Philippines. In Tekanani, S. Editor. Media Conflict and
Reporting in Asia. Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC).

Manila-centric News Programming in the National Media Outfits 10