Module 2: A Critical Look at Messages and Messaging

The Voice in the Wilderness

There is perhaps no metaphor more apt for the situation we find ourselves in today than that it is
a wilderness.  It is dark and dense and uncharted.  We have never been in such a dire place
before, and there are no guideposts, no beaten paths to show us the way through and eventually
out of it.  Many claim they hold the map that will bring us to the clearing, but their ways are
untested and we find ourselves deeper in the woods, more lost than ever.  And those who do
know the science that may save us, their voices are drowned by the noise of those that beat
hollow drums.
It is at this time of the Covid-19 pandemic that we need to hear that VOICE IN THE
WILDERNESS.  The number of infections in the Philippines rises exponentially every day,
thousands have died, our medical facilities are full, our frontliners are exhausted, millions have
lost their jobs as a result of quarantine measures, our country teeters on the brink of an economic
disaster. Clearly, the VOICE that we need to hear is that of the Government.  We need to hear
and see that it is on top of things.  We need to hear and see that it is maximizing its resources to
address the urgent needs of all who are negatively affected.  We need to see and hear that it has a
solid plan to get the country out of this wilderness.
The GOVERNMENT needs to send a MESSAGE that will reassure the NATION that its trust
has not been misplaced in its public officials, that the light at the end of the tunnel is not that of
an oncoming train, that the spread of the virus can and shall be contained, that we can return to
some semblance of normality sooner rather than later.
Has our GOVERNMENT sent this MESSAGE out loudly and clearly?  Let us see.

The Voice(s) of Government

Watch these 5 videos of government press briefings from 5 different leaders.  While watching
each one, consider the following questions and make notes of your responses to them:

 What is the message?

 What is the purpose of the message?
 How is the message conveyed by the presenter?
 Who is the target audience of the message?
 What is the effect on the receiver of the manner in which the presenter conveys the
message?

1. President Rodrigo Duterte addresses the nation (17 August 2020) | ABS-CBN News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=F4QfCILXR7o
2. Prime Minister Jacinda Ardern's Covid-19 news conference - 1 April, 2020
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E319CIMzI3k&feature=emb_title
3. Live: Trump Holds First White House Coronavirus Briefing Since April | NBC News

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qAuT3IXRIzk&feature=emb_title
4. PM Justin Trudeau provides update on federal response to COVID-19 – April 14, 2020

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=drDBRHhDtGU&feature=emb_title
5. Die Ansprache der Kanzlerin auf Englisch – The Chancellor’s address in English

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WLxrxyk_wYo&feature=emb_title

Group Task:

1. After watching the videos, come together as a group and discuss your individual notes on all
the videos.

2. Put together your thoughts and answers and come up with a group output that answers the 5
questions for each leader’s video. This should be a summary of all the members’ responses for
all the 5 videos. Note that for each video, only one set of answers is required.

3. The last part of the group task is a critical evaluation of the messages conveyed in the videos.
Discuss as a group which leader conveyed the most and least effective message. Decide and
justify which messaging is more representative of the kind of government that can lead us out of
the wilderness of the Covid-19. Explain your answer in one-two paragraphs.

4. The final output should be in a PPT with voice recording only. The link should be posted
under this conversation by January 11, 11:59 pm.

This Group Output is worth 50 points.