Missing the point

On July 3 ABS CBN News and Public Affairs decided to phase out Insider and replace it with the supposedly “groundbreaking innovation” Bandila.

The venture is a big risk, it being aired earlier (10:30 pm), simultaneously with entertainment programs of its main rival station. Of course, advertisers aim at programs with the most audience share. And news isn’t the televiewers’ priority.

Prior to ABS CBN’s brave attempt at Bandila, late-evening news programs have been airing at around midnight. In effect, news is sacrificed for entertainment. Beyond this attempt to prioritize informing the public not much has changed in ABS’s trivial approach to news.

Mainstream news is always geared to cover “big” events. Politicians, TV and movie stars and the occasional human drama stories. But the lenses of the TV camera have been missing points which do not include politicians, movie stars, even human drama. Most of the news do not fully reflect what is empirical, what is really happening. I have not heard of any station exposing the ongoing militarization in Central Luzon (care of Oplan Bantay Laya) nor the plight of displaced indigenous groups here in the Cordilleras.

Mianstream news program is already satisfied, even dwelling in the glory of these kind of development. Fundamental change has been absent from television news.