#tingog

Broadcasting news has a very thin line of difference to selling a product. If news could not provoke interest and curiosity,provide pleasure, or even touch emotions of the viewers or readers, news would be like a store without a costumer.

Strategies are being employed to sell their “product” and it needs an information literate “buyer“ or viewer to sense discrepancies.

Even the newscaster herself is luring, the reason why you kept watching.

“Bizzare” news

The press tends to dwell so much to news and facts which are un-normal and sensational.

Evidences of this claim is when we hear news which captures our interests like massacre, big time corruption, scandals of celebrities, fashion trends, viral videos, etc.

As such, a rape case between father and daughter is seen as more intense and immoral than a rape case between strangers. Interests of people and sympathy are greater with the former than the latter.

Viewers should not judge directly that the country had been increasingly immoral because maybe that news is just one in a thousand cases.

“Exaggerated” news

Press can broadcast news or make them. 

This is my realization to the introduction of the Bollywood movie “PK”. If there’s no news, just use a dog and broadcast that it tried to commit suicide because of problems. How exaggerated! 

It might be common sense in the real world that we do not use dogs or animals just to make news. But, we do similar acts.

We listen to news that dwell so much on relationship break-ups or updates of celebrities to their lives. What do we care? They could not raise the economic status of you and your neighbors. Their news are just given so much importance that we are distracted and forget to focus on more important matters.

“Uncertain” news

What is alarming is that we consciously believe and unconsciously adapt what the press and social media has to offer. We forget that news can also have discrepancies.

An example is when newscasters project the wrong picture of the alleged suspect. They correct themselves afterwards but already damaged the dignity of an innocent citizen. Misspelled words and names also are instances which prove this claim.

Today, I made the most dumb decision in my life. I didn't trust myself, and ended up expecting, and hurting myself as well.

We were in a journalism-related contest for two days, and I was assigned to the News Writing (which I think was the easiest.) Yesterday was the workshop, and today was the contest proper. In our contest, we were given a jumbled article in which we should rearrange it and we could may be add some parts to it. I was confident with my article, in which I only arranged, and didn't add more. I already had a headline. But, when I started counting the words of my article, the Editor-In-Chief of Tingog (which was our speaker yesterday) was looking at my draft paper very carefully. He was laying his eyes on my work when I started to feel awkward. I thought to myself that maybe my article wasn't right. But, I didn't mind. I may have a different lead, and may be would make me the champion. But, when he went away, I looked at the back and fortunately saw the lead of my competitor, and found out that her lead was different as mine. That's when I was convinced that my article wasn't right. I said to myself, "bahala na." So, I rearranged my article and made up a new headline. During the awarding, I didn't win. I hoped for at least third place, but didn't even got the rank.

This evening, I was looking for the article in the Internet, because it was indicated in the bottom part of the jumbled article that it was from Rappler. And when I saw the article, I hated myself. I really really hated myself. Because I didn't trust my instincts. I hated myself because my instincts was the gift that I asked from God when I prayed before I read the first word of the jumbled article. I hated myself for looking at other's lead that in fact, they didn't won. I hated myself for rearranging my "perfect" article (that was really really close to the original one in the internet) that would have made me to the first place. I hated myself for not trusting God, that when I started writing the first word of my draft, it was already correct. I regretted all the things that I did today.

I asked myself, "what if I trusted my instincts? What if I was in the first place? what would it be?" And I could feel myself hating myself for the dumbest thing I did to day.