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‘THERE
was a time when love was blind/And the world was a
song/And the song was exciting/There was a time/When it
all went wrong.” v And so sings Fantine, the tragic
heroine of the musical Les Misérables after selling her
long hair and becoming a streetwalker to be able to
continue to care for her much beloved daughter
Cossette.
There
was a time, too, when the various channels for news and
information, particularly in the arguably far more
influential realm of television, seemed genuinely
interested, dedicated even, in providing the public with
facts and perspectives on the issues and developments
that would profoundly impact the seemingly most ordinary
of lives. There was a time when the powerful media
companies behind these channels of news and information
even freed their news-and-public affairs departments
from commercial concerns and considerations.
There
was a time, indeed, when it all went wrong—and broadcast
news morning, noon and night have become increasingly
jaded, shrill, snarky, even base and vulgar, since news
and public-affairs programs, but most especially news
programs, emerged as the most cost-efficient moneymakers
of media empires by tapping into the public’s own
predilection for snarky nonsequiturs, shrill
confrontations, lurid melodramas and celebrity dirt.
Remember, we are talking about news and public-affairs
programs here, like GMA’s Unang Hirit and 24 Oras and
ABS-CBN’s Umagang Kay Ganda and Bandila, not the latest
telenovelas.
And so
it was with eager anticipation that we sat through an
evening’s worth of news of the succinctly named The
Evening News, also known by its far hipper moniker, TEN,
the prime-time news program of TV5. (This is what the
supposedly recalibrated and reenergized ABC, in
partnership with MBP Primemedia Inc., now calls itself.)
The word
about TEN was that, ostensibly, it re-imagines the
typical and typically tired evening news program into
something fresh, new and exciting—not to mention
suitable for the supposedly underserved demographic that
TV5 is courting, the youth market 30 and below. Yes,
underserved, which suggests that the people old and new
behind TV5 may not be watching much of either GMA or
ABS-CBN.
Now, we
are all for things fresh, new and exciting, but to
people weaned on cable TV, one sitting of TEN quickly
reveals that neither the idea nor the format is fresh or
new, although one might argue that it could be exciting.
Essentially, the people behind TEN mined not such
evening-news stalwarts as NBC Nightly News or ABC World
News for ideas and inspiration, but the celebrity-driven
Daily 10 of E! Networks—yes, the gossipy program which
dishes out a day’s worth of entertainment pulp in
reverse order of importance.
Again,
we are all for fresh, new and exciting ways to present
the news—and, admittedly, co-news anchor Martin Andanar,
clad in jeans, with shirt unbuttoned mid-torso and
slouching on that funky-looking chair as if he’s ready
for another round of beer on a night out, does provide a
jolt of fleeting excitement to an evening. But for a
news program to imbue the entire proceedings with a
wink-wink, joke-is-on-you facetiousness even before the
first report is aired, and given the already circus-like
conduct of the government and politics in this part of
the world...well, you have to wonder which is worse: A
shrill and snarky Mike Enriquez of 24 Oras acting like a
cartoon character while dispensing the developments of
the day (now, you do know that Mike Enriquez doesn’t
talk or act that way in real life, don’t you?), or this
presentation of, say, the milk scare as if it were
fodder for the public’s entertainment?
Of
course, there are ways for TEN to profoundly
differentiate itself from the rest of the evening news
pack while maintaining that loose, free-wheeling air it
has started out with (although we strongly suggest
getting better, non-slouch-inducing seats for Martin and
co-news anchor Cheri Mercado; no more off-shoulder
dresses for Cheri; and that Martin leave his shirt
unbuttoned only a couple of inches down from the base of
his neck), and we trust that the team behind the
program—Patrick Paez, head of news production; Ed Lingao,
head of news operations; and Dan de Padua, ABC deputy
managing director, certainly a talented triumvirate—know
just how to make such differentiation.
Meanwhile, if you find much of evening news programs
increasingly insufferable as their so-called stars
increasingly become afflicted with a sense of
self-importance, frequently inserting themselves in the
stories they cover, it should be heartening to know that
there are beat reporters out there who deliver the news
straight-up, no shaking and stirring necessary.
One of
these broadcast journalists is Ian Cruz, who is often
seen doing consumer-related reports and also covers the
oil industry for GMA News and Public Affairs. Don’t let
the gorgeous face fool you: the man can smell a story
and run with it, as he did last year with the tragic
death of Angelito Sisnorio, the Filipino boxer who died
in Thailand allegedly due to a mismatched fight. Not
only was Ian able to land an exclusive interview with
the Filipino promoter who sent Sisnorio and other Pinoy
boxers to Thailand illegally, but he was also able to
interview the promoter’s Thai equivalent.
Ian’s
running story, which was stripped of overworked drama
and contrived indignation but full-on with information,
provoked an investigation by the National Bureau of
Investigation and the Philippines Games and Amusement
Board, and arrests were made.
Hopefully, GMA will have the good sense to deploy
talents like Ian Cruz more in its news programs, instead
of giving the public more of its self-important stars in
news and public affairs. n |
