Peddling cheap shots

It didn’t surprise your Chair Wrecker that 24 ORAS of GMA Network had out rated TV Patrol of ABS-CBN in the recent August Mega Manila ratings poll. TV Patrol has been dishing a lot of cheap shots lately that could turn off a lot of viewers.

This questionable feature on TV Patrol is that text poll that they’re running every episode — a poll that the network admits isn’t scientific. The TV Patrol poll cannot claim to represent the national sentiment. You don’t need to be a genius to forecast who’ll end up the winner and the loser, the good guy and the bad guy and the hero and the heel in those TV Patrol polls. You’ll wonder if there’s a hidden agenda somewhere. In some instances, the news report preceding the poll question appears slanted to condition the public how to vote.

No doubt, the ABS-CBN management had banked on the popularity of Noli de Castro, Korina Sanchez and Ted Failon when they revamped the news program and injected the three veterans as anchors. A veteran Advertising Media Analyst thinks that the network may have overlooked a common denominator that their three anchors share which could be eroding their credibility. Noli, Korina and Ted are all associated or have been associated with politics. Noli and Ted have been elected public officials while Korina is married to a politician.

The same Advertising Media Analyst also noted a difference between 24 ORAS and TV Patrol reporting. Per our resource person, TV Patrol is sounding almost like pontificating instead of just telling it like it is. You see none of that in 24 ORAS. There is also too much of this “patting ABS-CBN in the back” in TV Patrol. The news managers of ABS-CBN may not be noticing these but the viewers do.

Cheap shots that proliferate in media, especially radio and television, have led the public mind to think the wrong way. In the more developed countries, media would challenge and question the assertions of persons that are deemed untruthful or slanted. Untruthful and obviously slanted assertions are hardly challenged here and that leads the public to believe the lies and half-truths. 

To divert public attention from the many atrocities committed during her term that are now emerging, the Gloria Macapagal Arroyo (GMA) camp has resorted to appealing to emotions. Why is this not being challenged? At every opportunity, GMA lawyer Raul Lambino and her allies would attempt to divert focus from the core issue to that of “lack of human consideration for the sick” or “persecution” against the Arroyos.

Why should the PNoy (President Noynoy Aquino) administration be put on the defensive for the suicide of DBP (Development Bank of the Philippines) lawyer Benjamin Pinpin? Pinning the blame on the PNoy administration for Pinpin’s death is one hell of a cheap shot. 

The PNoy administration is dedicated to clean up government corruption and in this effort the nation is behind the president. Pinpin found himself at the center of a highly suspicious sweetheart deal involving over P600 million. Naturally, he would also be investigated for being the lawyer that facilitated the deal, just as he would also be encouraged to tell the whole truth. People who tell the truth normally feel a great unburdening so why should media pander to the GMA camp’s line that the PNoy administration pressured Pinpin to commit suicide.  

The truth is that we really do not know what pressured DBP’s Benjamin Pinpin to commit suicide. For all we know, the ones who have really pressured him to commit suicide are the very suspects in the alleged sweetheart deal.

When an American citizen witnesses a Mafia crime and is set to testify in court against the culprits, that person naturally fears for his life and that of his family. The fear stems not from violence the government will inflict but from violence the Mafia is known to easily inflict on witnesses testifying against them. Normally, we feel safe under the wings of a trustworthy government. It’s when a big underworld syndicate is out to kill us that we feel greatly pressured. This point totally escaped those who pandered to the GMA camp’s attempt to blame the PNoy government for Benjamin Pinpin’s suicide.

In the Angie Reyes suicide, many close friends of the late Secretary think that he just wanted to protect his family. Before Angie committed suicide, he showed signs of being deeply disturbed when it was announced that his family would also be investigated. In the Benjamin Pinpin suicide, his suicide note also manifested his great concern over what the case will do to his family. It’s understandable for persons who have been driven to this point of desperation to resort to suicide if they think they can protect their loved ones that way.

However, we cannot allow these sad incidents to derail the important national goal of knowing the historical truth and identifying the people who have betrayed public trust. What’s surprising is why these cheap shots by GMA camp paid hacks and spokespersons are finding media space and airtime without being questioned or challenged.  

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Chair Wrecker e-mail and website: [email protected] and www.chairwrecker.com