Audiences dictate content more than they are given credit for. Given choices, they will watch what they want to watch. No one should decide that for them.
It’s a story repeatedly shown in local media history. In particular, that of ABS-CBN, which has gone up and down and back up repeatedly over its 60-plus year history.
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Magkaiba ang “contest journalism” sa “campus journalism.”
At lantad ang pananaw na ‘yan hindi lang tuwing panahon ng press con (mula CSPC hanggang NSPC), kundi sa mga isyu na kinahaharap ng midya at malayang pamamahayag.
Nakakalungkot lang na ang ilan sa mga walang kibo o natutuwa sa hayagan o pinalalabas na legal na pag-ipit sa mga outlet ng midya at ikinakatwiran pa ito ang mismo pang mga nagtuturo o naghahasa sa mga batang peryodista o mamamahayag sa paaralan.
Walang masamang paghusayan ang kakayahan sa journalism habang bata pa. Magandang dagdag sa academic record ang pumwesto sa contest. Nakakamulat ding karanasan ang maging bahagi ng campus paper.
At bukod sa lahat ng iyon, kahit ‘di ka mag-masscomm sa kolehiyo, magagamit mong life skill ang pagsulat nang direkta sa punto, pati na ang pakikipagtalastasan gamit ang multimedia.
Pero kung ang kaalaman natin ay natatapos lang sa mga pahusayang teknikal gaya ng mga nakabibighaning graphics at swabeng flow ng newscast, o sa anong napag-ensayong kataga, drowing, o retrato ang kukuha ng kiliti ng mga hurado, walang saysay ito.
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By Anjo Bagaoisan
A Christmas tree at the ABS-CBN lobby (Photo by Michael Bagtas)
Philippine station IDs have evolved from short commercials to an event, especially for the Christmas and summer seasons.
Today, they are chronicles of the period they were made–both in the country’s events and in the station’s stable of talents.
They are parsed for their use (or non-use) of certain production elements, the catchiness of the music, and even the prominence (and absence) of certain celebrities.
And yet they’ve also added to the stable of Filipino Yuletide music, with a number of songs ultimately covered by street carollers.
The full songs last almost an hour, but some establishments play the actual station IDs back-to-back lasting for more than that!
There’s no denying ABS-CBN helped make Christmas station IDs practically a pop culture art form since they began doing them in earnest in 2002 (of course, that year was not the first, but is the earliest available online).
In anticipation of the launch of ABS-CBN’s 2019 Christmas station ID entitled “Family is Forever”, here’s a list of what I consider the best Kapamilya CSIDs since then.
It wasn’t even a crow of victory back in 2005.
This was from a network which just months before had practically admitted defeat in the Mega Manila ratings. It overhauled its shows yet whatever premiered still found itself no match against the competition. Its news division struggled to regain trust.
But here came a slogan that put in 3 words a vow, that it would press on. That ABS-CBN would serve all, including those who had already switched channels and those who were not even tuned in.
“Bawat Pinoy, Kapamilya.”
Every Filipino, part of the family.
It was as inclusive as it could get. It may have lasted no longer than a year but to me, it struck and stuck.
And from across the TV screen, I realized I wanted to be part of that.
By Anjo Bagaoisan
No prompter. Pres. Duterte speaking to repatriated OFWs in April 2017. (Shot by Anjo Bagaoisan)
President Rodrigo Duterte’s communications team saves on the hardware and setup time for Teleprompters.
That’s because they don’t bring any to the president’s functions, and for good reason.
While remarks are prepared for him, there’s a chance he would not read them. Or if he does, expect the delivery to vary–or rather, veer away–from the original text.
Media covering the president’s speeches find them to be similar to press conferences, even without anyone asking questions. Any topic gets covered. And the headline that comes out might not even be related to the event where the speech was made.
Of course, some topics get mentioned more often than others.
Drugs, President Duterte’s main bane, came first during his remarks at a ceremonial launch of former President Fidel Ramos’s book “Prosper Thy Neighbor” at the Manila Hotel on October 14.
By Anjo Bagaoisan
Getting their numbers. (Shot by Sofia Monica Regalado)
Zandro and Zhander were both outside the room when it happened.
It was a party—the 30th anniversary bash of DZMM last October 4 to be exact—and yet Zandro was working the remote TeleRadyo booth outside the ballroom of the Marriott Hotel in Pasay, interviewing Radyo Patrol veterans for a live broadcast.
“Bigla akong pinabalik ng PA [program associate], sabi kailangan ako sa loob. E hindi naman ako sasayaw! (A PA suddenly called me back to the ballroom, saying I was needed inside. But I wasn’t scheduled to dance!)” he said.
Inside, Zandro saw ABS-CBN Integrated News head Ging Reyes and his boss, DZMM news gathering chief Edwin Sevidal, standing on the stage. Knowing what it meant, he fought tears as he walked towards them.
He and Zhander already had an inkling of this early in the night, but decided not to expect much. They even thought it might not happen since the program was already ending then.
Zhander was taking pictures with work mates then. Someone opened the ballroom door and called out to him: “Hoy pumunta ka ng stage (Hey, go up the stage)!”
“Noong nakita ko na naglalakad si Zandro on stage, alam ko na (When I saw Zandro also going up, I knew).”
Zandro Ochona, Radyo Patrol 48, and Zhander Cayabyab, Radyo Patrol 49, finally got the numbers they’ve been waiting and working for for 5 years.
By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan
“A doctor pronounces her dead, not the news.”
– Don Keefer, HBO’s The Newsroom
ABS-CBN’s Jeck Batallones (Shot by Anjo Bagaoisan)
Near the 10-wheeler truck that rammed a row of stalls in the New Taytay Public Market in Rizal on June 14, one of the sellers who escaped the accident was telling her companion:
“Sabi sa TV, isa lang patay. Pa’no mo paniniwalaan yun e andaming nakabulagta rito kanina?”
(On TV they said only one died. How can you believe that when there were many bodies lying around here earlier?)
It was on Facebook that the first images and details of the noontime crash broke and spread. The accident was in a public place and people with cellphones swarmed the site. The dozen-plus vehicles dented and crumpled by the truck and the bloodied bodies of victims lying on the ground led witnesses to believe the crash was way deadly.
Their hasty conclusions spread fast online. As many as 16 were reportedly killed. Even a popular motoring issues social media account parroted the info (They later corrected the post). Because there were pictures and they were being shared quickly, the shocking details were passed on too without being verified.
By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan
(To mark ABS-CBN’s 70th anniversary as a media organization, PinoyJournalist looks closer at the company’s visual identity, which has had a makeover in recent years. This is the first of two stories.)
If you’re one of the millions of Filipinos who regularly tune in to the top 10 most-watched shows on primetime TV or who view stories on the country’s most-visited news site, then not a day goes by when you don’t see the ubiquitous vertical bar and 3 rings that identify the Philippines’ largest media network.
There’s a chance you might not know that the icon you encounter these days on your TV set or gadget is no longer the one you’ve seen 5 years ago.
It’s already been 2 years since ABS-CBN changed its logo–its seventh corporate emblem since pioneering local television in 1953.
And if you haven’t still noticed it, that’s because they intended it that way.
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By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan
DAGUPAN CITY, PANGASINAN–For one last day, all roads in the 2016 race for Malacañang will converge here.
At a basketball-court-sized covered quadrangle in the center of the Phinma University of Pangasinan, lights, columns, speakers and streamers have risen over the stage that will bring together Jejomar Binay, Miriam Defensor-Santiago, Rodrigo Duterte, Grace Poe and Mar Roxas for a final appeal to voters.
ABS-CBN technicians and set assembly crews were the first at the campus early Thursday, selecting and securing spots for their set-ups in Sunday’s big event.
Students at the U-Pang continued on with their classes, occasionally sneaking glances at the court and casually passing through the piles of equipment as if no hauling was going on.
The venue. (Shot by Anjo Bagaoisan)
Still absent are the touches of politics that will pervade this area during the weekend. No colors, posters or supporters.
But the school residents know all eyes will be on their school when all these arrive, more so the objects of all this support.
At a stairway, one student watches snippets of the last Comelec-sponsored debate on his phone. A duo of communication majors go around the school’s food court asking people they could interview their expectations on how the presidential candidates will perform.
Much indeed hangs on the April 24 debate hosted by ABS-CBN and the Manila Bulletin.
By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan
ANC 2010 and 2015 logos
A better look, new faces, same quality broadcast journalism.
A new programming lineup and a new overall broadcast design will greet viewers of ANC, the ABS-CBN News Channel, as it relaunches on Monday, October 26.
In the run-up to its 20th year of operation, the 24/7 news channel calls the move a means to “solidify its leadership” among the country’s growing number of news channels and to “better serve its viewers with top of the hour news and in-depth analysis of issues,” for which ANC has made its name.
Leading the rebrand is the relaunch of ANC’s flagship morning show, “Mornings@ANC”, the inclusion of area-focused shows in the channel’s retooled AM grid and a joint design and color scheme to go with all of ANC’s news shows.
“What viewers will see is a newer and stronger ANC with a more robust and relevant lineup of programs covering politics, business, economy, lifestyle and entertainment,” said ABS-CBN Integrated News chief and ANC managing director Ging Reyes in a statement. “These shows will be more visually attractive as well–better form and better substance.”
ANC’s signature rhombus logo will now feature “refreshed” colors which the channel said will “highlight ANC’s expertise in presenting stories with context amid an ever growing deluge of media information.”
The channel’s title cards and designs will also prominently display a red-and-blue scheme that promises a “cleaner, unified” look to represent a holistic news experience for ANC viewers.
PinoyJourn: Stories behind the Stories 
