First, the prologue.
I like watching news with the old man. He rants out at just about everything he sees and listens to on the evening TV news. Despite his seemingly obnoxious comments, one redeeming factor he has is that he is fully aware of just how crappy much of the news shown on TV really are. And, apparently, he has no pity for the news reporters who must churn out whatever news bite there is, no matter how crappy, in order to keep their jobs.
Last night, I was in yet another stage of "developing my socio-civic awareness"; my dad and I were watching the NBN evening news. We came to the part when the news anchor began reporting about another bomb blast in Cotabato. However, to the distress of my father, the headlines below the screen said "Bombing in Mindanao"!
The tirade was almost immediate. Why "Bombing in Mindanao"? The blast happened in Cotabato so why couldn't the headlines read "Bombing in Cotabato" for crying out loud? Why implicate the whole island? Why reinforce the general perception that Mindanao is a dangerous place when the truth is most of the island's cities and provinces are peaceful and safe?
In the end, Papa could only frown at the screen as Mama finally suggested he write about it to somehow correct the error in presentation (which he won't because, well, he just won't). What compounded the issue was that the news was from the National Broadcasting Network and a government-owned entity at that (Chances are, the company is blissfully unaware that they are jeopardizing the economic development of an entire island by its false generalizations). As if to make matters worse, the news about the bombing in Cotabato was also aired on Q, with the same headline.
I was left to ponder the question: Why? Why would the news reporter do that? Is it to make his news bite more news-worthy or more sensational? Or is it simply because these reporters are not that familiar with Mindanao geography so they use the name "Mindanao" quite blatantly just to keep things simple? What could be the probable reason?
The next question that went through my mind was: Why only us? Why don't they apply it to incidents outside of Mindanao (example: "Bombing in Luzon", "NPA attacks in Visayas" etc...)? Why the "preferential treatment", you might say?
Come to think of it, it's unfair really and I think this issue is as old as my lola's house but it's still here. I do hope, as always, that things will change. Maybe, we should have an awareness seminar of sorts for this issue. Or, on the other hand, maybe it's more practical to stick to hate mail.
If so, I better start writing...
I like watching news with the old man. He rants out at just about everything he sees and listens to on the evening TV news. Despite his seemingly obnoxious comments, one redeeming factor he has is that he is fully aware of just how crappy much of the news shown on TV really are. And, apparently, he has no pity for the news reporters who must churn out whatever news bite there is, no matter how crappy, in order to keep their jobs.
Last night, I was in yet another stage of "developing my socio-civic awareness"; my dad and I were watching the NBN evening news. We came to the part when the news anchor began reporting about another bomb blast in Cotabato. However, to the distress of my father, the headlines below the screen said "Bombing in Mindanao"!
The tirade was almost immediate. Why "Bombing in Mindanao"? The blast happened in Cotabato so why couldn't the headlines read "Bombing in Cotabato" for crying out loud? Why implicate the whole island? Why reinforce the general perception that Mindanao is a dangerous place when the truth is most of the island's cities and provinces are peaceful and safe?
In the end, Papa could only frown at the screen as Mama finally suggested he write about it to somehow correct the error in presentation (which he won't because, well, he just won't). What compounded the issue was that the news was from the National Broadcasting Network and a government-owned entity at that (Chances are, the company is blissfully unaware that they are jeopardizing the economic development of an entire island by its false generalizations). As if to make matters worse, the news about the bombing in Cotabato was also aired on Q, with the same headline.
I was left to ponder the question: Why? Why would the news reporter do that? Is it to make his news bite more news-worthy or more sensational? Or is it simply because these reporters are not that familiar with Mindanao geography so they use the name "Mindanao" quite blatantly just to keep things simple? What could be the probable reason?
The next question that went through my mind was: Why only us? Why don't they apply it to incidents outside of Mindanao (example: "Bombing in Luzon", "NPA attacks in Visayas" etc...)? Why the "preferential treatment", you might say?
Come to think of it, it's unfair really and I think this issue is as old as my lola's house but it's still here. I do hope, as always, that things will change. Maybe, we should have an awareness seminar of sorts for this issue. Or, on the other hand, maybe it's more practical to stick to hate mail.
If so, I better start writing...
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