I know that journalists are trained to tell the truth as they see it. They can not write or tell a story that they think is about to happen for that will not be "news".
Sana, who ever tells the field reporters to take a look or "chase" a certain angle of a story add this angle of seeking and asking a supply chain specialist to explain to them the processes, the players and the underlying relationships that happens as rice seedlings turns to palay and then to rice and then to kanin finally.
Kasi, puro na lang raid dito, raid dyan. Tapos kausapin natin ang mga taong nakapila para sabihin nila sa atin na nahihirapan sila. Eh, alam natin yon! Tapos puro "Let's help the farmers." Ang tagal na natin sinasabi yan. Sana lang totoo na this time.
Sana, the media can come up with a visual and a computer simulation showing how the government subsidy will happen and help the whole situation kasi ang alam ko that billion dollar subsidy came from all our taxes and I pay my taxes.
Now, you probably be asking why should I ask that from the media? Why not from my Representative in the House of Congress? Well, simple lang ang dahilan - the quality of talent and of hearts that one institution attracts.
I mean, how many talented, gifted and passionate individuals have we met that belong to a staff of Congress? They probably exist but I can't easily associate the "talented-passionate-gifted" attributes to a Congress' staff.
Well, I am writing because I know things will get worse. Worse in a sense the prices of rice will still increase and the other food we eat like bread and our pandesal will join the bandwagon, too. Of course, our government will try its very best to appease our fears because if the fear goes to overdrive, then God help us all.
And as I observe it, the current media practice of news telling follows this line of thinking called the corrective and preventive events and all follow a "logical flow".
Let's take the "corrective stories" - go after the bad guys who are taking advantage of the situation. Raid dito, Raid dyan which leads to rice holiday which leads to local government executives saying "if you do that, we will imprison you!"
And for the "preventive stories", the news will take a look at the actions taken by the government and what are the plans to ensure that this rice situation will not happen in the future - How much rice are we importing? And of course, our billion dollar rice subsidy! (Where my taxes is included.)
Have you ever wondered how come the scientists and the rice experts only had limited airtime? I guess, and this is only a hypothesis, it's because they are considered "boring" by whoever decides and can't get advertisers money because in the end - media is still a business that needs revenues, profits. And police raiding warehouses of vile and evil people is exciting stuff. Good versus evil. And dishonest politicos, top rater! How about the human drama of the plight of the poor? Even better!
The news today are really old news. Serious. Sad. A start of Filipino's finest moment.
What if this way of simplistic news telling is the real evil? For it does not tell the much larger truth that needs to be told because we are limiting our version "truth" in the framework of profits = )
What if the people who watches the TV and read the broadsheets are tired of the news because it only tells the biases or the limited view of the two newsrooms?
Media would always say that they only report reality. But what if the reality they present is a reality that will only fit in a 30-minute news program because airtime is way too expensive? Ma'ams and Sirs do you know that you affect us as we affect you? Don't you know that we are both in this together? Can you please tell the "broader truth"? A truth that will set us free!
Hmmm, maybe this type of news telling could be profitable? I mean this is a classic definition of a "blue ocean"... = )
Or maybe, I am just being old and romantic in a sense that I am still hopeful that we can still make our situation better.
Lord, thy will be done!
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