THE LOCAL ENTERTAINMENT MEDIA: IN STAGNATION?
By Issa Sebullen



In this age of technology, the media, the entertainment sector in particular, seemed to have been left behind. Not in the utilization of new devices and writing means but in the style of their reportage, local entertainment media practitioners have been stagnating for quite a time.

The glitters of the 24th Luna Awards failed to capture the imagination of the showbiz press although some newspapers gave a brief report in the inside pages. Considering the magnitude of the said affair in terms of celebrity attendance, it would have merited a full page article if only the entertainment press was proper in their priorities.

The hottest issue today in the entertainment circle is the pregnancy of Kris Aquino. Regardless of Kris’ stature, what’s the importance of her physical state of condition? And isn’t it ridiculous-- no, outrageous may be a more apt description-- to hear or to read that Kris was 98% sure of the pregnancy? It can be remembered that Kris hit the highest rating on TV when she revealed the STD issue versus Joey Marquez. But that’s another story.

This nonsensical issue of pregnancy was deliberated upon in The Buzz program, courtesy of the highly regarded Boy Abunda, who happens to be Kris’ manager, and the ever poetic Cristy Fermin. Not to be outdone, in a DWIZ radio program, hosted by Jimmy Morato, that item was even enhanced by adding that Kris intimated that she had been engaging in sex even when she had her period. Now, that’s really gross!

The raging battle between the two giant networks may have started it all. There’s a likelihood that their think tanks are on a 24/7 duty in banging their head just to come up with new formats and gimmicks to arouse the interest of the viewers. If you have watched S-Files or The Buzz, surely you will be irritated with their cliffhanger spiels like “Sino itong showbiz couple na naghiwalay? Abangan sa aming pagbabalik!” Another overused spiel that is really annoying to the bone is the pronouncement of “Exclusive” and the other channel’s “Eksklusibo.”

It’s agreeable that decent press releases don’t really attract much attention from the readers because ordinary things don’t appear as news anymore. In a concert write-up of Regine Velasquez, most readers just scan the date and the venue since knowing that the press release is just a simple press release. But an item like the suspected romance of Ogie Alcasid and Regine Velasquez undoubtedly stirs the interest.

Sensible people may be wondering why Pinoy Big Brother was a big success in audience and readership rating. Likewise with the first Starstruck Idol search, viewers and readers alike were titillated by any information about the show. From my viewpoint, those TV programs have good PR writers. They know the sensibilities of their audience and they took extra care in maintaining decency and rationality (although Pinoy Big Brother had once crossed the demarcation line of MTRCB). And to think that participants in those contests were virtually unknown, their creative teams really have the expertise in making mountains out of anthills, i.e. in a civilized way.

When Giovanni Calvo, a college professor, started writing for People’s Tonight in the early 1980s, he had started the so-called swardspeak. Admittedly, Giovanni’s writeups were interesting enough for the masses. What with his Mama Monchang character and a sprinkling of coined words and phrases, Giovanni’s writing style was truly inventive and innovative to earn the eyes of the reading public. This is not to say that Giovanni’s style was decently acceptable but he had a way of penetrating the hearts and minds of his readers even if his items were ordinary.

Entertainment writers nowadays, particularly in the tabloids, have under-developed styles of writing such that a good reader may think that only one writer was writing all the articles in the different dailies. For certain, they reek of homosexuality in their manner and mode and intrigue was always the main fare, not to mention the repugnant blind items. Even the respectable Ricky Lo of Philippine Star is not spared of this gayhood method of writing.

But in fairness to the broadsheets, Crispina Belen of the Manila Bulletin is one straightforward writer sans the gimmickry. But who is reading Crispina’s column, aside from my grandmother? The Philippine Daily Inquirer’s Nestor Torre is in Crispina’s league but Nestor fares better with his occasional humorous items. His column is also famous for his stern warnings and reprimands to wayward celebrities.

Mostly appreciable is the Blast From The Past column of Gypsy Baldovino that comes out every Sunday in Manila Bulletin. Without “palabok” and gimmicry, the said column is a joy to read so much like a historical gazette that is bursting of information. And considering that the column is about an old movie star, it is very fertile with trivias and interesting, unheard of items about the subject matter.

Going back to showbiz reporters and writers, I guess it’s about time for them to hone their writing skills. They should be attending workshops and seminars on creative writing so that their misguided spirits will be set in the right direction. This impression is not exclusive to this writer. In fact, whenever there is a bad press release from the President of the Philippines, some people say that the Malacañang media bureau may been already infiltrated by showbiz writers.

And speaking of politics, it is really sad to discuss the achievements of Lito Lapid in the Philippine senate. It was a big issue when he had proposed a bill which would prohibit the use of staplers (staple wires) in food packaging. I may be wrong but wasn’t it a clear indication that the Senator from Pampanga had a showbiz writer for an adviser? Talk of national interest and here comes a Senate bill about staplers! So intriguing, one may say, but undeniably nonsense.

Writers, in general, write from their heart and they write about what’s inside their head. But be it a good write-up or a bad write-up, it is still the responsibility of the editors when it comes to publication of such materials. And since the editors are under the mercy of the publishers, by command responsibility, the publishers should be the ones accountable. That’s also true in the TV, shows and programs fit for the garbage bin are the responsibility of the network’s management, specifically the president of the station. This may be the reason why GMA-7 was kind of tame in the battle for viewer attention simply because the programming had to pass thru the approval stamp pad of their chief executive. However, the same cannot be said of ABS-CBN. Don’t ask me why.

In summary, the current state of the entertainment media is the undoing of the management of the TV stations, radio stations, newspapers and even web magazines. So next time you read a trash item, don’t blame the writer. Next time you see vulgarity on TV, don’t blame the writer. And next time you hear garbage news on the radio, just turn it off, okay?