Using media for informed decisions
December 07, 2023
At a time when the media landscape is changing with the introduction of new technologies, systems, and personalities, 鈥渨e must tell what people should know, help them understand the present issues, and assist them in making informed decisions,鈥 said ABS-CBN News reporter Jervis Manahan.
The RTD guest speakers and participants. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO
Manahan was one of the guest speakers at the roundtable discussion (RTD) Radical Television in the Time of Crises organized by the Department of Broadcast Communication (DBC) of the UP Diliman (UPD) College of Mass Communication (CMC) and was held on Nov. 23 at the CMC Auditorium.
Joining Manahan were Nick Santiago, founder, partner, and commercial director of Arcade Film Factory; Eji Santos (participated via Zoom), software developer and game designer at IUGO Mobile Entertainment based in Canada; and Joelle Yuvienco, voice artist, host, and creator of Paano Kung podcast.
Manahan. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO
According to DBC Chair Alwin C. Aguirre, the RTD aimed to explore and discuss new forms of televisuality, how the audience was changed with this new forms, and how they were being done even during the time of crises, such as the COVID-19 pandemic.
From the website of Rutgers University Press, televisuality is described as 鈥渁 theoretical term coined by John Caldwell in the mid-1990s to characterize a change in the look and practice of television programming. This change began around 1980 and continues to the present day.鈥
In the article Televisuality: Style and the Small Screen by Tim Dant, the traditional form of television was 鈥渢he standard way of capturing live studio shows (music, games, comedy, and variety performances, soap opera) as well as reporting outdoor events including sports, in which the camera simply gave the television viewer the perspective of a spectator at the live event.鈥
Santiago. Photo by Jerald DJ. Caranza, UPDIO
鈥淭rust is very important in news,鈥 Manahan added. 鈥淚n the present landscape, less and less people are watching TV. Instead, they go to platforms where most people are watching, like TikTok. We need to recapture people. People will trust news more if they know the off-cam preparation of news reporting.鈥
Manahan has his own TikTok account to reach out to those on TikTok.
Santiago discussed how he started in the advertising industry. 鈥淚 answered a lot of yeses to a lot of wild options.鈥 He experimented in producing TV advertisements so that their output would stand out among the competition. Arcade Film Factory made advertisements for fast-food chains, telecommunication companies, banks, insurance companies, food products, and beverages, among others.
鈥淲e are bombarded with ads every day. Our challenge…