Grieving Mother: Assessing the sensitivity of Aksyon

      The media have been very fond of interviewing family and other relatives of victims even if these people are still in grief. In one of the news published by TV 5 in their news program “Aksyon” (December 5, 2014), they interviewed the mother of a real estate agent who died from a shooting encounter. Majority of the interview were actually just clips of the mother crying. She was unable to speak properly because she could not stop crying.

      For me, the news team should have not included this in their report. First, I do not think it is essential to the story. The story regarding the death of the real estate agent can stand alone without having to show videos of his grieving mother. Second, it is insensitive to the family of the victim and a violation to their privacy. Article 7 Section 2 of the KBP Broadcast Code says, “Persons affected by tragedy or grief shall be treated with sensitivity, respect and discretion; they should be allowed to suffer their grief in private.”

      However, like many networks, aesthetic value is highly given importance. Videos of crying families of victims add a dramatic element to the story. For me, it is always important to be sensitive enough especially to those who are currently emotionally unstable. If I were in the place of the news team, I would consider whether or not this is needed to complete the story. If I was able to ask the side of the family, I would include it in my report without having to show (editor’s: in excessive duration) videos of them crying. We should always respect the privacy of these people. Using them to make our stories more dramatic is not only a form of disrespect. Turning news into drama or adding these kinds of dramatic elements to a report also challenges the truthfulness of the story.

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Vice Ganda jokes border on discrimination

     Vice Ganda has been known by millions of Filipinos for his funny jokes, sense of humor and wit. For years, I’ve watched him on TV and on the Internet, trying to make people laugh by telling jokes, and sadly, by throwing insults at others.

     In an episode of the show “The Showtime” a few weeks ago, Vice Ganda was trying to make a joke using the name of Gary V. His words were “Sa Liti, Gary V. Dun sa Liti, manuod kang Prinsis Sarah, ang kapartner si Cidi. Ang kinakain niya ispagiti.” (Sa Leyte, Gary V. Dun sa Leyte, manuod kang Princess Sarah, ang kapartner si Cedie. Ang kinakain niya spaghetti.) He said it in a way that would imitate and mock the accent of people from Leyte.

     This is not a first. He has been very fond of making fun of others not only for their accent, but usually for their appearance or their performances. However, in the situation given above, I found it unethical because it is a form of discriminating other people or group of people. Article 22 of the KBP Broadcast Code says that “A person’s race, religion, color, ethnicity, gender, and physical or mental disability shall not be used in a way that would embarrass, denigrate, or ridicule him.” In this case, although the joke was said lightly and was kept short, it was still an insensitive act to mock people from Leyte on national television. Also, we are aware of the current issues about the lack of support to the victims of Typhoon Yolanda, who are mostly from Leyte.

     Vice Ganda has been very fond of doing these kinds of jokes because he values his job as a comedian. A little too much, maybe, that sometimes, he fails to consider what others would feel about his jokes. He wanted to make people happy but he fails to realize that some may actually get offended or embarrassed by his jokes. For me (or if I were in his place) he should be more aware of his limitations. Being a comedian does not give him the right to discriminate other people. There are more ways to make people happy and promoting discrimination in any form should not be one of those.

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