ENCOMIENDA, Mathel Bea L MC1218 Our nations media presently enjoys the fruits of democracy mainly the right

to a free press. As stated in Sheila Coronels work, we have one of the most lax journalistic environments in Asia. There is no press persecution, no censorship or manipulation, and our government does not play ventriloquist with our media. The only exception to this was during the time of martial law under former president Ferdinand Marcos wherein media industries were shut down, censorship was in place, and journalists were actively persecuted by a government body. As with every other thing under the sun, nothing is perfect. The dark side of Philippine media is the fact that our country is one of the world leaders in journalistic killings. There have been numerous cases of editors, writers, and reporters maimed or killed in the line of duty. This is a result of aggressive reporting and excessive prying into the affairs of powerful men. The culprits decided that rather than quashing a story, it was easier to silence the storyteller. Naturally, this has occasionally backfired on the perpetrators. The killings raised such public outrage that a trickle would turn into a flood, leading to a more judicious discovery of unlawful deeds and the incarceration of those involved. On the commercial side, the media machine here in the Philippines is privately owned by absurdly wealthy families. As stated by the article, these families were once exclusively Mestizo but times have changed and now, the media moguls are a mixed bag of Spanish, Filipino, and Chinese ancestry with a majority in favor of the Filipino-Chinese tycoons. These entrepreneurs are into almost all of the commercial industries found in the country and their media arm is a vital tool wielded in various ways to further the cause of their proprietor. Sometimes, the media is a shield, protecting the publisher and his allies from attack. On other instances, it is a sword, swung to strike down business and political enemies. And yet other times, it is a shroud, cast over our heads in order to veil our eyes from the complete picture of truth. Lastly, it is used as

a market aphrodisiac, encouraging the purchase of goods and services provided by the sister companies of the media arm. The needs of the capitalist owners are many and the media adapt to meet each and every one of those needs. Impartial journalism and business interests might as well be oil and water they just dont mix. Newspapers, as with all forms of businesses, are operated with the primary goal of turning a profit. Would businessmen allow one of their own companies to publish stories that would tarnish their reputations or that of their allies? At best, newspapers will only try to downplay the facts detrimental to the publisher. At worst, they will not cover it at all or try to skew the story into a different light. Though there is no such thing as a perfect democracy or complete freedom, we enjoy a level of press leniency that is quite rare here in Asia. There are laws in our country that were put into place to prevent the government from hindering, censoring, or using the news as their personal outlet. But what these laws do not prevent is the under the table, behind the curtains bullying by politicians of the publishers when a particularly unsavory story about them comes to light. A politician exerting pressure could make an unpleasant situation for the publisher and his numerous business ventures by using the power of his office or that of his peers so publishers instinctively avoid hard-hitting political stories. Why cover news that will bring them into conflict with prominent figures that could endanger their holdings? Publishers wisely walk this path in order to safe-keep their interests. As to advertising, it is unavoidable that a newspaper would highlight the ads that are in its own best interest and that of their partners. Any story that is harmful to one of their products or interests can be downplayed or hushed up, never to see the light of day, while any story harmful to one of their competitors will be sure to get headlined and off the presses before you can even say unfair.

Capitalism, in the broadest sense of the word, is the private ownership of the means of production and the creation of goods and services for profit. If applied as the driving force behind media operations, it can be concluded that all content released by the media are aimed at promoting consumerism among the audience which then becomes revenue for the tycoons standing at the top of the economic food chain. The media is a powerful tool that mixes variety content with seemingly harmless advertisements that subtly invade our consciousness. This power of suggestion worms its way into the audiences thought processes and encourages the transformation from simple viewer or reader to a paying customer. On close examination, the relationship between the capitalist driven media and the audience consumer/end user is one of mutual dependency. The audience-laborers depend on the corporations to supply them with occupations and salaries. Upon receiving their pay, they rely on the various forms of media to assist them in their decision making with regards to purchasing products and services ranging from mundane expenses like soap, food, and haircuts to high priced transactions that may constitute buying a car, a house and lot, or enrollment to premier academic institutions for their children. In turn, the capitalist driven media sees the audience as the masses that provide an indispensable workforce for their parent companies, one without which the production of goods and services would not be feasible. In short, they see the audience as an absolute necessity for their survival. In conclusion, both parties are mutually dependent but one more so than the other. After all, the audience can survive without the media but the latter cannot exist without the former. Powerful though the media machine may be, it is not an absolute necessity and is entirely reliant on the suffrage of the people. Source(s): http://pcij.org/imag/PublicEye/lords.html http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capitalism