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A brief look: New media and

the polls
By Angeli Sabillo, Blogwatch
It is interesting to look into past elections (including the
most recently concluded one) and compare different
trends in media and advertising. Media in its different
forms has continued to evolve and increasingly
accommodate political content and advertisements.

Unregulated cyberspace

In the past, radio stations offered packages to

candidates in the form of airtime for interviews and
mentions. This was to help boost visibility in spite of the
advertising ban for candidates. The ad ban, regimented
through the Omnibus Election Code, was meant to level Latest Election News
the playing field since wealthier candidates could Special polls in 3 provinces moved to June 3
definitely gain more awareness and popularity by using mass media. This did not stop moneyed candidates as
some subtly got around the ban through backdoor agreements of paid interviews and endorsements. The ban Congress to grill Comelec before actual canvass
was later lifted and the government turned to regulating advertisements (the reason why political TV ads starts
became so popular by the turn of the millennium), but candidates continued conducting paid interviews and AFP: NPA chief in deadly ComVal attack falls
publicity to get around the ad and spending limit.
Sore losers in House hearing deserved to lose —
Now the ad battle has reached cyberspace - with endless opportunities to popularize and attack candidates - Macalintal
but with limited reach. Comelec official open to manual recount

Noynoy Aquino, who got more than 13 million votes (at least at the moment) had just over a million Facebook More Elections 2010 News »
fans before his page was supposedly hacked, and demographics are somehow unknown - how many voters
are online?

As the campaign started, ads of presidentiables (as well as black propaganda against opponents) appeared on Featured Blogs
Yahoo, Facebook, and other popular sites. Sadly, there is no body to monitor online campaigning. An article
from PCIJ points out the obvious lack of regulation online as well as good and black propaganda found online. Recent polls lead to the rise and fall of Iloilo’s
political dynasties
Villar's website was also supposedly hacked, and anti-Villar ads also came out during the campaign period.
Tech experts denounce 'Koala Boy' fraud claims
Trending and Citizen Journalism
9 Lanao Sur ghost precincts send poll results to

The election has indeed become a trending topic online (see another interesting blog giving out awards to best Comelec server
and worst political commercials), with the popularity of Twitter celebrity @PCOSmachine (read articles from Maranao leaders on special polls: Never on a
GMANews.tv and ThePOC.net -- see the man behind it) and the flood of election-related complaints on social
Friday
networking sites.
House eyes June 4 end of canvassing
Concerned citizens and alternative media practitioners cultivated the new media to publicize unreported
violence or fraud. One outfit, Kodao Productions, was able to film a two-hour gunfight at a polling center in Pass freedom of info bill, solons urged
Tugaya, Lanao del Sur. One young woman was killed as thousands of voters fled from their precincts, Joy will be a good vice mayor, says dad Sonny
disrupting elections. The video was later broadcast and its reporter was interviewed in various GMA 7 news
Belmonte
programs.
Belmonte expects more Lakas allies moving to
Facebook community after May 10 LP

Right after the first batch of election results, Facebook users were jabbing away at their computers, How accurate are exit polls?
contemplating the interesting turn of events.
Rectifying travesty of justice
One user posted that if Noynoy Aquino (clear winner for the presidency) is serious about land reform, he should Closely monitor May 28 special polls, group says
make Satur Ocampo - one of his critics on the Hacienda Luisita case - secretary of the Department of Agrarian
Reform. What made Binay such a formidable VP bet?

Youth and nation building, according to Rico

Then there are of course "forward-looking" fanpages and groups such as "Kris Aquino's Despedida," "Noynoy
Blanco
Aquino III - 15th President of the Republic of the Philippines" (created hours after the results started coming in),
"Gibo Teodoro for Senator 2013," "Dear Noynoy," and "Agenda ng Bayan." The latter two aim to serve as a Javier ‘dynasty’ wins in Antique
venue for ordinary people to express their grievances and suggestions for the next president.
Playing a role in the online coverage of 2010
One particular page calls for the jailing of President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo to finally get accountability for all elections
the scandals, cases, and crimes she had been involved in, while some had already posted an event entitled
‘Ultimate sacrifice’: a trend in LP?
"One Big Pinoy Party to Boot out Gloria Macapagal Arroyo."

The "I voted during the first automated election in the Philippines" fanpage already had 13,000 fans by the
evening of May 11.

Angeli Sabillo primarily writes for the news and politics sections of the Philippine Online Chronicles. The
Philippine Online Chronicles is both a media network and news aggregator, a platform for alternative viewpoints
and a synthesizer of ideas. It reports facts of the news as well as viewpoints on the news.
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