The Way We Do It
abueno@theguidon.com

Have you noticed how Ted Failon and Karen Davila  have started injecting “conversations” between spiels in the news show TV Patrol lately? The show, beyond reporting the news as it is, is trying to blend commentary with the news, albeit in little steps. I don’t catch the two anchors doing it regularly.

This reminds me of CNN anchor Anderson Cooper’s interview with Senator Mary Landrieu in the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. Landrieu was going on and on about how the government has much to be thankful for in terms of aid; Cooper was knee-deep in flood, possibly upset because of his proximity to the people affected. In a burst of emotion, Cooper interrupted Landrieu in the middle of her response to a question, and told her, implicitly, that what she was saying was not doing any help.

While the exchange catapulted Cooper to media stardom, I don’t think it was guts or bravery that provoked Cooper to say what he felt. For a moment there, he did not act like a reporter. He acted the only way he knew how to act at those times. He acted human.

In an age where news is appreciated less and informed opinions weigh more with readers, being “human”—or to be less contentious, being “emotional”—about the news is gaining interest not only with journalists, but also with audiences who hunger for stories not centered on facts, but on people.

Indeed, “emo journalism,” as it is called, seems like a sensible alternative to the detached, bystander journalism common in news reporting today. We have talked of indifference to the news, or failing to put a face to the statistic. We have talked of apathetic reactions concerning violence in news clips. Clearly, if we are to take a stand against indifference and apathy, a journalist’s deeper involvement to the news would seem to be the key to our own involvement in the news, of putting faces that we know to the statistic.

In the Philippine context, however, doing this might be difficult. First of all, we are a young and immature democracy. Putting the spotlight on the reporter, as is inevitable in emo-journalism, is dangerous when some reporters are so easily swayed by influential politicians who pursue their own interests.

The Filipino audience, too—if we pertain to the masses, which are the majority—may not be media literate enough to distinguish where the line between fact and emotion exists. History proves, through movie-stars-turned-politicians, how Filipinos are emotional and swayed by emotional arguments.

Lastly, to begin thinking about emo journalism is to assume mastery of the basic journalistic values of accuracy, balance, fairness and the like, which is still, at most, a work in progress in Philippine media. As of now it takes skill to balance two sides of an issue; how much more balance two sensibilities in an issue?

Cooper got it right when he said that the notion of the traditional anchor was fading out, and a more honest, true-to-self reporter was taking its place. In time.

However the news is delivered, if it is to move and shake an audience, then a reporter is responsible not only for delivering facts, but also bringing the audience to the event itself in the best way he can: in vivid detail, through accurate story-telling, and with due compassion. That will always characterize true news reporting.

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