Thinking Critically About the Media

Take a guess at what the ratio of Ads to articles is, then count the number of Ads in the first section of each newspaper or an entire newsmagazine and compare it to the number of news articles. Look at the sizes of Ads and their content.

Take note of the Ads that appear in particular sections, such as Sports or Business. What can you conclude about the kind of audience toward which the Ads are directed? Are there any obvious or subtle connections between any of the advertisements and the stories in the paper?Do any of the stories have the quality of an Ad– announcing the opening of a new store, for example? Are there any Ads that have the quality of a news story making claims about a new weight-reducing pill, for example? Are the Ads clearly labelled as advertisements or distinguished from the news in other ways, such as being enclosed in a border? The two Ads of Paramount Life & General Insurance posted on the whole of pages 3 & 5 and the posted Ads of Music, Dance, Theatre, Visual arts and Food industry on the last two pages of ‘STARWEEK (Volume: XXVI; NO. 1 edition; April 22, 2012 issue)’ newsmagazine are generally directed towards literate (know how to read and write newspaper or newsmagazine readers of the Philippines or Filipino readers). But talking of special clients or consumers or the real target market/consumers/clients of ‘SUNDAY to SUNDAY’ column Ads: Music Ads are darted towards ‘five-star hotel singers, recording singers/artists (Filipino or foreigner), entertainment joints bands (Filipino or foreign), opera/theatre/concert performers-singers, choir roups, recording composers/producers and instrumental artists who may both be foreign or Filipino. ’; Dance Ads are aimed at ‘cultural group dancers, show dancers, dance instructors, dance experts, dance companies and student dancers as well who are foreign or Filipino.

’; Theatre Ads, are aimed towards specialized target markets which comprise of ‘theatre artists-performers, actors & actresses, divas, composers, producers and directors. ; Audience/Target markets for Visual arts Ads are ‘canvass/charcoal/ portrait/scenery painters, sculptors, textile producers/ manufacturers, art collectors, photographers, tattoo artists, and all other visual arts artists’ who may be Filipino or foreigner. As for Food Ads, they are targeted to ‘chefs, culinary institutions & students, five-star hotels or restaurants or resorts, household housewives & mothers and middle class households with families who have the purchasing/buying power of the price established by these Food enterprises.Thus, it can be concluded that the audience of STARWEEK (Volume: XXVI; NO. 11 edition; April 22, 2012 issue)’ Ads comes from highly diversified population of Filipino and foreign readers residing or who happens to be in the Philippines at that time that issue of the newsmagazine was distributed & circulated and it can further be inferred that the target audiences/media consumers of these industries (music, dance, theatre, visual arts, food and insurance) are audience /consumers engaged into or occupied with these industries as their professions, vocations, occupation, interests and hobbies.

The featured news stories like “PILGRIMS ON THE RUN”; “TAGUIG’S 425TH FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY”; “PROJECT PRIDE”; and regulars of the newsmagazine (i. e. In the Know, Table Talk & Spot the Changes) substance or context are coincidentally selected by the editors/columnists of STARWEEK so as to complement with the purpose of the posted or published Ads contained in pages 3 & 5 and as well as the Ads posted or published in the ‘SUNDAY to SUNDAY’ column of STARWEEK April 22, 2012 newsmagazine issue.This is so because after reading all of the newsmagazine’s contents, it can be observed that the substance of ‘SUNDAY to SUNDAY’ column of STARWEEK (April 22, 2012 issue) is all Ads and it can be observed further that all these advertisements are related somehow to all the ‘Featured Stories’ as well as the content of the ‘Regulars’ of the newsmagazine. Take for example PILGRIMS ON THE RUN’ after reading its content, we could name some of the advertisements posted on pages 3 & 5 and the last 2 pages of STARWEEK April 22, 2012 issue which are related in context to the featured news story; to mention a few: ‘Paramount’s (Life & General Insurance Corp.

) ER Card Plus’ is connected to a dialogue in the featured news story ‘PILGRIMS ON THE RUN’ which goes: “He persevered and finished the 150-plus kilometre run through Isabela about nine days later,” Diola says. He ran morning and afternoon and his beaming face showed that he was experiencing the joy of taking care of God’s temple, his body”; this dialogue would open the readers mind to accommodate any inputs linked to physical & physiological care of our bodies. So if a healthcare ER Card Plus will be recommended to a reader while reading ‘Pilgrim on the Run’ article, it isn’t so hard for the human mind to welcome such suggestion from a product Ad.Another Ad example which links to the featured article in context is ‘Sinag Eco-Center Honors Earth’ classified under MISCELLANY and the Ad content goes: “A gathering of environment advocates on April 24, 10 am-storytelling of Busilak, a children’s story book that imparts the importance of saving the environment/2 pm-relaunching of Zero Water Phils.

Livelihood programs-seminar on how to create bibingkang galapong (April 27) and plastic/tincans recycling workshop (April 28). corner of Ventura Street and Katipunan Ave. , in QC)” this can be related to one of the ‘PILGRIMS ON THE RUN’ substance supported by the dialogue: “We were awed by the alluring natural and man-made beauty of our countryside and felt very sad at how we have become our worst enemies by throwing garbage everywhere and by conflicts we continue to have,” Diola reflects. “How broken is our motherland! The dialogue in the featured article implied a thought of concern and caring for our environment and mother earth which corresponds to the appeal of the context of the classified Ads ‘Sinag Eco-Center Honors Earth’ and these are just a few of the total Ads which can be associated with the featured article ‘PILGRIMS ON THE RUN’. The other two (2) Featured news stories of STARWEEK, April 22, 2012 issue are “TAGUIG’S 425TH FOUNDING ANNIVERSARY” & “PROJECT PRIDE”. The contents of these two (2) featured news articles also, are related in context to the Ads posted in the newsmagazine.

The former corresponds to ‘Paramount’s (Life & General Insurance Corp. ) Dream College Plan’ Ad in page 3, ‘Kidzone Summer Lessons’, ‘Language Classes’, ’Sinag Eco-Center Honors Earth’ and ‘The Museum at DLSU’ Ads and the latter, is related in context to all the FOOD Ads in ‘SUNDAY to SUNDAY’ column. In the guide questions given above, the last three questions, asked about the quality or kind of substance/context that can be extracted from both the news stories and the advertisements as well as whether there was evident demarcation indicating news from advertisements employed in production/editing of the newsmagazine.And this is indeed a relevant question to the case at hand because two (2) news articles of the ‘In the Know’ - a Regulars column in STARWEEK April 22, 2012 issue sounded more like advertisements rather than a news article. The head titles of these articles are “AboitizPower spurs environment volunteerism among youth” and “2nd national bonsai, suiseki and zen garden landscape show”.AboitizPower article sounded like an advertisement because it was actually informing the readers more about AboitizPower and its wholly owned subsidiary AP Renewables Inc.

and of its conducting of Forest Nurturing and Cleaning Up project for the Makiling-Banahaw geothermal power plant in Laguna and Batangas rather than expound about what the company and the youth have specifically accomplished for the Makiling-Banahaw geothermal power plant in Laguna and Batangas and what good does this endeavour brought to the environment?Similarly, with the latter: “2nd national bonsai.... ” it appears more like a promotion of the show rather than tell the readers what benefit can be derived from “Bonsai” and of its national show? These two articles obviously is a product of “sound bite” that is the extracting of very small important commentary segments from longer content/substance of news articles. Thus we have no way of knowing what these articles are really all about.

All we can infer is that these news articles are poor quality news with substance slanted towards advertising rather than news stories. As for demarcation between news story substance and advertisement content, the techniques to economize space used and maximized the number of advertisements published employed by the columnists and editors to some of the news articles leave the uncritical readers “in the dark” of the real story of the news article to the favour of advertising and promotion.In addition, though the paid advertisements really were obvious and grouped separating it from news stories and articles, but still some Ads lack substance/content to thoroughly inform the consumers what their product is all about. This is the problem brought about with the accommodation of too many Ads sponsors in proportion to the news stories published; there is a tendency for the substance of both news articles/stories and Ads to suffer.