Good news, bad news

LETTERS FROM THE AGNO
March L. Fianza

Every now and then I hear the line “good news is bad news, bad news is good news.” There is some truth to it on the side of many newsmen and publishers. While news publications depend on advertisements, these should be compensated with controversial and non-controversial news stories that should be able to catch the attention of readers.

If the headlines hint about good news, it is most likely that readers or would-be buyers simply scan the front page, dismiss it as something uninteresting and go. And to make passersby reach for the pocket, the writer plays with words to catch clients’ interest, however, making sure that the titles speak the truth. I admit guilt of this once upon a time – an act that is mostly done by very sensational tabloids.

Here are some news tabloid headlines written in Filipino that certainly can catch the readers’ eyes. Titser nagkamali, tinuruan ng leksyon. Basurero, nagsampa ng kaso; binasura! Misis ng fotografer, nakunan. Tahanang walang hagdan, inakyat. Bulag, nandilim ang paningin; nakapatay.

While these heads appear to be catchy and sensational, they speak the truth.
***
During the flag ceremony at the Baguio City Hall last September 5, the city council commended the Hotel and Restaurant Association of Baguio for holding the 8thHotel and Restaurant and Tourism Weekend.

But some members of the local press felt they were offended by a portion of the resolution that read in part: “despite the negative reports our city faced recently due to the onslaught of the typhoon…”

Some members of the private media who were present during the flag ceremony felt alluded to with the speech of Mayor Domogan following the awarding rites. They said, in his speech, he said “we have a problem with the media…”

He was also quoted as saying “If you look at the print media, as well as television, what they are mainly saying about Baguio City is the thrash slide in Irisan…”

While the mayor presumed that people who may have read the news items about the trash incident could get the impression that garbage is scattered in the entire city, which he said “is not correct,” the newsmen say that the mayor should also understand that reporters write about what actually transpired.

Well, that is what all newsmen should do – write about the truth, unless the mayor wants newsmen in the city to write otherwise, something that some media “practitioners” really do – help whitewash trash and bad news.
***
Many years ago, I wrote in this column about rice farmers. I said and I thought it would be good if the government subsidized full payment of school fees of their children from first grade until they finish college, in return for what they do to all Filipinos – that is, work in the fields all their lives to provide food for us.

Without them, the Filipino could starve. Without them producing the rice for our tables, unscrupulous public officials would rush laughing to the bank with the extra cut they gained by importing millions of tons of rice.

I thought providing free education, like the Communists do in China, to the children of rice and vegetable indigenous farmers who literally touch the mud would be an idea that the President and lawmakers could provide for the unsung heroes.

Aside from selling the carabao and mortgaging portions of his ricefield to be able to send his children to school, hoping that they would soon finish college and get the family out of the rut, farmers are often the losers when typhoons hit their farms.

Then after the typhoons, government assesses its losses in terms of agriculture then comes up with computations that reach billions of pesos that are replenished by congress in the next season, but there is no mention about how much is plowed back directly to compensate the farmers’ farm input, time and effort that were all blown and washed away during calamities.

We have poured too much attention to policemen, soldiers, teachers and other government workers because the sectors they belong to are built-in voters, but nothing goes to the food-producing tillers of the land.

Now, doesn’t that show a picture of bad news that speaks the truth?
***
By the way, I am wondering why there are not so many helicopters that fly and reach out to typhoon-hit provinces as compared to the number of helicopters that hover around us during elections. That’s bad news but it’s true. – marchfianza777@yahoo.com