On News and Papers

I like reading newspapers - broadsheets and tabloids alike. I read Philippine Daily Inquirer, Philippine Star, Manila TImes, Today, Manila Bulletin, Manila Standard, Tempo, Ngayon, PM, Bulgar, Taliba, People's Journal, among others. The primary purpose of me ready newspapers is not to be informed but to be entertained. Don't get me wrong. Don't think that I go straight to the entertainment section of the newspaper. There's no need for movie stars like Kris Aquino and Ruffa Gutierrez to grace the front page (or headline) of a broadsheet of national circulation to be "entertained." Philippine politics in itself is a soap material; the growing economy as claimed by the government, a fantaserye; and the Filipino life, a reality game show much like the Survivor. That's why I like PDI. News are presented in a bit sensational way. Like a soap opera, it makes you crave for more "what's next?" scenes; and like a showbiz talk show, the President's wardrobe is of national concern. Unlike PDI, Manila Bulletin presents news as they are. Like a history book, it tells you the what's, who's, when's, why's and how's of the story with less drama. MB's headlines are of less interest, at least based on my standard. MB sounds more like a Malacanang's spokesperson and to be me, blunt. Thanks to its 100-or-more pages of classified ads during Sundays, it's still the unemployed's newspaper.
When I was in college, I attended a journalism seminar in UST. We were told that news should be presented as they are, not sensationalized. But with the kind of news (often disappointing) we get from the papers on a daily basis, the readers might as well be informed and entertained at the same time.