Idiot boxed

My last blog netted a really interesting comment from Mommy Jo, someone whose comments in this blog I always look forward to because they are always sensible, warm and light. Here's what she said:

"It really gets my goat when Mike Enriquez in that annoying tone of his would spend a good 2 minutes introducing or making bola about Pia Guanio who would deliver the most inane showbiz bit that would get me screaming "Who the hell cares!" After his intro the camera would shoe this Pia clad in the most style-challenged (am being kind about it pa ha!) outfit. God! I wish she fires (or strangles) her stylist or doesn't she earn enough to get a non-fly-by-night stylist? Last night what really got me again was that Enriquez couldn't even pronounce Iran's Ahmadinejad correctly. He sounded really stupid, and to think he's some bigwig in GMA7's news dept! I said (no, screamed) I am so over local 6;30 news!!! Well anyway, I always tune in at 10pm in Channel 23 with Mari Kaimo."

This comment got me laughing so hard because I have been thinking the same thing. I know "style" and distinctiveness are part and parcel of a broadcaster's bag of tricks, but I still have to meet someone who actually enjoys Mike Enriquez' way of broadcasting. I do not actually get annoyed when I hear Mike Enriquez, but I wouldn't say he would be on my list of newscasters I would like to listen to. I know a lot of people though who likes watching Mike Enriquez because he makes them laugh. A newscaster who makes people laugh? Now I know where Wazzup Wazzup got the inspiration.

And that comment about Pia Guanio's outrageous outfits on 24 Oras hits the nail on the head. There have been many occasions when I wondered the same thing - why is she wearing that...that..contraption on her body? On some days, it does look like someone draped a rag haphazardly on her body and forgot all about it.

I must be getting old because I miss the good old days when the newscast was straightforward and done in a very professional manner by the likes of Tina Monzon Palma, Frankie Evangelista, and Angelo Castro. In those days, the newscasters did not do cartwheels and emotional hara kiri on public television. They sat down, looked straight at the camera, and delivered the news as professionally as they could.

***

And because classes have not started yet, I have had time to watch the early evening shows on TV. I am not sure it is exactly a blessing. There are times when the whole experience borders on the surreal. Yes, I have watched a few episodes of Pinoy Big Brother Teen Edition.

Forget about the show being a "teleserye ng totoong buhay." Unless we all exist in a parallel universe where Hitler succeeded in propagating a certain standard, there is no way that all normal people could look like those teens. There is nothing in that show that approximates real life; and in this edition, they are not even trying anymore to show some semblance of normal life in the show. It's not just that the kids are all good looking. Everything in the show is so contrived.

Yes, this is an edition that has hormones written all over it in upper case letters. No wonder they have started to make the challenges more physical. They had to! I will not venture to say more and cite examples because I don't want people who have been clueless until now to begin hyperventilating. (In this country, feigned intelligence is truly a dangerous thing. Those who get second hand information react more violently than those who actually have first-hand knowledge of things. Take for example Sec Ermita's pronouncements about The DaVinci Code - he admits he has not read the book, but he has a mouthful to say about it. Sigh).

***

And since we are talking about local television, I am just wondering if something happened to all other commerical models and endorsers in the last three months because every darn time I switched on the idiot box and an advertisement comes on, it is either Tweety de Leon and her kids, Manny Pacquiao, Kris Aquino and Candy Pangilinan that I see. (All those presumably pretty girls in those shampoo commercials do not count, those ads are all about bionic hairs that have a life of their own).

***

So I guess it's not just me. I've noticed that most bloggers are taking it slow lately - everytime I go on line, I check out some of my favorite bloggers and most are on a hiatus. Must be the summer heat (which PAG-ASA says is officially over. Really? Promise?) or must be the relative calm in the political environment. My friends in the stockmarket have been all agog in the last few days over the upturn in the market. I hope the run continues; God knows we all deserve a bull run after almost ten years of bottom fishing in the local stockmarket.

Comments

Anonymous said…
I've been a Web activist for six years now and one thing I've observed is that net traffic in the Pinoy zone declines when there is no political circus and spikes sharply (I've seen traffic in my site go up 10-fold) whenever there is some kind of political circus going on.

I emphasize political, because not even the last mudslide that buried alive 1,300 Filipino souls resulted in any noticeable effect in Web traffic. This says a lot about the nature of our society -- great at mobilising towards political goals but zero when it comes to mobilising towards humanitarian ideals.

Of course I could be mistaken. ;-)
jef said…
Hey Bong, I had a great time reading this post hehe! I've promised myself though that once Manny Pacquiao will be a commercial model for a condom, that's it for me, I'm quitting TV. Gosh, I like the guy but not to that extent of viewing his face on a 24/7 basis and passing his life size cut-out at Mc Do. The ad agencies over saturate his exposure and will disenchant him for good!
Anonymous said…
What really irritates me about Mike Enriques is the way he cuts off the reporters or his guest speakers (i usually hear him from the radio, during my taxi ride to work). He doesn't let them finish their sentences before unceremoniously butting in with a question or a comment. Not to mention that he is always shouting. I wish he would learn from Oprah (or from other broadcasters) who knows how to cut off the speech of the other person with grace and respect.

I have been wondering why Mcdo took Manny Pacquiao as an endorser...

- jen
j said…
Hay naku Bong, I just got some bad news. Another oil price hike this weekend! so there, expect a lot of drivers-bloggers to start ranting again. I am one of them, to rant I mean, but I don't think I'll blog about it because that won't change a thing, I'd rather take it to the streets, he he.
Anonymous said…
nakakadisappoint nga ang mga TV shows natin, kahit yung mga news program nila, pang tabloid.
Anonymous said…
To those who will remember, Mike Enriquez was also known as DJ Baby Michael waaaay back when....and no, he was not entertaining then as he is not now.
Anonymous said…
Hi Bong! I just opened your blog today May 17 and saw you referring to my last comment days ago. Thank you for saying you like (enjoy? hehehe) reading my comments. That is how I'd like you guys to see them. sensible and kinda crazy, for God knows how we all need to be a little funny some of the time, considering the "climate" (all kinds of them)that surrounds us.
Yes, Mike and Pia drives me to yearn for the saner Frankie, Tina and Angelo. I still question these networks' gambit of inserting showbiz crazies in their news program. If it's to appeal to the masa, I am insulted (of course I'm masa too)! No wonder Pia Guanio dresses appropriately, because she talks about showbiz circus that gets me to always react with "pakialam ko dyan!"
I watched bits of the PBB Celebrity edition because I wanted Keanna Reeves to win, not for anything else but to thumb our noses that a clueless dropout who's the most real of the bunch would win. When I heard of the 1st PBB I was annoyed that we had to be the non-original Pinoys again but the celebrity ed seemed fun. This time with the teen ed I forbid my kids to watch, told them this again would only showcase how rotten the Filipino teens have become. Sorry guys if I'm too harsh but how do you expect me to feact when they seem to focus a lot on the teenage mother, as if she's some suffering heroine? I mean how would that project to kids who just need affirmation that teenage sex is cool and having babies too early ih life is no problem?
Now the Da Vinci code. Before I knew it my 13 yr old was already 2/3 through with the book borrowed from a friend, so I wasn't able to do something about it early enough. I just gingerly cautioned him of the fiction and REQUIRED him to watch the Discovery Channel program that disputes Brown's story. But with the movie, I put my foot down, they can't watch nor buy the DVD, no they can't contribute to enriching that author further. Unless they plan to live somewhere else other than my house! Basta, ako ang Nanay, me reklamo? Haven't read the book too, so there! I've read and heard enough about the hoopla, both sides ha, for me to decide.
Now before you throw brickbats my way, let me first wear my helmet.
Ciao, MommyJo
JT said…
walang blog updates? hehe eyst lilipat ako sa mas magandang blog site. inform nalang kita ulit.

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