ABS-CBN AND CNN CONTRIBUTES TO

GLOBALIZATION
Aldrin S. Narido February 13, 2019
Ilac Tristan Bernardo

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THE FAMILY NETWORK

There are a variety of TV networks airing in the Philippines for the past decades. These media
networks provided its televiewers the news that they need to know and the entertainment that
they need to see. These services were given by one of the largest and successful media company
in the Philippines.

The ABS CBN (Alto Broadcasting System Chronicle Broadcasting

Network) was founded in 1956 in Diliman Quezon City, Philippines
that was formed by the merging two broadcasting company in the
Philippines. The primarily radio broadcasting network CBN ( Chronicle
Broadcasting Network) was founded by Eugenio Lopez Sr. and his
brother, the former vice president of the Philippines Fernando Lopez.
The CBN later merged with the ABS (Alto Broadcasting Company) forming the ABS-CBN and turns
it into a television network. Its brand uses its name "The Kapamilya Network" meaning a family
member, a Filipino term.(Schnabel, 2017). The ABS CBN has more than 30 affiliate TV stations
and 15 radio stations providing news, music, sports and entertainment. The station is also
involved in magazine publishing, movie, TV production and music recording. Aside from its
country of origin, the station also air across the globe alongside with its 7 international
networks, reaching over a millions of people worldwide. Because of the support of their fans the
station has taken over the TV scene of the Philippines. According to Kantar Media Survey, ABS -
CBN has the highest audience share percentage with a rating of 46% among with its rival GMA
(32%) and TV5 (4%) as of April 3, 2018, (Adobomagazine, 2018) making it the leading TV
network in the Philippines. The company was currently chaired by Carlo Katigbak and owned by
the Lopez Group of Companies.

But before reaching its peak, the biggest downfall of this mighty media network has yet to come.
According to sources, on September 21, 1972, Ferdinand Marcos declared Martial Law that was
probably the worst time for Philippine television and the scariest moment on TV. Media were
cited as a prime enemy of the administration and the target of Marcos forces.The first letter of
instruction issued by Marcos ordered the take over of all media firms to prevent “communist”
propaganda. Troops entered radio and television stations, sealed them, and placed under
military control. All media outlets that were critical of the Marcos regime were shut
down.“Within a few hours, the government had wiped out the entire news media of the
Philippines, except for [those that are pro-Marcos].” (B-Lent, 179)
ABS-CBN was seized from the Lopez family, and Eugenio Lopez Jr., then president of ABS-CBN,
was imprisoned. When DZXL-TV Channel 9 of CBN was sold to Roberto Benedicto, he changed
the name from CBN to KBS, Kanlaon Broadcasting System. So when a fire destroyed the KBS
television studios in Pasay, Benedicto’s people took over the ABS-CBN studios in Bohol Avenue,
Quezon City. His employees moved in; and by August 1973, KBS was broadcasting on all ABS-CBN
channels. A year later, Salvador “Buddy” Tan, general manager of KBS, reopened Channel 2 as
the Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC).

The two Benedicto stations: KBS Channel 9 and BBC Channel 2 aired government propaganda. In
1980, Channels 2, 9 and 13 moved to the newly-built Broadcast City in Diliman, Quezon City.
According to Buddy Tan, the move was based on economy of scale. These stations shared
everything from security guards to water to studios.("What's the Story, Pinoy TV?", N.D)

But then, during the 1986 EDSA People Power, the fall of the Marcos regime has ended the
martial law which gives rise to the Philippine media. During the reign of President Corazon
Aquino, ABS-CBN has retured from its operation after it was sequestered by the Philippine
government. The Freedom of Expression has been revived, allowing the media in the Philippines
to enjoy the benefit to express via broadcasting and journalism.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT?

Because of it's milestones the ABS-CBN established their charitable institution which facilitates
social programs and outreach to the public.

The Lingkod Kapamilya Foundation was founded by Eugenio Lopez III that aims to help those are
in need, assistance for families, rescue and relief operations to the victims of disastrous events
and others. The funds came from solicitized help from various individual by broadcasting the
situation of the people in need. The Campaigns and program espoused are Bantay Bata (Child
Watch), Educational Television (ETV), Bantay Kalikasan (Environment Watch), Kapit Bisig Para sa
Ilog Pasig ( Holding Together for Pasig River), Sagip Kapamilya ( Saving Members of the Family),
Bayan ni Juan (Country of Juan), Programa Genio, and Lingkod Kapamilya Tulong Center.

WHAT'S BAD ABOUT IT?

ABS-CBN is often accused by the audience as bias in terms of newscasting and bbbroadcasting. A
netizen named Dodz Cy Gacuya, outbursted his feelings about this TV network. "They are
arrogant, bias, inaccurate, unbalance and a political machine in destroying its enemies and a tool
in crookedly favoring it's political allies though their false and misleading reports to the nation.
Time for change countrymen." He quote. Aside from this accusations, the ABS-CBN also has
violated broadcast rules. Regarding to the Manila Hostage Crisis ABS-CBN was found guilty of
violating Section 4, Article 6 of the KBP Broadcast Code, which states: “The coverage of crimes or
crisis situations shall not provide vital information or offer comfort or support to the
perpetrators.” The Standards Authority cited several instances where reporters of both ABS-CBN
and ABC-5 gave details or showed video that telegraphed the intentions or activities of police
officialsIn particular, the KBP Standards Authority cited several live reports as examples of
violations of the broadcast code. We may remember that the Manila Hostage Crisis took place
on August 23, 2010 at Rizal Park Manila, Philippines where 7 hostages were shot dead.

THE NEWS THAT SPREAD AROUND THE SEVEN SEAS

In order to understand how globalization affects the exchange of information, facts and even the
news, let us look into one of the most famous television news channels around the world, the
Cable News Network (CNN).

Founded by Ted Turner, CNN was launched on June 1, 1980, 5:00 PM Eastern Time. The first
newscast was anchored by husband-and-wife team David Walker and Lois Hart1. Burt Reinhardt,
CNN's executive vice president at the time, hired most of the company's first 200 employees,
including Bernard Shaw, its first news anchor.2 On January 1, 19823, a companion channel,
CNN2, was launched and featured a continuous 24-hour
cycle of 30-minute news broadcasts4. CNN2 later evolved
into CNN Headline News (or simply HLN) and eventually
focused on live news coverage supplemented by
personality-based programs during the evening and
primetime hours.

CNN had a lot of milestones in its history, including their

successful coverages of the 9/11 attacks and the 2008 and
2016 US presidential elections. However, their most
famous coverage took place not in the United States, but in the Middle East. And it is also the
first step for CNN in becoming global. During the first Persian Gulf War in 1991, the channel sent
correspondents to cover the US-backed Coalition's bombing of Baghdad, Iraq (codenamed
Operation Desert Storm). Other news channels sent reporters to covet the bombings, but CNN
did one thing no other news channel had done in the past: CNN had the ability to communicate
from inside Iraq during the opening hours of Desert Storm, with Shaw, along with fellow
reporters John Holliman and Peter Arnett delivering live reports from the al-Rashid hotel in
Baghdad.

They were not able to immediately broadcast live pictures from Baghdad, so the coverage had
the tenseness and tension like a broadcast radio drama. So tense and full of tension was the
coverage that it was often compared with the live radio reports of legendary CBS news anchor
Edward R. Murrow on the 1940 German bombing of London during World War II (famously
known as "the Blitz")5. Even with the lack of live pictures, the coverage was carried to television
networks around Earth, and was watched by over a billion viewers worldwide6. Because of this,
officials at the Pentagon coined the term "the CNN effect" to describe the perceived effect of
real time, 24-hour coverage on the decision-making process of the American government.

WHAT'S GOOD ABOUT IT

CNN had a big impact on globalization. For one aspect, it established numerous bureaus around
the world and sister channels in seven countries from around the globe (including the
Philippines). The effect is even wider scope of communication amongst countries, for what
happens in one area of Earth can reach another part within seconds. Another thing about CNN
that makes it an agent of globalization is that, if calamity strikes a particular country, CNN will
immediately make a live coverage about the disaster to make it known to other countries, so
that they can direct part of their resources to the country affected by the calamity. A good
example of this is their coverage of the 2011 Japanese earthquake and tsunami, which attracted
worldwide attention and eventually a flood of help and donations to Japan.

WHAT'S BAD ABOUT IT

Oddly enough, it was the controversies and scandals that CNN is facing right now (and in the
past) that were more dominant than the positive effects. From the beginning, CNN already faced
all sorts of trouble. For instance, going back to the coverage of the first Persian Gulf War, they
were heavily criticized for excessively pushing human interest stories while avoiding any violent
images; the result was an alleged "propagandistic" presentation of news7.

Even the news personalities within CNN met a lot of bashing and boos.

Reza Aslan was denounced for incorrectly represented Indian religious traditions8,9 by eating
human brains with the fringe Aghori sect (which is a big no-no in Hinduism) in the first episode
of the series Believer, which tackles about the various religious traditions around the world. He
was also accused as well for potentially stirring up racism and xenophobia against Americans of
Indian origin10,11.

Carol Costello of CNN Newsroom reported on the audio release of a woman (Bristol Palin) being
assaulted by a man in a get-together in Alaska. She was criticized for laughing12 about the
incident, with some critics pointing out that she was making fun of a woman who was physically
abused by a man she has no acquaintance with. She later apologized for her actions in a
statement to Politico, stating: "Over the past few days, I have been roundly criticized for joking
about a brawl involving the Palin family. In retrospect, I deserve such criticism and would like to
apologize."13

Lou Dobbs stirred up a storm of controversy in 2008 when he promoted false conspiracy theories
that former US president Barack Obama was not born in the United States14,15. They were
rightfully dubbed as "racist" and "defamatory" by the Southern Poverty Law Center16,17.

And Fredericka Whitfield, while discussing the 2015 attack on the Dallas police headquarters,
referred to the primary suspect James Boulware as "courageous and brave, if not crazy." (That is
what she actually said at the time.) Immediately, she received a storm of criticism and calls for
apology. The following day, she stated on air that she misspoke and had no slightest intention to
believe that the gunman was courageous or brave18. The storm continued, however, so she
issued yet another apology on June 15, 201519,20.

REFERENCES:

1. Schnabel (2017) FAST FACTS: What you should know about ABS-CBN, Retrieved from:
https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.rappler.com/business/165984-fast-facts-abs-cbn-
corporation-lopez

2. What's the Story, Pinoy TV?, N.D., Retrieved from:

https://pinoytvstory.wordpress.com/martial-law-years/

3. Adobomagazine (2018) ABS-CBN Still Country's Top TV Network, Sweeps 10 Most Watched
Programs List In March - Kantar Media, Retrieved from: https://adobomagazine.com/philippine-
news/abs-cbn-still-countrys-top-tv-network-sweeps-10-most-watched-programs-list-march

4.ABS-CBN CORPORATION, N.D., Retrieved from: http://www.hoovers.com/company-

information/cs/company-profile.abs-cbn_corporation.cf2cee2236e03aa5.html?aka_re=1

5. Gacuya, (2016), 4 REASONS why ABS-CBN is biased, Retrieved from:

https://x.rappler.com/x/dodzsygacuya/1458202750186-4-REASONS-why-ABS-CBN-is-biased
6. Barkin, Steve Michael; Sharpe, M.E. (2003). American Television News: The Media
Marketplace and the Public Interest.

7. Wiseman, Lauren (May 10, 2011). "Burt Reinhardt dies at 91: Newsman helped launch CNN".
The Washington Post. Retrieved May 19, 2011.

8. Leon, Charles L. Ponce de (2015-05-04). That's the Way It Is: A History of Television News in
America. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 9780226472454.

9. Alvarado, Manuel; Buonanno, Milly; Gray, Herman; Miller, Toby (2014-12-09). The SAGE
Handbook of Television Studies. SAGE. ISBN 9781473911086.

10. "'Baghdad': When CNN was the news". Los Angeles Times. 2002-12-06. ISSN 0458-3035.
Retrieved 2017-04-22.

11. Rohwer, Jim (2001-03-15). Remade in America: How Asia Will Change Because America
Boomed. Crown Publishing Group. ISBN 9780609504123.

12. "Good News, Bad News". American Demographics. 2003. Archived from the original on
January 11, 2006. Retrieved January 14, 2006.

13. "CNN show host Reza Aslan under fire for misrepresenting Hinduism". The Jakarta Post.
March 8, 2017. Retrieved March 8, 2017.

14. "Reza Aslan, host of CNN's 'Believer', catches grief for showcasing religious cannibals in
India". The Washington Post. Retrieved March 7, 2017.

15. "CNN's 'Believer' Is Reckless, Racist And Dangerously Anti-Immigrant". Huffington Post.
Retrieved March 7, 2017.

16. "CNN criticised for 'disgusting' portrayal of Hinduism in new show". The Independent.
Retrieved March 7, 2017.

17. Eric Bradner, CNN (October 21, 2014). "Palins describe brawl in police recordings". CNN.
Retrieved July 7, 2015.

18. Hadas Gold, Dylan Byers. "CNN's Carol Costello apologizes for Palin remarks". POLITICO.
Retrieved July 7, 2015.

19. "Donald Trump 'Cherishes' Lou Dobbs So Much He Puts Him on Speakerphone for Oval Office
Meetings". amp.thedailybeast.com. Retrieved 2018-04-02.

20. Guardian Unlimited, 29 July 2009, Birthers are citizens of Idiot America

21. "Southern Poverty Law Center Letter from SPLC President, Richard Cohen to CNN President
Jonathan Klein, July 24, 2009, accessed 2 August 2009". Splcenter.org. 2009-07-24. Retrieved
2010-04-12.

Los Angeles Times, 25 July 2009, CNN chief addresses Obama birth controversy

22. "CNN's Fredricka Whitfield says she 'misspoke' when she called Dallas PD gunman
'courageous and brave'". Yahoo News. June 14, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.

23. "CNN's Fredricka Whitfield Makes On-Air Apology for Her 'Offensive' Dallas Remarks".
mediaite.com. June 15, 2015. Retrieved July 7, 2015.

24. "CNN's Fredricka Whitfield 'Misspoke' When Calling Dallas Gunman 'Courageous and Brave'".
Variety. June 14, 2015.
 Republic of the Philippines
CAMARINES NORTE STATE COLLGE
F. Pimentel Avenue Daet, Camarines Norte
COLLEGE OF ARTS AND SCIENCES
Biology Department
 PAPER ANALYSIS

To be submitted by:

Aldrin S. Narido Ilac

Tristan Bernardo

BS BIO - 1B

To be Submitted to:

MS. PEARLY BETH OGAYON

Instructor

Date of Submission: February 13, 2019