This is Part One of a series of posts on how Filipinos do not prefer British-style news presentation.
The BBC News brand so recognized all over the world.
Since CNN International was busted out from our TV subscription, I didn't
have any time to watch live international news on TV. I've long since
resorted to podcasting through my music player or watching video clips
from my laptop. After a few months after I was unable to watch CNN, I
then resorted to the next accessible international news channel we have
in our area, BBC World News. Since those days, I've had to endure hearing newsreaders present the news in an accent many Filipinos aren't conformed with, that is, the standard British accent, specifically Received Pronunciation variant.
George Alagiah presents BBC News at Six
Amercianized as we are, not many Filipinos are well-versed to the English language that is spoken throughout the European continent, and in many parts of the world where the British have colonized and influenced, including our neighboring South East Asian nations like Malaysia and Singapore. Due to the large cultural impact of America among Pinoys, including the OFW community, those who do have access to cable TV prefer watching news channels that have anchors that either have a "Pinoy English" accent, or a generic American accent.
Do Pinoys care about the news Anderson Cooper brings?
A lot of Pinoys I know go for gimmicky shows, with blew-up graphics, horrible theme music, and sets that look too cluttered. Because of the inherent trait of "horror vaccui" among Filipinos, they go for their own news shows or, if they want international news, go for channels made in America.
For the most of me, I'd want to explore things aren't common to many. I hate being in the status quo in watching TV news, so I had to look for alternatives.
What I was fascinated about the BBC's style of presentation is their seemingly direct yet catchy view of news that is definitely at par with the international arena. However, what I was really curious about was the design of its sets, its graphics and the theme music with an element that is so distinctive of the network. Take a look at this clip of BBC World News taken in 2009.
European-designed sets tend to be eye-candy to the world arena. American-style sets, on the other hand, only fascinate the American-influenced society. Sadly, Filipinos are caught up with it.
The set of ABS-CBN's TV Patrol is clearly American-influenced.
Take a look at the current set of ABS-CBN's TV Patrol, also shared with Bandila. The elements of the set are clearly influenced by American TV news - lots of monitors, a potpourri of geometrical elements and blew-up colours that are too dark, too many and clash.If the set isn't ringing a bell to you, the style of its presentation is somewhat called "tabloid-style" - a music bed when the presenter reads the news, "shiny" and "colourful" graphics, and a sensational style of presentation. The style does cater to the Filipino masses, but is a nuisance to an international news junkie. Clearly American-style.
In Part Two of the series, we compare different news graphics and let's observe how Filipinos prefer lots of info on their screen.
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KENNETH
