Everything is in flux

Wednesday, 16 February 2011 00:00

Written by Resti Reyes. Jr.

There are two conflicting dictums: “the only constant is change,” and “the more things change, the more they are the same.” And yet both appear to be valid and oftentimes apply to the same situations.

This could not be more true than in the world of media. While there is no other commodity more perishable than media – today’s front page is tomorrow’s trash, and so on – there can be no denying that certain operating principles remain constant. For instance, although audiences have been steadily shifting from one medium to another, their preferences for content have not changed. Best illustration using traditional examples would be the fact that even when Filipino households have acquired cable TV service, they still watch the same telenovelas on free TV that they used to watch before they had cable. Hence, you still get ABS-CBN, GMA7, and now TV5 as the top choices among TV households whether or not they have cable.

In the last year or so, so much change has been taking place in the local media landscape that it is difficult to keep track. I pity today’s media planners. Their jobs get more complicated by the day. Some of the more notable developments include the rise of a third option on free-to-air television, TV5, particularly with the transfer of controversial show host Willie Revillame. It was certainly a daring decision first to air his show Wowowee reincarnated as Willing Willie; and second, to air it on primetime. But then again, I’d say it was a brilliant bold stroke, pitting the popular game show/ variety show format against the staid newscast was sheer genius.

The other most significant development on TV would be the impending reformat/relaunch of QTV11 as a 24/7 news channel. With that move, GMA strengthens its position as the most independent news provider. A point they keep hammering on every chance they get, a never-ending dig at the Lopez group’s wide range of business interests outside of broadcasting. The key differentiation here would be GMA’s decision to go vernacular, as opposed to the high brow English of ABS-CBN’s snooty ANC. It doesn’t take rocket science to predict which will eventually be the higher-rating news channel. Don’t forget as well that QTV11 is a free-to-air channel, whereas ANC is strictly a paid cable channel. On the differences in rates alone, QTV will make ten times more money than ANC.

On radio, the most notable change would be the overnight reformat done on U92FM, a pop station in the mold of MTV (some of you may remember it as the adult contemporary/fusion jazz station “Joey” 92.3). It now broadcasts as NEWSFM, an AM-style format that serves news and commentary in the same flavor as the leading AM stations, DZMM and DZRH. It has the advantage of having better quality audio reception as FM is always better received compared to AM broadcasts. The last several months also saw the demise of an erstwhile icon in local radio broadcasting: NU107, the rock capital of the city. It is now a jologs/masa station competing with the likes of Love Radio 90.7 and EnergyFM 91.5. Not surprisingly, we must add, since the reformat was precipitated by the departure of Manny Luzon from EnergyFM and his subsequent partnership with Atom Henares.

There are changes in print as well. Malaya has turned itself into a business paper. But few seem to have noticed. A more interesting new development would be the advent of Philippine News, the hard copy Manila Edition of the San Francisco-based daily. They plan to be distributed free to the reading public, hoping perhaps to stem the tide of declining readerships among all newspapers worldwide. It has not yet caught on as much here, but abroad, most people already get their news online, and many famous titles have one by one been folding up. The best indicator of this trend would be Rupert Murdoch’s launch of the iPad-only “The Daily” – so US netizens can keep abreast of what’s happening without having to bother with a hard copy New York Post.

Wanna know more about it? Click here

Oh, and did you notice you are reading this article online?
Let’s talk some more in the next article about new media (as it is sometimes called among advertising circles), better known as the internet. Now there is earth-shaking change.
Let me leave you with this video… a simple illustration of how technology is changing our lives, it’s an old one, but still very much relevant: