Mass Media for National Development

How much can mass media do to influence the Filipino to make decisions and make him contribute to national development?

This year marks another milestone for the Filipino to elect the national leadership. Where he gets the inputs in order for him to make an informed decision will depend on what information is made available to him and how he personally processes this information.

First, let’s tackle the sources of information. The National Statistics Office’s Index of Education and Mass media Statistics reveals that in 1994, out of 50.4 million Filipinos aged 10-64, 40.7 million or 80.8% listen to the radio. Farmers and other rural folks could have radios that are affordable and battery-operated in their homes and because they are massively produced as portables, folks could easily bring them along in the farms. Fifty-six percent (56%) are television viewers and the rate is fast becoming as high as that of the radio listeners. It is observable that even in urban poor areas, television is a regular acquisition. But who and what do they listen to? Soap opera is obviously popular. When national issues are aired, how many really hear and try to understand all sides of the argument? Usually, politicians are interested to see how they can polish their side of the coin.

Information processing requires some stock knowledge which Filipinos most probably possess from their mass media exposure. Also, we want to believe that most have skills to discern and analyze the information that they have. Presence or absence of statistics could serve as good news or warnings, though. In the same year of 1994, 40.2 million Filipinos aged 10-64 were found to be functionally literate, out of 48 million or a staggering 83.8 percent. However, what statistics have not shown is how people decide and what they do about their decisions. The attitude factor is as significant.

Probably we could advocate more for mass media that provide education more than entertainment; value reinforcement more than deviance; and justice more than violence.

We could still set our priorities right.