A letter received by the Anak TV office a few years ago is among the most colorful, if not graphic, samples of grassroots support for the advocacy for responsible TV.
A mother from Quezon City, Amalia Malasarte, was among the listeners to a panel constituted for a TV symposium sponsored by New Era University. It could have been Edgardo Roces, then president of ABC 5, Edith del Rosario, programming manager of RPN or Vivien Recio, Del Rosario’s ABC counterpart who said that if TV audiences feel they are up against the wall with what they see on TV, they should write posthaste the station, addressing it to the president or owner. The reminder also specified that the letter writer must pour his or her heart out about what he or she honestly feels about the show.
This column is featuring the letter, unadulterated, so that the reader also shares the angst and concern that Ms. Malasarte has.
"Dear Prisident of Channel (omitted), Nawa nasa mabuti kayung kalagayan sa pagdateng nang sulat nato. Sinamahan ko lang si kumare kong Linda sa semposum ng Anak TV sa New Era nung isang linggo. Sinabi nung nagsalita dun na kung me riklamo daw kame sa Telibision ay sumulat lang daw kame sa prisidente at mayari ng Telibision. Kaya eto ngayon ay ginagawa ko nga at sana umabut itong sulat nato sayo. Kasi madaming napapanoood etong mga bata samin nang di magandang palabas na di dapat sa bata. Lalu na sa elimentary. Halus hubut hubad na yung mga babai sa palabas at panay suntukan, bakbakan at awayan. Yung telinobela din e puro lang na sampalan at gantihan at sigawan. Me rumansahan pa. Kinukupya nang anak ko ang mga bakbakan nayan. Natatakut kameng magasawa na lumaking barombado ang anak namen. At saka isa pa masyado madami yung kumersial sa palabas nyo. Sa hirap nang buhay dapat konti lang kasi lagi nagpapabile nang napanuod yung anak namen. Seguro me anak din kayu kaya dapat lang na linisin nyo yang Telibision. Pasinsya na kung me riklamo ako. Sana di nyo masamain etong sulat ko. Salamat po at pagpalain kayu ng Dios."
To us in the advocacy, that was a clear example of empowerment, the very essence of Anak TV’s work in the regions where television holds sway in households. Many audiences do not know what to do with "an impolite or irreverent member of the family" (the TV set) and feel that to keep up with the community, they have to stay tuned to keep abreast with the issues, political and showbiz scandals, the twists of melodramas and even the private lives of celebrities.
When a public service TV plug was produced and aired some years back featuring then senator Loren Legarda reminding people to speak up about TV’s ills, her office was deluged with calls prompting her to assign two staff dedicatedly to such phoned-in complaints and letters.
If the trend continues, we expect a huge TV viewership in the next decade that is highly selective of entertainment fare, intelligently critical of programming and acutely aware of their rights as coowners of the airlanes.
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SUMMER HOSTING
AND PUBLIC SPEAKING CLASS FOR KIDS
Zoe Broadcasting’s personable public affairs host Kata Inocencio has teamed up with Trumpets Playshop this summer. The bubbly Anak TV Seal awards host will conduct a Public Speaking and Hosting class every Saturday from April 9 to May 28 at the Shangri-La Mall along EDSA, Mandaluyong for kids aged 10 to 17 (1 to 4 p.m.) and adults 18 and up (5- 8 p.m.). Aside from promising to be exciting, these classes will surely be helpful to participants eager to hone themselves for bigger things in future. Call Trumpets at 633-5010 and 633-4387.
