Media Hegemony in Philippines is One of The Legacies of The 1986 People's Power Revolution

Thirty-three years after the 1986 EDSA Revolution, Filipinos can clearly see its legacy such as:

• Monopoly of the Oligarchs
• Hegemony of the Media
• Mediocre life of the Middle Class
• and Eternal suffering of the poor

Media Hegemony in Philippines

Sa tuwing may nakikita akong mga bata na tahasang ginagamit ng mga politiko sa mga demonstrasyon at mga rally sa kalsada - mga batang may gatas pa sa kanilang mga labi, may mga dalang mga placards na may nakasulat ng pag kontra sa pamahalaan o pag kondina sa isang tao buhay man ito o patay - biglang tumataas ang blood pressure ko at nag-iinit ang ulo ko habang sinasambit ko ang mga salitang: Ito'y "Child Abuse" at dapat parusahan ang mga taong may hawak sa kanila at pilit bini brainwash ang kanilang mga musmos na kaisipan.

I wrote this article with my purpose to educate our youths and young children and to tell them that it is not yet too late for them to distinguish the good from bad. And I hope that one day they would come to realize that they are only being manipulated by these devil politicians and some oligarchs in order to secure their own interests in the society and country.

Below are highlighted vocabularies I used in this article such as:

• Oligarch - an oligarch is an extremely rich person who is part of an elite which exercises an undemocratic, hidden form of power in order to secure its own interests.
• Monopoly - exists when a specific person or enterprise is only supplier of a particular commodity. In Economics - a monoploy is a single seller. In Law - a monopoly is a business entity that has significant market power, that is, the power to charge overly high prices.
• Elite - in Political and Sociological definition it is a theory for a small group of powerful people that controls and disproportionate amount of wealth, privilege or a political power in a society.
• Middle Class - it is a social and economic class lying above the working class and below the upper class. They are composed of professionals, semi-professionals and lower-to-middle managerial level workers.

There is a saying that "Media has a pivotal role to making and unmaking a president."

What does it mean by Media Hegemony? It is about the use of mass media to influence or control another country or a group of people by persuading them to accept their system of beliefs and to share their social, culture and moral values.

Who are the people behind the Media Hegemony in the Philippines? 33 years after the 1986 'People's Power' the hegemony of media in the country has become one of its legacy. So, Filipinos can clearly see that the people behind this media hegemony are the oligarchs and powerful politicians. And these in power ruling class achieved media hegemony through some strategies such as:

• Engineering Consent
• Story telling or Narrative
• and Stardom

What is Engineering Consent - it is about persuasion that the interest of the powerful are common sense, therefore normal or natural creating an atmosphere of less challenge and criticism that   according to Edward L. Bernays who wrote an essay which was published in 1947 called 'The Engineering Consent' claimed that everything socially is organized through psychological means.'

What is Story telling or Narrative - narratives are the dominant way we make sense of expertise and articulate our values, this is often the vehicle for delivering common sense as ideas, values, beliefs are transmitted through mainstream media.

What is Stardom - it is the fame and prestige of being a star on film, sports, etc. People of renown are used to help sell ideas and beliefs to the public through acting as fictional characters - masses can relate to or through advertising products. When people look up to a famous person they often imitate and relate to them as they see the celebrity behaving and dressing in certain ways, the masses will follow suit because they relate to the idol. This is also part of conditioning masses.

In the Philippines many of these famous actors and actresses are used by politicians on their election campaigns in exchange of money. In other words, governments, religious organizations, entertainers, politicians and oligarchs used these strategies to reach and control the masses. These strategies are what make media so influential and successful.

I mentioned earlier that media hegemony is about the use of mass media. To supplement the idea, let us define Mass Media - in simple definition, it is a diversified collection of media technologies that reach a large audience via mass communication outlets. Sample of mass communication outlets are as follow:

• Broadcast media - it transmits information electronically via such media or film, radio, recorded music and television.
• Digital media - they are Internet and mobile mass communication. Under internet - email, social media sites, websites and internet-based radio and television.
• Outdoor media - AR advertising, billboards, blimps, flying billboards and placards.
• Print media - they are books, comics, magazines, newspapers or pamphlets.
• Event organizing and public speaking are also considered firms of mass media. Movie studios, publishing companies, radio and television stations are also known as mass media.

Media becomes influential and successful when a particular groups of people like politicians, religious organizations, entertainers, government, elites and oligarchs and other dreamers who have the power and capacity to rule and command make them move and work through spending of millions to billions of money.

This is what I wanted to point out that our youths and young children, mga bayarang demonstrador at mga bayarang raliyista sila ay isa lamang sa mga elementong ginagamit at pinagsasamantalahan ang kanilang kawalang malay at kawalan sa buhay nitong mga mapagsamantalang politicians, religious organizations, mga elitista at mga mayayamang negosyante na handang magbayad para sirain ang isang tao o gobyerno. 

This is open for your views and comments. Thanks much.