Why this blog?

It is elections 2010, and I am pretty much involved with the elections, indirectly through my radio program, Sentro ng Katotohanan, which hopes to help people make their decision a product of critical thinking. However, I realized that no matter how loud I shout in my program, one soft whisper from a well known pundit is heard many times over. Yes, I realize the power of the mass media, but not everyone in the mass media.. only the mass media's elite.

ABS-CBN, GMA7, The Inquirer - they all are the mass media's "elitest" of the elite. Among the three of them, they have the power to change this nation. And within them, personalities such as Maria Ressa, Ted Failon, Anthony Taberna, Mike Enriquez, Arnold Clavio, Jessica Soho, Solita Monsod and a few others have the direct influence on our agenda for the future. The question is, are they using their power for our country's good?

Honestly, I cannot say that they do. For if they are actually looking after the good of this nation, we wouldn't have been in this mess.. But I cannot blame nor judge them, they are running a business and they are too much inside the forest as to see the trees. I cannot see what is in their hearts nor do I conceive what they would do in the future. All I have before me are the fruits of what they do, the facts I could gather from what I see. The media elites have been given too much freedom to rein in on issues without the checks and balance that each of us practically should have. So I thought, unless someone put them to task or at least look deeply on what they do, they won't realize the need to improve themselves.

Unfortunately, I cannot monitor them all. I cannot watch TV and listen to radio all day nor can I even watch the news on their schedule each day. But at home or at work, I have access to the internet on my own time. So I can and am now taking up the task to at least take a look at one of the media elites, the front page of the Inquirer, which I find daily on the internet. I am not sure how long I can do this. I hope I can do this long enough to be noticed and make a difference. If not, I only hope I can do this up to the day of the elections, at least. Meanwhile, I also hope there would be others who could look similarly at ABS-CBN and GMA7.

I am not passing judgement here. I just want to present the facts as I see it. It is up to the reader of this blog to judge me how I see it, and judge for themselves as to whether the Inquirer is doing us a favor by presenting us facts or are they part of partisan politics trying to influence us one way or the other.