You want TAHO??

It was a rainy Saturday when I started doing my job. You want to know my job? Oh well, it’s cool yet a challenging one. Let me ask you first. Are you familiar with “taho”? Taho (soybean custard) used to be exclusively a street food sold by ambulant vendors and that Saturday, I was able to sell Taho at the AB building. It’s really cool. But I am referring to a different Taho. It’s something we cannot eat literally but figuratively, we can eat what’s inside it and digest the things that we can get from it. Well, I am talking about our magazine. Taho is the official amateur magazine of the freshmen students from the Communication Arts Section 3(1CA3) of the Faculty of Arts and Letters or AB.

Upon the designation of departments where we would work, I really am thinking of going to the marketing department, particularly in promotions. But as the grouping continued, I wasn’t able to go with that department because it would be hard for me since all of them would be males. Since I have no choice, I only had to choose between the sponsors and the circulation. Thinking that I couldn’t help my colleagues that much because I don’t have connections, I went with the circulation department.

At first, I was disappointed of not being in the promotions since I was excited in planning for the promotion of the magazine and I was thinking that being in the circulation is not much important and that it would only be the job of the people who are bored and have nothing to do with their lives. Since I had no choice, I then became on of the staff of the circulation department. On the weeks that the magazine is being made, I found myself indolent because I haven’t done my part in the production of the magazine yet. As time went by and finally it was finished and ready to be published, I was a bit excited because finally, I can do my job. I was thinking that it would be cool and easy. Then the day has finally come. When I woke up, I was quite upset because of the weather; so I told myself that it would be cool. As I arrived in the AB building, I started to look at the people around. Then I suddenly felt something as I tried to talk to the first person to whom I was selling the magazine. I felt bashfulness. Then I realized at that instant that it wasn’t actually that easy to sell magazines especially magazines produced by us students because not all people would mind looking at it and appreciate it. You would also have to give extra effort to convince them so that they would buy your product. The common question that they ask is about the name of the magazine, “Why Taho?” That’s why you have to know the details of the magazine even though you’re not one of those who made it. You still have to know everything about the magazine and the sections in it. You should be able to answer their questions so that they would be really convinced that the magazine you are selling contains articles that are not claptrap. Lastly, you have to use your “charisma”.

Which is which?!Ü

First, who would say that he doesn’t watch TV or listen to radio broadcasts? Oh well, I doubt it. Apparently, like any other people, we are included as the mass of the media whom they please in order for us to be entertained, informed and updated. To be entertained? Well yes, most probably, most of the people look at TV shows and radio programs as the media whereby we acquire some entertainment. As we try to ponder, we will be able to realize that in many other things where we may find entertainment, we can also obtain information.

In radio broadcasts, as we are amused by the songs that are being played on air, we do not simply get pleasure but also information like, knowing the top-rated songs, compositions and FYI’s about the songs and artists; yet these are not only the things that we can get from the radio. We shouldn’t forget the essence of the radio, that it is better used as the medium where we can obtain news and updates about important issues and topics concerning our community and state.

On the other hand, TV would most probably be essential to us merely for entertainment. I do not say that it’s only for entertainment because I would be over-generalizing. What I am trying to say is that, for the majority, television is being used to satisfy themselves while for some people especially the old ones, they use TV for them to be informed and involved on important issues.

The roles of radio and TV and their broadcasts never change. They are there to entertain and give us information. However, as we open our innocent minds, we will see how many people in the industry use broadcasting for their own profit. Competition still emerges. In radio, there are many radio stations as well as in television where TV stations also compete for ratings. We sometimes tend to be encouraged by their power that we don’t care anymore whether we obtain the better information as long as we follow what catches our eyes and appetitive desires.

The best thing to do is to never lose our rationality when it comes on choosing the right or better radio or TV program. In the end, it’ll be ourselves whom we are net giving the sufficient information; thus, it wouldn’t benefit us. It would benefit them because it is in broadcasting where they also find profit that’s why it exists. Well, it helps both parties.

Entertainment is like a painting..Ü

Whenever we talk about entertainment, I’m sure, many people think of television, movies, magazines etc.. For me, entertainment is a “Wow!”.. Everything that we enjoy watching, reading and listening are all products of the entertainment revolution. Was there a time when we come to think of how all these began? Well me, just recently. Why is it a “wow” for me? Well, I was very much astounded by how the early people were able to come up with this. I can’t imagine life today without the music, movies and all that compelling things that add color in our lives. We owe a lot to the marvelous people who brilliantly thought of these. Magazines for example… There are many kinds of magazines nowadays but there are particular magazines that we usually buy so as in television. On television, we know that there are many TV shows. We have news, comedy shows, variety shows, soap operas, game shows and many others. Among all these, soap operas are the most popular ones in the industry. Many people would want to watch soap operas more often than news and other TV shows. They catch people’s attention that’s why; people would really watch them regularly. We know that soap operas are being televised in primetime. This is from six o’clock in the evening onwards. The reason is that, people by that time would already be at home after work and school. Some would even rush in going home because of the excitement in watching their favorite soaps. That is how appealing entertainment is.

One time, I learned a short story from my friend. This is about the death of his girl friend. It goes like this. His girlfriend was climbing a coconut tree that time to I think get some coconuts or just to stay there day for fun. While she was already on top of the tree, her friends were calling for her saying that it was already time for the Meteor Garden. Because of so much enthusiasm for the show that she loves to watch, she accidentally fell from the tree. When I heard this, I don’t know if I would be sad or be disappointed in what happened but this is one thing I learned. Entertainment is that powerful in appealing to the people. We often forget about some other things whenever we talk or hear about our favorite shows. In students, some would be destructed every time they would want to watch their favorite shows but they know they should study their lessons first. For some, they would even choose to watch television rather than to study or to make their home works. See? That’s how prominent entertainment is especially in the younger ones.

Mp3’s, I-pods etc.. These are the things common in teenagers nowadays. We see them walking with earphones on their ears, when studying, reading, playing and whenever they want to. Like in television, everything euphonic is also appealing to the mass. That is why we have a many radio stations wherein, whenever we ride on vehicles, we would be entertained by the songs we hear that would make us enjoy the ride (only if we like the song being played).

That’s entertainment… Even in newspapers and tabloids, you will find an entertainment section. People are like houses that need paint to make it more colorful. Thus, entertainment is needed to make life more enjoyable and satisfying.

Is it reliable enough??

Well, news has been a part of radio programs. Aside from the songs comedy, music, serials and drama, news is one of the programs we can attend to in the radio. As what I observe in our society, we are easily being wrapped up with what we hear. If people nowadays are like this, I believe that people who lived in the early 2oth century might as well be similar to us. As we can see and experience, technology is ubiquitous.. It really booms every generation. Today, cell phone is the most common thing we use to communicate. But, don’t you notice that even if we have cell phones or telephones, we still consider immediately the news or hullabaloos that we hear in the radio? Like for example.. In my elementary and high school years, one of the things that our school is known for is that, whenever there is a storm or heavy rain, classes are never suspended unlike in the other schools. Most probably, we would hear this in the radio.. “Classes will be suspended due to the bad weather.” When some of the parents of the new students heard the announcement in the radio, they believed in it. As a result, they didn’t let their children to come to school. The point is, even if we have these things that we use to communicate, we sometimes don’t bother to use it to confirm things because we heard it in the radio and so, we immediately get a hold of the information given to us. Somehow, except for some instances, I am like that. I easily believe in everything I hear in the radio as true – may it be an announcement or news.

Now, suppose that I am one of those 32 million people listening to the broadcast at that evening. Would I have been affected by it like the other listeners??

Well of course I would. My first reason would have been that, if the broadcast was being heard by over millions of people. Why would they broadcast that news if that was just for fun? What they have broadcasted was a serious matter. For me, there are two factors that would induce me to consider the broadcast as true.

One is the way the program is arranged or presented. In what I have listened to, the original dramatization of the war of the worlds by H.G Wells, it seemed to be believable because of the order of the program where in the first one was the introduction of the director of the Mercury theater and star of the broadcast.. and then, there was a sudden weather report and then later, an interview with an astronomer about what he saw as he observed Mars.. the orchestra, the intercontinental news from Toronto Canada.. These things.. I mean, as a listener, I would really believe in the news because they had their way of satisfying the listeners through the information they want us to get; and by their way of supporting their news, they were able to use persons to support their broadcast. The interviews with the astronomer and professor in the broadcast as well as the sudden emergence of the weather reports adds to the factor that the listeners may consider in order to believe in the announcements that has been mentioned.

The other factor is that the reporter was persuasive in his way of speech that he seizes the attention and feelings of the listeners. The most apprehensive part was when he was already saying everything he was seeing and the listeners too, were hearing everything-the commotion.. and then he suddenly coughed because of the black smoke. The coughing really proved that what was being heard from his mouth and the background were true and because we hear him experience it; also when the difficulty on field transmission was illustrated wherein the broadcast became choppy up to the moment he vanished.

"I'm on my way to Communication arts!"

As I stepped inside the classroom on the first day of classes(June 13,2007), I was excited but at the same time nervous. Knowing that our first subject would be CA 201, I had many questions lingering in my mind. "What are the things that would be discussed; how would it be discussed; who would be our professor and what kind of professor would he/she be? After a few minutes of waiting, our professor arrived with her water container and laptop. As she started to set up the visual projector, I was amazed! All my life, I never experienced as a student to be taught using such gadgets. After a few seconds, I realized that laptops and other gadgets play an important role in studying this course, CA 201. What is this course all about?

As I've learned so far, CA or Communication Arts is all about communication. It is a broad survey of communication in the modern and post-modern life, with a particular emphasis on the information revolutions and their impact on the historical, social and cultural movements. Upon reading the course description in our syllabus, I knew it was all about communication. It is for us to know and understand the basic concept of communication in relation to Communication Arts as a major; for us to develop an insight to the history of mass communication , its role in the society and in the development of ideas; for us to have increased capacity in using the internet as a tool for research and learning and, for us to develop critical attitude regarding the history, development status, problems and use of Philippine media so that we can use all these, we apply for jobs in the near future( since we chose CA as our major).

On the first week of classes, I learned more about communication. I didn't know before that communication has fundamental characteristics. All I know is that communication is a process wherein the sender transmits a message from a channel to a receiver. Among the five fundamental characteristics of communication, there's this one characteristic that I never knew before. The characteristic is that, communication is the exchange of meaning symbols. Yes, I know that we communicate by speaking , writing and in many other ways but I didn't realize before that we are actually exchanging meaningful symbols. The second thing I've learned about communication is that it has 6 levels which are defined according to the number of individuals who participate in the communication process. There are also four dimensions of the communication context(one of the 9 elements of the communication process). The meaning of the message varies in each dimension.

On the second and third week, the introduction to mass communication was discussed- the definition of mass communication and its characteristics. Mass communication is the transmission of public messages directed at a large heterogenous and scattered audiences. Indeed, this is true. One example is that of the talk shows, where the hosts are mentioning the source of the message before or after they tackle an issue. It means that the source wants the public to know what he knows about the issue. Another example is that of print-ads and commercials.Companies talk to the public by mass communication. They want their products to be bought by many people and so, they make commercials as their way of encouraging and pleasing the public. But how do these people communicate to large audiences? Well, it is through media(t.v, radio, newspaper, internet, etc.). However, like any other things, mass communication has consequences and dysfunctions. The thing we should do is to use the mass media properly. Well of course we use it to obtain information, to relax and in some other ways but, we should bear in mind that we should not rely too much on the views carried in the media. We should still use our critical ability in interpreting things and as we adopt values from it, we should also learn to distinguish whether it will be good for us to adopt it or not.

As weeks go by, I learn more and more about the field I chose. As we move on to the next topics, I'm sure that it will be much more complicated. Thus, it will require a hundred percent effort on my part which I intend to do.