Nanta

Mainstream media representations of minorities are a common center of media studies (Fursich, 2010). There are instances where minority groups such as the LGBTQIA+ community are stereotypically portrayed in media. Recently, BL or Boy’s love- contents focusing on male-male relationships are mainstreamed in Southeast Asia (Nimma, 2021). This genre initially catered to female audiences and has become famous as women- especially from a patriarchal society, found a breather from suppressive and submissive heterosexual relationships (Zhou et al., 2017) as well as challenge existing social taboos on queer sexuality (Zsila et al., 2018).

Although the growth of the BL genre in the new media has filled the lack of representation of the queer community, problems of stereotypical tropes and inaccurate portrayals have overwhelmed popular BL content (Nimma, 2021). Heterosexual romance ideals have become prevalent and gender roles stereotypes existed in most BL stories and media content. The assignment of ‘butch-femme dynamics” mimicking heterosexual relationships is the most common misrepresentation where most gay BL characters are portrayed similarly to the traditional masculine and feminine heterosexual personas (Zhou et al., 2017). Moreover, narratives of sexual harassment and rape are brushed off lightly and passed as expressions of love. Furthermore, there is a lack of representation among trans people, and they are often characterized by comedic roles. Recently, the queer relationships in the Philippine media have increased as more and more members of the LGBTQIA+ community pushed for the normalization of queer love and gender equality in society while breaking away from the conventions of middle-class media and literature (Beltran, 2020). However, the issue with the credibility of straight actors playing the LGBTQIA+ roles and the visibility of LGBTQIA+ artists remains a dominant cause of concern in topics of LGBTQIA+ representation in our country (Katipunan, 2020).

“The Internet communication platform carries information developed by many types of organizations, including the mass media, social media, and those that offer other products and services” (Shoemaker & Reese, 2014, p.131). The evolution of technology and the rise of digital platforms and formats have radically changed the media landscape, leaving it fragmented and highly competitive. As the media landscape changes, so are the people. It reflects the changing habits of consumers and producers alike. Consequently, the organization has to consider the ease with which content can now be produced and distributed by individuals, and has to rethink the way they produce and distribute content and sell advertising.

On one hand, this has created more opportunities to reach audiences and generate revenue through advertising, subscriptions, and other means. On the other hand, it has also made it more challenging to produce quality content that can cut through the noise and stand out. Thus, to get ahead of these challenges and continue to thrive, media organizations need to adapt to new media consumption patterns, leverage emerging technologies, and transform their business models in order to stay relevant in the minds of consumers.

It is also important to note that the media exists in a highly political environment. The government and its regulations sometimes exert considerable influence over the content of media outlets. Regulations such as the ownership and management of mass media are limited to Filipino citizens (Vera Files, 2022), and regulatory bodies such as the Movies and Television Review and Classification Board or the MTRCB (Pasion, 2016). However, there are instances where the governing body exerts pressure and thus impacts the production and distribution of media content. For instance, one of the largest media outlets in the country, the ABS-CBN was forced to shut down amidst the controversial hostile relationship with Pres. Duterte (Punay & Nonato, 2020). Although the president denied such allegations, several critics remain cynical about the unjust shutdown of the ABS-CBN network.

Aside from political forces, economic constraints also have an influence on the production and creation of media content (Croteau & Hoynes, 2019). As information becomes a commodity and media outlets increasingly rely on advertising revenue, content producers are being forced to shift their focus towards maximizing viewership and profits. Subscriptions have long been a staple of magazines, newspapers, television and cable networks, and other traditional media properties. Charging users for access to content made sense when the only way to get content was from the company that created it. For instance, streaming websites such as Youtube, Spotify, and Netflix only provide access and perks to their subscribed users. Hence, media organizations are forced to keep up with these sites and shift to a more digital platform to keep their audience and revenues. As such, several companies like the ABS-CBN and GMA shifted to more digitalized and subscription platforms such as the TVplus black box, and social media channels on Youtube and Facebook.

In line with the recent national and local elections, this blog post will discuss the political impact of the media and what is its role in the results of the concluded Philippine elections.

Cushion (2019) emphasized that while there is an increase in opportunities for political participation among citizens, it has remained a mediated experience for many. Most individuals cannot afford to directly meet and participate in campaign rallies and debates. Moreover, the pandemic has magnified the obstacles to physically attending and engaging with candidates and has settled in online and mediatized participation. With reliance on mediatized coverage of political events and information gathering, people will encounter diverse narratives which can be either factual or misleading. The 2022 Philippine election has been described as the “most consequential election” for the country and its citizens. However, various controversies such as trolling, misinformation, fake news over the internet, and fear of dirty and cheated elections have flooded over social media platforms such as Facebook and Twitter. For instance, Marcos Jr. has denied the alleged trolls but a website exposing troll pages and accounts on Facebook has found a number of state-sponsored, red-tagging troll accounts on the social media platform (Maru, 2022). Furthermore, an international news website, Los Angeles Times has published news stating how the Marcoses have been “engineered” by a network of trolls to rewrite the dictator’s history through a Tiktok- a widely used social media app in the country. The application was streamed with clips romanticizing the political dynasty of the Marcoses aimed to win over later generations of the population (Pierson, 2022). This scheme is somehow similar to how Trump traversed his campaign in 2016. Both have utilized social media platforms for propaganda and agenda-setting. In addition, Trump has only been available for interviews by partisan supporting channels, Marcos had done the same by only attending debates organized by SMNI, a supporting news channel.

These instances have not only illustrated how great the impact of media in rewriting narratives but has displayed the impact of media in politics, how media content shapes audiences’ perception and reality, and how these perceptions turn into political behavior and participation.