Who’s Worthy of the Position?
Democracy is one word that would best describe Philippine Elections. The power of the people to choose who is rightful and worthy for the positions dozens of candidates are fighting for. Sure democracy is being implemented in elections but media greatly affects the voting decisions of the people. How does the Media do that? Why are people so reliant on media?
Two theories in the Metaphor of the Conduit may help us answer those questions. First is the Hypodermic Needle Effect Theory. It states that the media “injects” certain information to the passive audience so the people would accept the information thus, the media would get the desired response from them. The slogans and catch-phrases of the candidates are specially made to mold the minds of the voters and make the voters believe that this certain candidate would fit the standards of the people. Some favorite attachments next to their names are makabayan, makamasa, and maka-Diyos. These names and some slogans which are inject to the people have implied information such as “this candidate is maka-Diyos. He has a set of morals therefore you should vote for him” and “this candidate is maka-Bayan. He thinks of the Bayan first before anything else therefore you should vote for him”. The people’s thinking is shaped into uniformity but how would you explain the candidates who lose? Let’s take candidates maka-Diyos and maka-bayan for example. When the election results are out, candidate maka-Diyos won to candidate maka-bayan. Well everyone got those perceptions but not everyone has being “maka-bayan” in their standards and criteria. This theory also gives support on why candidates who sprinkle TV and movie stars on their campaign paraphernalia win. Many people idolize these stars and so they believe in what their idols say about the candidate.
Second is the Uses and Gratifications Approach. The theory explains the functions and uses of the media. It aims to explain how mass communication satisfy the people needs, to find the essential reasons why people use media and to spot both the positive and the negative effects or consequences on the people who use the media. Voters tend to rely on media because it’s the easiest way to gather source. Again, let’s take candidate maka-Diyos for example. Voter 1 and 2 wants to check whether the flyers and TV ads are telling the truth. Voter 1 rushes to his newspaper archive and looks for certain articles which may prove or disprove the claims. Voter 2 on the other hand went to the office of the BIR to check on the transactions of the certain candidate. Voter 1 saw good articles about candidate maka-Diyos and voter 2 saw that the candidate’s transactions are clean. So they both assumed that candidate maka-Diyos is indeed maka-Diyos. The consequence of this discovery is that they will most probably vote for candidate maka-Diyos than maka-bayan.
To sum it all up, it’s the media’s job to propagate messages. These messages which are given by the mass media is reliable enough because they get their information from first hand sources. The people then have the opportunity to accept and integrate the messages that the media sends. People have different norms, therefore; a universal criteria on who deserves to win in the elections cannot be made.
Bibliography:
§ Many authors/researchers. (September 9, 2004). Mass Media. Retrieved January 1, 2008, from http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Mass%20Media/.
§ Many authors/researchers. (September 9, 2004). Uses and Gratifications Approach. Retrieved January 1, 2008, from http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Mass%20Media/Uses_and_Gratifications_Approach.doc/.
§ Many authors/researchers. (September 9, 2004). Hypodermic Needle Theory. Retrieved January 1, 2008, from http://www.tcw.utwente.nl/theorieenoverzicht/Theory%20clusters/Mass%20Media/Hypodermic_Needle_Theory.doc/.
