the wowowee stampede comes as a natural shocker for those waking up on a lazy saturday weekend. as of the latest count, 79 fatalities have been counted and 145 have been injured. the impact of this news has been so great that not only gma-7, abs-cbn's rival station has given this airtime; even cnn has posted news on this tragedy.
as a testament to abs-cbn's professionalism, sensitivity to the local psyche, and speed and mobility of its resources, it was able to marshal it's news staff to report the incidence non-stop. the show was understandably cancelled, with willie revillame, the show's usually rambunctious host, apologizing profusely to the general public and the audience present.
(the show was supposed to have it's 1st anniv, with big prizes being given up to a total of P1M. for an average earning of P100, getting a prize or even just escaping the daily doldrum that is the philippine experience is a treat in itself.)
abs-cbn also offered to pay up for the medical and funeral expenses of the victims. the tickets of the current show would also be valid for the rescheduled show; the prizes are not to be touched, for use of the follow-up show.
it was expected that abs-cbn management and hosts would apologize on tv and to the directly involved audience. what struck me most was when willie apologized, the crowd was saying, "di nyo 'yan kasalanan" (it's not the station's fault).
applauses and boos can be staged, but interspersed shouts of forgiveness is rare, considering that the crowd went through a harrowing experience. the mere fact that you are deeply apologetic and are willing to do anything to rectify the situation beyond the perceived call of duty, i guess for pinoys this makes you more credible, more trustworthy.
this crisis management so far ranks with the cebu pacific crash a few years back, but with a greater media impact. on the political front, with abs-cbn at the loggerheads with the pgma administration, this event was an unexpected silver lining. even more, abs-cbn is now perceived as more credible than the present administration. (pgma can only order a 48 hour deadline on how this happened and issue statements on sympathy, but she has not done anything this fast to help the victims.) any moves on her part would seem routinary at the very least (you are supposed to conduct investigations, which usually don't lead anywhere); at most it would seem opportunistic (why would you get in on the action, when your legitimacy is questioned?).
let's offer our sympathies and prayers to those who suffered in this incident, and let's see how this incident changes the dynamic between a maligned government and an increasingly-powerful and omnipresent media empire.
Saturday, February 04, 2006
tv tragedy
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6 comments:
Well, it made the news here too.
You are obviously a paid hack of the network. Of course they are liable for these deaths. They generated so much hype and played on the greed of these gullible people. Worse they even pushed through with their Pinoy Big Brother Party at the Baywalk the next day. They partied while there were some 70-odd wakes in the country.
Boyd
You are obviously a paid hack of the network.
==> i wish i was, then i'd be raking it in. i prefer etheria over panday myself, but that's for another post.
Of course they are liable for these deaths.
==> ideally everyone in an accident should, like if a bus runs over a pedestrian.
==> a better example in contrast would be the air philippines crash where the victims' families were at a loss to how to handle the tragedy and the officials were either nowhere to be found or as confused as the families.
==> what i'm saying is that given the realities of the philippine situation, it is a rare instance that an erring corporation goes above and beyond its legal minimal obligations to compensate the victims.
They generated so much hype and played on the greed of these gullible people.
==> i think abs-cbn isnt the only one guilty of playing "on the greed of these gullible people." it's also a sign of the times that the poor depend on illusions of winning big rather than availing an integrated social program in place, but then again, that's another post.
Worse they even pushed through with their Pinoy Big Brother Party at the Baywalk the next day. They partied while there were some 70-odd wakes in the country.
==> there is the sensitivity issue at hand, but you can't fully expect the station to be moping around for nine days while the other station(s) take advantage of the slack.
==> anyway boyd, if you believe the station was culpable for what happened, i agree with you there. all i'm saying is that they handled the post-tragedy situation better than expected.
==> peace.
kupal nun ah... kung binayaran ka man ng network edi dapat di ka na nagwowork and you'd be templeful with cash? and i guess they're too busy fixing up the hospital and funeral expenses of those who died, i dont think magbabayad pa sila ng ganyan.
You moonlight with ABS-CBN? No wonder you can afford to buy bambi a frap everyday.
he cant... that's why i know he's not paid to do that....
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