“OVER USED FREEDOM”

Donna Joana Soriano 

Democracy where in the society is characterized by formal equality of rights and privileges. Often referred to as freedom. Mass media, a means of communication that reach large numbers of people in a short time. I can say the most influential way of pursuing people.

In the world of latest gadgets and newest trending technology, media has been also the latest trend in showing how freedom is expressed in our country. Under our constitution, we have this Bill of Rights, which includes the Freedom of Expressions.

Freedom of expression, something every media men is holding into. This right can make them say, do or write at least almost everything they want to.

Media has played a big part in achieving our so called freedom today; people during the 1986 People Power were witnesses of this event, since not everybody where near the vicinity of this historic moment, people from other part of the country witnessed it through news coverage over television and radio, pictures through the newspaper.

But today, the same power that the media once used, is still taking over the society. Everyone is so aware of how the media works; a lot of people in this business were doing things that are best beneficial to those people who have great power. So influential that even it can even change a perception of a person for a certain thing, take for example by simply choosing what brand of shampoo will you use, since there are a lot of advertisement on different brand names on television, there can be a tendency that people will try something that will be new for them or they will try it ‘cause the ad made them curious on trying it. Also like in choosing which candidate will you choose in an election, candidates spends how much for their candidacy just to be voted. The mass media may be manipulated by giving out information which may convey the real interest of the candidate, which at the end the people will choose that candidate.

Expressing out our opinions is one of the identities of being in media that at some point some media men are over rated in doing it to the point we are hurting other people’s feeling and dignity. Yes we may be exercising democracy but it is way over when we started to hurt other people. For me it is something that most people not only media people are forgetting about.