NEWS COMPARISON

ABS-CBN channel 2 and GMA 7 are the 2 biggest networks in the country. Some of their news programs are the TV Patrol World and 24-Oras respectively. Last June 30, 2009, both of them cover the updates on Cesar Mancao II to Dacer-Corbito killings.

This issue is about the former police Senior Superintendent Cezar Mancao II who entered a “not guilty" plea on the killing of veteran publicist Salvador Dacer and driver Emmanuel Corbito in November 2000.Mancao made the plea before the Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 18 under Judge Myrna Fernandez.
Earlier on June 30, the Department of Justice placed Mancao in the government’s Witness Protection Program (WPP), making him an official witness to the twin killings. Justice Secretary Agnes Devanadera said the department approved Mancao’s application for the program because it fulfilled the law’s requirements that “the testimony must be very material and that there is serious threat to his life and to his family’s life."
Based on how they aired each report, I observed that both of them are under the different mass communication theories. First, the Magic Bullet or the Hypodermic Needle model which considers mass media effect to be direct. Both news oriented shows has powerful influence that may control or alter the audience. Second, the Media System Dependency Theory that predicts that people depend on media information to meet certain needs and achieve certain goals. For example, people are watching television news programs to gain updated information with regards to some social issues like Mancao pleads to Dacer-Corbito killings. And the third one is the Agenda-Setting Theory. According to this theory, media have a large influence on the audiences by their choice of what stories to consider news worthy and how much prominence and space to them.

In conformance with the videos of TV Patrol and 24-Oras, there are some parts that they have almost the same video footage especially on the arrival of Mancao to airport from Florida. Another thing, both of them exhibit the same angle, a ½ shot on pone of their interview with Justice Secretary Agnes Devenadera.

Regarding on the content and how they presented the gathered data, 24-Oras reported the issue a quite longer than on how TV Patrol World did. Nevertheless, TV Patrol World, I think, has more concise and clear report than the other because the reporter itself and how he/she delivers the news content matters.