An Open Letter to Mr. Manny V. Pangilinan to keep TEN: The Evening News ON AIR
Dear Mr. Pangilinan
Your acquisition of Mr. Cojuanco’s shares in TV5 will surely bring about a huge change in the company and the network will definitely enter in the arena of Broadcast Duopoly loaded with big guns. Part of the “Big Guns” that you have are the top rating shows during weekends that includes “Talentadong Pinoy”, Who Wants to be a Millionaire?”and of course, the ground breaking News Program, TEN: The Evening News. With its unique format, TEN was able to capture its niche – The Youth. If you are to remove TEN, what will happen is that the voice of the youth will fade for it is thru this News Program, the youth can express their views and opinions on air and virally affects other youth viewers as well.
TEN has a following and it is growing as seen on their facebook page which by the way, has more following already than other Philippine news programs on facebook. It has a following because never before in the history of broadcasting that a news program broke the orthodox way of delivering the news. TEN, for the first time in history, was the only one who thought of making the “inverted pyramid” in journalism stand as a “normal pyramid” and it worked! Backed up by the Semi-formal clothing of the anchors and the direct to the point opinions from not just the anchors but from the viewers as well, it has captured its target market. Now, other networks are following its format as the way “Failon Ngayon” is showing in ABS-CBN by allowing Anchorman Ted Failon to wear casual during his program.
As much as I would like to be like you when it comes to decision making, in which you are pretty damn good at, I could not fathom the idea as to why you came up with the decision to remove TEN on air. Maybe it is what your advisors have told you but if I may be frank, they are wrong and should be fired for giving you wrong and irresponsible data to decide on. Will you allow the whispers of your advisors to be heard more than the cries of the youth who wants to keep TEN? If your basis for removing TEN on air is a managerial decision, please allow me to make an example of Warren Buffet. As you may probably already know, Warren Buffet’s style whenever he decides to buy a company would be to look at the people who run that company. If he finds them honest and with good qualities, he buys it. With TEN, you not only have an honest program and innovative people that runs it, you also have viewers who are honest, open-minded and more importantly individuals who wants to be a part of an organization (TEN) that helps shape a better society.
It is widely known that you are an advocate of change. You have started the “Ako Mismo” campaign. Akala ko po ba “Ako Mismo”? Here we are now, following your call when all of a sudden, you will remove the avenue for us to air our voice to make a difference. Change is not about going back to what you use to do before. It is about moving forward. No glass ever became sand again and no bread ever became wheat again. If you wish for growth, you don’t plant another seed but rather you nourish the seedling that you have so that it will bear fruits and from its fruit you will get new seeds to plant. If you do wish to improve the news and current affairs department of TV5 then improve what you have not scrap TEN on air. A way to improve would be to have a better and more relaxed set, high tech effects, and more live reports will really make a huge difference.
Removing TEN on air is no longer about TV ratings. It is not about the Lopez’s or the Gozon’s. It is not about you or Tony Boy Cojuanco. It is about a cause. A cause that exceeds the petty differences among networks. It is about giving voice to citizen journalists. Citizen Journalists that will revolutionize conventional journalism. Wouldn’t it be great if TV5 will be the pioneer for citizen journalism for our country?
We plea to you, Mr. Pangilinan, not to remove TEN: The Evening News on air. If you truly are an advocate of change in our country the way I believe you to be, we beg you to reconsider your position. In your hands lies the fate of citizen journalists who believe in your advocacy to be given a voice.
Respectfully yours,
Paul Padua
TENer/Citizen Journalist