IF you haven’t seen it yet, here’s a copy of “Don’t be too CNN,” the music video that’s criticizing Western media such as CNN for allegedly demonizing China and coming out with distorted reports on the unrest in Tibet.

And here’s a Reuters video report on the “Don’t be too CNN” video.

Now, I’m not the biggest fan of the Chinese government, though I find a lot to admire about China and its culture. Frankly, however, I can understand the frustration of some Chinese citizens over how Western media portrays their country. For all its claims of being objective, it’s hard not to think of media outlets such as CNN as being biased in presenting the Western viewpoint or version of events. Yup, I know there’s no such thing as complete objectivity, but Western media, intentionally or not, views everything through its own eyes and set of values, which it then tries to apply to the non-Western world.

This seeming bias has become even more pronounced in a post-9/11 world and the neverending “War on Terror,” almost as if it were unpatriotic for any mainstream media outlet in the US to criticize the American government or offer dissenting opinions on the war against terrorists. How many years did George W. Bush get a free ride from US media? Which prompted people to look for alternative news sources such as blogs and media outlets such as Al Jazeera. Whether you agree with what’s on Al Jazeera or not, it owes its success to the perception of people that they can find stories and viewpoints here that you probably weren’t going to see on CNN.

It’s almost taken for granted by Western media that the Chinese people are not free and are unhappy, and I suppose with the way the Internet is regulated in China, many foreigners just assume that the Chinese netizens who speak out against the Western media’s alleged distortions are brainwashed, coerced, or paid by the government. Because they just assume that’s the way it must be, yet who speaks for the Chinese, if not themselves? The reality is probably quite complicated — certainly more so than the West’s penchant for painting things in black and white and designating one Evil Empire after another.

“Quid est veritas?” Pilate once asked. “What is truth?” Now that question is being asked in cyberspace.

Then, as now, there are no easy answers.

SOME people just pay lip service to the youth, but I’m a big believer in evolution and revolution. That’s what we’re seeing now in media, and while I’m hardly young anymore, I’ve done my best to keep learning, reinventing myself and embracing and instigating change. The alternative is to become a living fossil, which unfortunately is what some of the (usually older) people in media are.

Two events reminded me of the need to continue reaching out to the youth, and to always be ahead of the pack. Last week, I was asked by my friend Grace Cuenca of PR firm Strategic Edge to give a talk to her class. Grace teaches an introduction to PR class at Mapua, and my audience consisted of young business administration students. Nope, I wasn’t there to talk about PR — in fact, I hate people who think of blogging and online media as a PR tool, and who confuse journalism with writing nothing but positive stuff about company. Instead, Grace wanted me to talk about new media and share my experiences as the multimedia editor of the number one Philippine online news site.

Well, I don’t know if her students were just being polite when they were laughing at my jokes, but I hope somehow I was able to impart some knowledge. You see, I believe in very casual presentations and talking the language of the audience I’m addressing. In this case, it helped that my message was basically that the blogs, podcasts and online video that these young people are very much familiar with and which they are already taking for granted, are being embraced by mainstream media. Yup, the old fogeys are finally getting it!

[Read the rest of this entry »]

UPDATE: Added comment on auto-play.

HERE’S a cool Philippine video site that shows how TV networks can make the transition to the Web. Visit ProbeTV.com. (Well, OK, except it seems the videos are on auto-play, which can be pretty annoying, hmm.)

Check out these clips.

Kudos to Probe TV. And thanks to Karen Borbon for the heads up

UPDATE: The Multimedia section of the Glorietta Blast site is already up. Here’s a screenshot of the Flash interactive map that Justin Calingasan of our Tech team developed.

IT’S another tragedy, and sometimes it really gets disheartening to be the messenger who brings you the bad news. But it’s a job that somebody has to do.

Our Glorietta Blast Special Site is already up to give you all the latest developments on this tragedy.

You could also check out my Breaking News story on some of the bloggers who covered the Makati blast.

Here’s an interesting postscript: one of the bloggers I cited in my Blog Addicts entry and the Breaking News story apparently has been getting a lot of comments from visitors who stumbled upon his Multiply site via INQUIRER.net.

The blogger, whose nickname is Disney, gave INQUIRER.net permission to use his photos, some of which you can now see on our homepage as of this writing.

I believe you’ll see even more of this kind of convergence between mainstream media and bloggers/citizen journalists. Thanks again, Disney.

FORMER president Joseph Estrada was found not guilty of perjury, but has been found guilty of plunder. He has been sentenced to reclusion perpetua or a maximum of 40 years in prison.

His co-accused in the plunder case, his son Senator Jinggoy Estrada and lawyer Edward Serapio, have been found not guilty.

Visit INQUIRER.net Breaking News and The Estrada Trial special site for updates.

What do you think of the decision? Weigh in on the issue in our Vox Populi blog.