Boon or Bane

BOON OR BANE? TV 5 is now one of the most competitive television stations in the Philippines; providing quality programs of entertainment and information, and even finding its way to be on top like the two big networks: ABS-CBN and GMA. It surprises the viewers continuously with the network’s star studded shows, as a matter of fact a lot of stars from the two mentioned big networks seem to use TV 5 as their fallback station. Truly, it is opening a big passage way of opportunities and an excellent venue for exposure, being shown on T.V. makes a lot of difference for the people right now. “Exposure”, this is what television networks like TV 5 is offering; the limelight is aimed at you, you are given the chance to prove and show yourself off. But the big issue here is not just the popularity or reputation you could be gaining, it is the mere fact that “Too much exposure will somehow do no good at all”. The Alternative Classroom Learning Experience or the ACLE conducted last August 25, has provided a lot of choices for the students to enrich their awareness and knowledge of the things that seem to be disregarded, sugar-coated or hidden- the things and issues that deserve to be uncovered and pondered. I chose to attend the Broadcast Associations’ (BroadAss) forum/debate on TV 5’s controversial show, Face to Face with the theme “Sawsawan na!”. This is a really timely issue and very much appropriate to discuss especially for students like me who prepares to be a future media practitioner. The debate was all about the issues that Face to Face is encountering right now and the many criticisms being thrown to it, this was facilitated by the BroadAss members and the debaters were the members of the Debate Society. It was absolutely interesting, the debate was heated up every single moment; of course there are two sides, one side approves it and the other vehemently rejects it. They have raised a lot of issues regarding Face to Face and I myself have been