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A primary issue of concern in the media and communication arena is the existence of entertainment culture. Entertainment culture that is synonymous to “packaging.” It has been said that media is no longer the business of informing but it now concentrates on the task of entertaining. Postman’s fear is that present-day information is being reduced to mere entertainment. That relevant language is being replaced by surface theatrics. Reporting and imparting news has become marginally biased. There is a lot of propaganda created, all for the sake of keeping the public riveted on their channel. Propaganda, and the art of it, is now raised to an alarming level due to the emergence of new media. New media such as, computer aided graphics, sound engineering, the accessibility of information via the web and so forth. All these in conjunction with a business savvy allows the producer to throw in “everything he’s got” to come up with an entertaining piece. Notice how content is now secondary. There is no doubt that the power of media can transform any story. Given the same content and situation, the treatment will make all the difference. Case in point, Pigafetta’s account of the Battle of Mactan and the recent Manila filmfest entry, Lapu-Lapu Both based on the same historical incident; treated with, one as information being the priority and the other a box-office financial return; one can say that they may have even been two different topics altogether.
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