From the Mouths of Babes

A TV news program for—and by—the youth
From the Mouths of Babes
By Venus L. Elumbre

The youth do make up majority of the country’s population. But seldom are they heard, even in media.

When they become the subject, their stories are seen from the point of view of adults. After all, the reporter or the writer of the story is usually an adult.

According to a 2001 study on children and media conducted by the University of the Philippines-Communication Re-search, children’s voices were not heard enough in mass media. Worse, their opinions are being stifled.

“More often than not, children in media are confined to remain as ‘talents’ or ‘hosts’ and their participation hardly ever extends to program planning, conceptualization, or production,” the study noted.

And with telefantasya and animé programs becoming more and more popular among the young audience, could media still give space and airtime for children’s issues and educate them at the same time?

From the children, to the children
An innovative and child-friendly TV show is giving young people the chance to be heard.

Kabataan News Network (KNN) is a 30-minute TV newsmagazine that addresses the young people’s need for self-expression.

“It is the only show in the country wherein young people really take charge,” says Catherine Colmenares, associate director for children’s media of the Probe Media Foundation Inc. (PMFI).

Aired every Saturday, 3 p.m., KNN is funded by the United Nations Children’s Fund (Unicef) and produced by the PMFI.

“KNN has taken it to another level. We not only want the show that is for the youth but we want them to produce it because we want to see from their lens how they view the world,” Colmenares says.

KNN is the brainchild of Dale Rutstein, Unicef’s chief of communication in the Philippines. In 2003, Rutstein talked with PMFI about creating a children’s TV program in the Philippines. PMFI then started training young people from across the country in broadcast production.

In October of the same year, KNN began airing in ANC.  It moved to ABC-5 about a year after.

Children aged 13 to 19 make up KNN’s pool of over 100 reporters. KNN reporters form a diverse group—a mix of Christians, Muslims, and some from ethnic minorities. Half of the KNN reporters come from the urban poor sector.

“In one show, you don’t only get the opinion of Manila, you get the opinion of several areas in the country. I don’t think there’s a show that provides that kind of input at one sitting,” according to Colmenares.

At last, freedom
KNN currently has 12 bureaus around the country: Mountain Province, Capiz, Cebu, Davao, Zamboanga del Sur, Manila, Camarines Norte, Baguio, Saranggani, Dumaguete, Mindoro, and North Cotabato.

In November 2005, KNN was cited one of the top 10 finalists to the Child Rights Award in the Asia-Pacific Region.

KNN provides a venue for children’s participation in virtually all stages of production—proposing stories, inter-viewing, researching, writing the script, and shooting. Even the name of the program was chosen by the young reporters themselves.

The reporters are given the freedom to do any story they deem interesting and important. “The only time we say no is if their lives will be put at risk,” says Colmenares.

The thrust of every story in KNN is children’s rights. In-depth stories fall into broad categories: “my society,” “my environment,” “my family,” and “my friends.”

Mini segments include fads (“Uso”); admirable youth leaders (“Saludo kami”); kids with unique talents (“Kakaiba”); kid-on-the-street interviews (“Ano sa tingin n’yo?”); and the reporters’ stand on a certain issue (“Boses ng bureau”).

Unicef provided each bureau with tools such as camera, tripod, microphone, and other digital video equipment while PMFI trains the reporters in newsgathering, research, video production, and camera handling.

Every year, KNN reporters undergo two follow-up trainings in their respective areas to discuss the weak points of the bureau. PMFI also organizes annual national trainings where resource persons are invited to speak on certain issues such as human rights advocacy.

KNN reporters have been doing an impressive work, according to their superiors. “They work like professionals talaga. They really put their heart into it,” says Astrid Tobias, one of the bureau managers in Manila. KNN’s bureau managers supervise the children in their production and send the tapes to PMFI’s office in Manila for editing and post-production.

Doing something
For the KNN reporters, their involvement in the media has done them a lot of good.

A campus journalist during her grade school years, Dumaguete bureau’s Wiem Bonganciso knows how hard it is not to be heard.

“Nobody took my opinions at that time. Sabi nila wala kaming karapatan kasi bata pa kami. Hindi raw namin alam sinasabi namin. I thought it was unfair,” she recalls.

When she heard about KNN from its former reporters, she auditioned and was accepted. “I took this opportunity for me to express myself. At least dito kino-consider ang views namin,” says Wiem.

What do they gain from being KNN reporters?

“Aside from exposure, we’re doing something for a change,” says 17-year-old Katreng Candelaria.

For incoming college freshman Emer Encinas, 15, KNN serves as his training ground since he plans to take up mass communication and eventually become a media practitioner.

Capiz bureau reporter Janus Dellava, 17, believes that KNN has helped him develop his confidence in speaking in front of the camera. “Through KNN, I realized that we really have to cast away our inhibitions,” he says.

Being in media has changed the way they perceive media.

“Doon ko nalaman kung gaano ka-powerful ang media,” says Bonganciso. She relates one instance when she went to a mayor’s office for an interview.  “Kapag tingin sa ’yo bata ka lang, di ka papansinin. Pero kapag sinasabing KNN ka, media ako, nag-iiba ang perception nila. Nagiging mabait sila sa ’yo,” she observes.

According to Manila bureau reporter Danilo Maderazo, he used to be a passive TV viewer before he joined KNN. Now he is more critical with the news.

Aside from empowering the youth to speak out, KNN seeks to change the way adolescents are seen and valued in society. Some KNN reporters believe it is wrong to brand today’s youth as too aggressive and rebellious. “We have our own reasons kung bakit ganito kami. Things are changing in the world. You listen to us at makisabay na lang kayo sa pagbabago,” Bonganciso points out.

“A lot of adults think that what kids think are fluffy lang, mababaw. But obviously, they have something to say and they really matter,” according to Tobias.

“It shows professional journalists that young people can produce stories as good as the real journalists,” Colmenares adds.

Now that young people are given the chance to speak, they are looking forward to being heard. As KNN reporter Bonganciso puts it: “It’s our time to show our own stories. Pakinggan n’yo naman kami. We are the kabataan. Ganito ang istorya namin.”

— With research from Hanna Mahalet Antolin and Leona Clarence Daracan

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