Boy Abunda and the “entertainmentization” of news

By John Reiner M. Antiquerra
Published in PJR Reports, November-December 2011

Showbiz news used to consist only of a segment and were usually aired near the end—after the “hard” news on politics, business, and social issues.

Today’s showbiz news is no longer confined to one segment and is usually distributed throughout the news program, and delivered by a host—a showbiz celebrity in some cases—specially assigned to dish out the day’s showbiz gossip.

With Boy Abunda co-anchoring ABS-CBN 2’s late-night news program Bandila, is showbiz news reporting again on the brink of change, assuming that the formula the network has adopted succeeds and becomes one more model for the rest to follow?

The entry of Abunda—that broadcast anomaly of a talent manager, public relations man, showbiz host, product endorser, and public affairs show host—in October of this year into Bandila led to an emphasis on entertainment news. As one of the four main anchors of Bandila, Abunda reports entertainment news, celebrity doings, and special interest features. He’s also the only one of the four who holds live studio interviews with celebrity subjects.

When it debuted five years ago, Bandila promised hard news as well as human interest stories and reports on often ignored news subjects. Bandila has since then morphed into a part-entertainment news program.

Bandila

Abunda’s move to Bandila is among the results of the merger of Showbiz News Ngayon (SNN), Abunda’s former weeknight entertainment newscast, and the news program. Abunda in fact claimed in an interview with the Philippine Entertainment Portal (Sept. 9, 2011), a showbiz-oriented online news site, that it was his idea to merge the two programs.

“It was an idea that I brought up many, many months ago…Less than a year ago we started to talk about it,” Abunda said.

Abunda said the “‘merger’ is a practical move since both programs air late and both deliver “news.” Except that (SNN is entertainment/current events) and wala pang konsepto na pinagsanib ang news at saka ang current events at ang entertainment news (Except that SNN is entertainment/current events and no news program has combined news, current events and entertainment news).”

Entertainment news is a regular in the Philippines press with segments and sections dedicated to entertainment and lifestyle. In TV, “ChikaMinute” of GMA-7’s 24 Oras, “Star Patrol” of ABS-CBN 2’s TV Patrol, and “Showbiz Aksyon” of TV5’s Aksyon are some of the examples.

What Bandila can claim it has introduced is an emphasis on entertainment news in a late-night news program.

In primetime news programs, the entertainment segment hosts are not part of the main line-up of anchors, but in Bandila, Abunda is one of the main anchors and not a mere segment host.

Abunda said “I sit as one of the anchors. Hindi ito iyong tatawagin ako, ‘Ngayon [for] entertainment news.’ Hindi. I open the show, and I close the show with them (anchors). So halimbawa, it opens with Julius [Babao], Karen [Davila], Ces [Drilon], ako… I will also close that way. So exciting siya. Bago, bago (I sit as one of the anchors. This is not a program in which the anchor calls me, as in “Now for entertainment news.” No. I open the show and I close the show with the anchors. For example, it opens with Julius Babao, Karen Davila, Ces Drilon, then me…I will also close that way. It’s exciting. It’s new).”

Entertainment news

PJR Reports (PJRR) reviewed Bandila from Oct. 3-7 and 10-14, the first two weeks when Abunda started as its new anchor. PJRR also reviewed the program from Sept. 26-30 to compare Bandila before and after Abunda joined it.

Since Abunda joined Bandila, entertainment news reports have been distributed throughout the newscast, unlike in the pre-Abunda Bandila, where entertainment and special interest news were aired near the end of the newscast.

The program has also increased the number of entertainment news and features. Bandila airs the latest stories on the lives of celebrities, but mostly personality-centered stories have been added to the reformatted Bandila.

Entertainment news reports are also lengthier. But some of the reports in the episodes reviewed were stretched and did not provide much information. For example, Bandila featured the supposed stories behind sexy magazine covers. Not only did the report feature only one magazine, it reported only the conditions set by celebrities during shoots and the information that the magazines do not pay the celebrities they feature on their covers.

But the most apparent change in Bandila is the addition of the interview segment called “Ikaw na (You’re the man)!” which caps the newscast for the day. The one-on-one interview-type segment with celebrities run from six to eight minutes.

‘Ikaw na’

During the period monitored, Abunda’s interviewees were mostly celebrities and the interview questions expectedly trivial. Samples: “If you can change any part of your body, what would it be and why?” “If you had a third eye, where would you put it?” “If you had wings, where would you fly to?”

‘King of talk’

Abunda has been called the “King of Talk” perhaps because he can talk almost endlessly without saying much, as he has amply demonstrated in the talk-oriented and entertainment programs he hosts.

He hosts the Sunday “showbiz-oriented” program The Buzz and the weekly one-on-one talk show The Bottomline. He used to co-host SNN with Kris Aquino, and later with Bianca Gonzales.

Abunda is a known endorser of some politicians and in fact supported Benigno Aquino III for President during the May 2010 campaign. He is the political adviser of Partylist group Ang Ladlad and recently announced plans to run for public office.

Aside from being a celebrity host and a political figure, Abunda is also a businessman, managing big stars such as Kris Aquino (Aquino’s sister) and Ai-Ai de las Alas. He also owned top showbiz PR and talent management company Backroom, Inc. for a long time.

Aquino connection, conflict of interest

Conflict of interest is one of the main issues in entertainment news reporting in the Philippines, which qualifies as journalism in the same way that professional wrestling in the US qualifies as a sport. Many members of the entertainment press are talent managers themselves, while some moonlight as PR persons for celebrities.

During the monitor period, Abunda expressed his opinion on an issue involving Pres. Aquino and commented on Kris Aquino being invited to the United Nations. After his report on Kris Aquino, Abunda was all opinion.

While his connection with the Aquinos is known, it has never occurred to Abunda to explicitly disclose his closeness to the family. Neither has he ever inhibited himself from reporting or commenting on Kris Aquino’s latest escapade. Neither did he disclose in an “Ikaw na!” episode that his interviewee Aiko Melendez is one of the clients of his former talent agency, Backroom, Inc.