Politics often pits a country’s presidency and its own media, in a perpetual arm-wrestling match. The Philippines is no exception, save perhaps when its one media darling, former President Cory Aquino, passed away last August 1, after 18-month battle with cancer. In a cathartic display of grief, media mourned in a way that hasn’t been seen since President Ramon Magsaysay’s death in 1957.
For the traditional nine days of mourning, or the pasiyam, the Philippine Daily Inquirer abandoned its usual blue masthead and strayed into the frays of yellow. To pay respects to the late Philippine leader, who made the sunny color her trademark, the PDI took on a honey-mustard shade (presumably, to avoid confusion with another major daily). It was a poignant gesture, since the publication owed much of its credibility and popularity to Cory’s own rise to power.
Elsewhere on TV, radio and online, media entities made similar tributes. As the official network for the coverage on Cory’s wake and funeral, ABS-CBN broadcast a torrent of music videos, farewells from its stable of talents, and several of her iconic sound bites.
In cable TV land, all of Solar’s eight niche channels tied yellow ribbons on their station IDs.
As did many websites on the Internet. Yahoo Philippines’ purple logo was beribboned on its homepage, and it also opened a blog in tribute. Netizens added yellow ribbons to their avatars and sites. Gmanews.tv followed Aquino’s cancer timeline, and milestones in her political and personal life were posted on abs-cbnnews.com.
Even at a televised University Athletic Association of the Philippines (UAAP) basketball game, usually a rabid clash of La Salle green and Ateneo blue, thousands of fans were united in Cory yellow.
However, despite the solemnity of the coverage, there were unbelievable moments that erupted most spectacularly and went viral overnight.
There was the Wowowee blunder, committed by game show host Willie Revillame, when his program shared screen time with the Aquino funeral cortege. Complaining about the unfortunate juxtaposition, his on-air rant made him the most vilified celebrity (again) on TV and on the web.
Journalists fared no better, as reporter after reporter unwittingly interchanged the names of current President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo with Aquino’s—live on both radio and TV. One reporter referred to the deceased as “Gloria Aquino.”
Fortunately, a gaffe on live broadcast is fleeting and easily forgotten; one on print, as Manila Bulletin found out, is forever.
The oldest of Philippine dailies has always shied away from controversy, but when a photo—of former President Aquino’s casket—ran with the caption “Military honor guard carefully moves the coffin of President Arroyo out of the Manila Cathedral,” readers caught, clipped, scanned and sent the slip post-haste through the Internet.
If it’s any consolation to Manila Bulletin, Yahoo! Philippines and ABSCBNnews.com did it first. Last Sunday, the web portal published an ABS-CBN news story, wherein the same faux pas was committed not once, but five times.
Given the local and international interest, ABSCBNnews.com reported that cyber criminals capitalized on the surge in online searches for news about Aquino by leading them to sites that download malicious software. Internet security firm Trend Micro said searching with the words “Corazon Aquino’s death” led users to several malicious sites. A Trojan arrived as a file dropped by other malware and were downloaded unknowingly by waylaid visitors.
In life, Cory might not have had the glamour of a Princess Diana or a Michael Jackson, but her sacrifice and her contribution to Philippine democracy earned her one last grand march, lovingly and memorably played out on all media and without scandal. For that alone, she outshone them all.
