Our English-language print and broadcast media are supposed to report both the good news and bad news objectively, phrasing them as accurately and clearly as possible to avoid confusion or misunderstanding. When they mix metaphors and make ill-advised word choices in their stories, however, they not only do a great disservice to their readers but also denigrate or falsely portray the people they are reporting about.
This weekend, I found two news stories in the major Metro Manila broadsheets that have been embarrassingly less than careful in their choice of metaphors and words, as follows:
IMAGE CREDIT: COURTESY OF FREEPIKCOMPANY.COM"Fodder" found anywhere means coarse food for cattle, horses, or sheep, not food
fit for human comsumption, so even just metaphorically, it cannot
be considered "a blessing" sharable with one's countrymen.
(1) Philippine News Agency: Mistaking the word “fodder” with “blessings”Ilongga one of ‘Bayani’ awardees
ILOILO CITY, Philippines (PNA)—Marilyn “Wafa” Kasimieh left the Philippines to seek for greener pastures abroad. She found one, and now shares the fodder with her countrymen.
Kasimieh, now based in the United Arab Emirates (UAE), was one of the recipients of the 2011 Bagong Bayani Awardees for Community and Social Service, the highest award given to overseas Filipino workers (OFWs) by the Bagong Bayani Foundation in partnership with the Philippine Overseas Employment Administration (POEA).
She received the award from President Benigno S. Aquino III in a ceremony held Thursday morning at the Malacañang Palace.
The above news story is meant to extol the laudable deed of an overseas Filipino worker, but by mixing an already iffy metaphor with an ill-advised word choice, it gives that deed a derogatory character instead. The idiomatic expression “to seek greener pastures,” despite its strong literal correlation with animal feed, is perfectly acceptable to describe someone’s search for a better life or a more promising situation. But to say that the subject OFW in the story found one such greener pasture and “now shares the fodder with her countrymen” borders on the ludicrous.
The word “fodder” literally means something fed to domestic animals, especially coarse food for cattle, horses, or sheep; figuratively, it means inferior or readily available material used to supply a heavy demand, as in “gossip is
fodder for tabloids” or “soldiers are used as cannon
fodder during wartime.” So, by no stretch of the rational imagination can “fodder” be used to mean “blessings,” which is evidently what the occasion calls for and what the reporter meant in that lead sentence. Indeed, the use of the word “fodder” in that story insults both its giver and its receiver.
Newspaper reporters and editors should be much more careful and circumspect than this with their metaphors and word choices, particularly for stories meant to honor people for their good deeds. Otherwise, their stories will just end up denigrating the honorees and, in this particular case, leave a terribly bad taste in the mouth of the readers.
Here’s how that lead statement might be elevated from the animal level to the human plane:
“Marilyn “Wafa” Kasimieh left the Philippines
to seek greener pastures abroad. She found one, and
now shares her blessings with her countrymen.”
or:
“Marilyn “Wafa” Kasimieh left the Philippines
to seek greener pastures abroad. She found one, and
now shares her good fortune with her countrymen.”
(2) GMA News Online: Semantic overkill in crime reportingManila RTC orders arrest of 7 cops in ‘torture video’
The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 1 has found “probable cause” that seven policemen, including one police official, are guilty of torturing a suspect right inside a police station – as shown in a video of the crime itself that was uploaded to the Internet August last year – and ordered warrants for their arrest to be issued.
Manila RTC Judge Tita Bughao Alisuag has ordered the arrest of Senior Insp. Joselito Binayug, the alleged torturer in the video; Senior Police Officer 3 Joaquin de Guzman, SPO1 Rodolfo Ong Jr., SPO1 Dante Bautista, PO1 Nonito Binayug, PO1 Rex Binayug, and other John Does; as well as their station commander Supt. Rogelio Rosales Jr.
The lead sentence above goes grammatically and legally overboard by qualifying a “probable cause” finding by a court with that phrase indicating the likely guilt of the accused. We all know, of course, that unless an accused confesses right off to committing the crime, the determination of his or her guilt can come only after being duly tried in court. Talk of guilt is therefore for much later. This is because by definition, “probable cause” isn’t guilt per se. It refers only to:
“Apparent facts discovered through logical inquiry that would lead a reasonably intelligent and prudent person to believe that an accused person has committed a crime, thereby warranting his or her prosecution…
“Probable cause is a level of reasonable belief, based on facts that can be articulated, that is required to sue a person in civil court or to arrest and prosecute a person in criminal court. Before a person can be sued or arrested and prosecuted, the civil plaintiff or police and prosecutor must possess enough facts that would lead a reasonable person to believe that the claim or charge is true.” (
Legal Dictionary, TheFreeDictionary.com)
We can make that lead sentence grammatically and semantically aboveboard—and objective as well—by eliminating its allusion to the apparent “guilt” of the accused and referring only to the crime they are alleged to have committed, as follows:
“The Manila Regional Trial Court Branch 1
has found “probable cause” that seven policemen, including one police official, had tortured a suspect right inside a police station – as shown in a video of the crime itself that was uploaded to the Internet August last year – and ordered the issuance of warrants for their arrest.”
SHORT TAKES IN MY MEDIA ENGLISH WATCH:(1) ABS-CBN News: Subject-verb agreement dilemma
Starfish outbreak threatens corals in Negros
MANILA, Philippines – Photographs taken by divers in Barangay Siit, Siaton, Negros Oriental showed dead corals and the cause of death are crown-of-thorns starfish.
Jamie Ingram, owner of a diving resort, is worried over the degradation of the coral reef, which is the main tourist attraction in the area.
The lead sentence above has a serious subject-verb agreement dilemma in the coordinate clause “the cause of death are crown-of-thorns starfish.” Since the subject is the singular-form noun phrase “the cause of death,” it logically follows that the linking verb shouldn’t be the plural-form “are” but the singular form “is.” However, to change that linking verb to “is” won’t agree with the subject complement “crown-of-thorns starfish,” which is evidently being used in the plural form.
So how do we resolve this grammatical dilemma?
One good way is to make the term “crown-of-thorns starfish” a singular mass noun by preceding it with the article “the,” as follows:
“Photographs taken by divers in Barangay Siit, Siaton, Negros Oriental showed dead corals and that
the cause of death is the crown-of-thorns starfish.”
Another good way is to make the singular mass noun “the crown-of-thorns starfish” as the subject of that coordinate clause serving as subject complement, as follows:
“Photographs taken by divers in Barangay Siit, Siaton, Negros Oriental showed dead corals and that
the crown-of-thorns starfish is the cause of death.”
(2) ABS-CBN News: Preposition misuseCargo ship rams 2 fishing boats off Zamboanga
ZAMBOANGA CITY, Philippines – A cargo carrier rammed into 2 small fishing vessels in Zamboanga City Wednesday dawn due to strong wind gusts.
No casualties were reported.
According to Jainal Ahiyal, his fishing boat FB Sherman and another one named ZAM 2DO were anchored in a nearby coastline in Barangay Cawit when they felt a strong gust of wind.
A few minutes later, the MV Bradrick, which was being repaired a few kilometers away, was pushed against the fishing boats.
From the circumstances of the incident above, it’s not possible for the cargo carrier to have “rammed
into 2 small fishing vessels.” This is because the cargo carrier is a much larger vessel than the fishing boats and couldn’t possibly get inside them; physically, in fact, that cargo carrier could only “ram”—not “ram into”—those much smaller fishing boats. Conversely, however, those fishing boats can “ram into” that cargo carrier in the sense that they can possibly get inside it because of the force of the collision.
The elimination of the preposition “into” can therefore put that lead sentence on an even keel:
“
A cargo carrier rammed two small fishing vessels in Zamboanga City Wednesday dawn due to strong gusts of wind.”
(3) Philippine Information Agency: Extremely convoluted noun phrase as subjectDavao hosts model cacao nursery
DAVAO CITY, Philippines (PIA) – The Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance or ACDI/VOCA, an international non-profit organization that implements the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded CoCoPal (Coconut, Cacao, and Palay) Integrated Farming Systems Project in Mindanao opened earlier the CoCoPal model cacao nursery situated at Kilometer 12, Bernabe Subdivision, Catalunan Pequeño, this city.
“Presently, we are providing support to qualified nursery operators and partners in our project areas. In Davao City, we supported the establishment of a model nursery with 100,000 production capacity to showcase best practices in cacao nursery production,” said Nicholas Richards of the ACDI/VOCA.
The lead sentence above makes for insufferable reading because its subject is an interminably long noun phrase that consists of so many long proper names and qualifiers, thus unduly delaying the appearance of the operative verb “opened” 35 words later. To make such sentences easier to read and digest, it’s best to introduce its subject and operative verb as early as possible in the sentence, as follows:
“DAVAO CITY, Philippines (PIA) –
A model cacao nursery at was recently opened at Kilometer 12, Bernabe Subdivision, Catalunan Pequeño, in this city by the Agricultural Cooperative Development International/Volunteers in Overseas Cooperative Assistance. The ACDI/VOCA is an international non-profit organization that implements the United States Department of Agriculture (USDA)-funded CoCoPal (Coconut, Cacao, and Palay) Integrated Farming Systems Project in Mindanao.”
A FOLLOW-THROUGH ON PHILIPPINE TOURISM REPORTING:Two weeks ago, I made
a critique of the misleading tourism reporting by the Philippine Star on the Puerto Princesa Underground River in Palawan.
This time I’d like to call attention to another tourism story that shows ignorance of the regional geography of the Philippines and their respective tourist attractions. The feature story in the
Manila Bulletin about Iriga City in CamSur is accompanied by the following photo of the Mayon Volcano, which as we all know is located in Albay province adjoining CamSur.
Panoramic view of Mt. Mayon
And now here are the opening paragraphs of that tourism feature story about Iriga City in CamSur:
Iriga City’s coming out party
MANILA, Philippines — There’s plenty of buzz coming from Bicolandia. What was once a region famous for its cultural heritage, natural wonders, and fiery delicacies, Bicol received a much needed shot-in-the-arm as local and foreign tourists found renewed interest in its rich lands.
This resurgence was prompted by the emergence of Camarines Sur, a province located at the heart of the region. In a relatively short amount of time, the province transformed itself from a calamity zone to the top tourism destination in the country.
What usually comes to mind when Camarines Sur is mentioned are the commercial and cultural center of Bicol found in Naga City and the CamSur Watersports Complex in the province’s capital of Pili. There is, however, another emerging city eager to make waves and be recognized.
Located at the southern part of the province is Iriga, a city that has reinvented itself under the leadership of Mayor Madelaine Alfelor-Gazmen. Strategically located at the center of the Bicol Economic Growth Corridor, Iriga has evolved into an eco-tourism, agro-economic and educational hub. In hopes of making an impact among its counterparts, the city will be hosting the prestigious Gayon Bicol Festival in February 2012.
Now the problem with this feature story about Iriga City in CamSur is that it’s accompanied by a photo of a tourist attraction not located in that city and province but in Albay, another province in the Bicol Region. True, Mayon Volcano is visible from Iriga City and in many places in eastern CamSur, but to use that photo in this story about Iriga City not only gives the wrong impression that Mayon Volcano is a tourist attraction located in CamSur, but also that CamSur and Iriga City itself have nothing to offer by way of a mountain attraction. This isn’t the case at all! Iriga City has the majestic Mt. Iriga within its periphery, and CamSur also has Mt. Isarog to offer. These volcanoes may not have a perfect cone like Mayon Volcano, but they are fine tourist attractions in their own right. And, as mentioned in the feature story itself, Iriga City will be hosting the prestigious Gayon Bicol Festival this coming February—surely a bigger tourist come-on for Iriga City worthy of a photo treatment than a volcano in another province!
So, if not out of the writer’s or editor’s poor awareness of Philippine geography, why is the feature story about Iriga City presenting the picture of Mayon Volcano as its major tourist attraction? Our media need to be much more discerning than this to do a good job promoting the country as a tourist destination.
