Pinocchio Korean Drama Journalism Insights

            Pinocchio is a Korean drama that talked about the media and the ethical dilemmas that jounalists experience in their work. It featured insights on the negative views on media and journalists, as well as the lives of the people heavily impacted by it.

           The television series portrayed how the people behind the media can be ruthless and ambitious due to the cutthroat competition among journalists and among media companies. Some reporters would take advantage of situations to make the story better. They would try to make their reports as humanistic as possible, since viewers would love to have some drama as a form of entertainment with their news.

          The show also included examples of "journalists becoming the news." A particular character in the story tried to create news by winning competitions or some other story to boost their popularity. It is a ploy to increase the ratings of their television station.

          The story also tried to show that this tense rivalry causes journalists to have little time for their families. This would lead them to have faulty relations in their homes.

          This "contest" between businesses described the idea that the media has its own agendas. It would resort to lies and deception to further its own gains. One character even described the newsroom as being “filthy” and a place breeds falsehood because all the people in it are liars. The individual accused news reporters of using speculations and rumors as the basis of their reports despite their lack of evidence. Proven or not, these untrue accounts would harm someone’s reputation or destroy a life when it gets disseminated to the public. The person said that reporters use their microphones and cameras as weapons to “kill” a person.

        One instance in the show even depicted how reporters would lie about their identities during interviews. The would do this to avoid suspicion if the interviewee is on guard and unwilling to divulge the truth to the media.

        All these negative views on media is not so prevalent in the Philippines. In abroad, though, it is different story. Many people would not easily trust the media especially tabloids and the social media.

        It might be confusing that the traits of the journalists in the drama contradicts the purpose of media. They were supposed to be the upholders of truth and clarity. These journalists are supposed to be another check and balance to other institutions in the society. Here, they are portrayed as another organization with selfish motives instead.

       One has to remember that they are people, too. Just like how other people change in times of desperation or due to their complicated circumstances, reporters also falter and question their own morality at times. Some are blinded by greed while some may be intimidated into going against their ethics.

       We cannot easily know who are already compromised or how we could prevent this. Indeed, the truth is difficult to obtain, especially when the people tasked to reveal it sometimes end up hiding it themselves.