Lights, Camera, Complacency: The New Face of News
When brand deals, sensationalism, and the sparkly facade of influencer culture take center stage, where should journalists stand?
Before the controversies of the now-infamous Discaya couple of Alpha & Omega Construction and St. Timothy Construction, they were featured on both Korina Sanchez’s television program Rated Korina and Julius Babao’s YouTube channel in 2024. These segments, later alleged by Pasig City Mayor Vico Sotto to be fluff pieces, highlighted the couple’s success and wealth. In these videos, Pacifico “Curlee” Discaya and Cezarah “Sarah” Discaya gave the journalists a tour of their home and luxury cars, with the hosts appearing to celebrate the Discayas’ lavish lifestyles without any intention of conducting proper scrutiny on how the Discayas acquired their wealth. As a result, netizens began questioning whether Babao and Sanchez purposefully overlooked red flags in the name of content, begging the question “Why did they not speak up?” Their failure to probe into the source of the family’s affluence emphasizes how even seasoned journalists can abandon their ethical duty to provide the public with transparent and unbiased information when faced with monetization models and a lack of editorial oversight in modern content creation.
The modern media landscape has blurred the line between journalism and content creation, largely due to the freedom to publish that social media presents. With social media’s widespread accessibility, platforms like YouTube and TikTok allow anyone—with or without journalistic training—to publish and produce content freely and bypass the traditional editorial process of established news organizations. This has led to a rise in creator journalists: people with journalistic training who now operate independently and create news content for these platforms.
Although this new genre of journalism may provide fresh perspectives and reach new audiences, it may also come at the cost of accountability, fact-checking, and adherence to a standard code of ethics. Traditional journalism emphasizes objectivity, factual reporting, and proper discernment between fact and fiction, while content creation prioritizes audience engagement and personal brand-building. The blend of these two can lead to infotainment, a long-standing approach that presents information in a sensationalized way to increase clicks and shares, potentially affecting a journalist’s focus on depth and accuracy.
Filipinos watched this concept come to life in a Facebook post made by Sotto, accusing Sanchez and Babao of “renting out [their] credibility to the corrupt.” Although not confirmed, if there had been a paid arrangement, it should have been explicitly disclosed to allow the audience to make their own judgment about the information’s credibility. Sotto argues that their lifestyle videos compromise journalistic independence and actively taint the belief of journalists to be credible and objective sources of information for the public. This breach of trust damages not only these journalists’ reputations but the field of journalism as a whole.
By disguising the Discayas’ story as a simple and inspiring “rags-to-riches” narrative, Sanchez and Babao failed to present the entire picture of how they maintain such a luxurious lifestyle, even if the notion of embezzling flood control funds was not apparent at the time. While some journalists may argue that their shows are not meant to be investigative in nature, it is essential that key figures in this field, such as Sanchez and Babao, understand that their commitment as journalists extends beyond their jobs and into all aspects of their lives. After all, the fight for upholding truth and giving a voice to the voiceless should be ceaseless and unrelenting.
When the line between traditional reporting and entertainment gradually starts to blur, the general public’s trust in news sources begins to erode. Viewers become unable to discern promotional content from credible information, and the news is meshed with personal branding and amusement. The rise of untrustworthy sources in the media undermines the real effort of journalists who face daily pressure and a lack of fair recognition, making them more susceptible to compromising ethical standards to fulfill the audience and industry’s demands. When rising journalists see prominent figures engage in questionable practices without consequences, it sends the message that such behavior is acceptable and tolerable, normalizing these practices over time.
The aftermath of the Discaya controversy serves as a cautionary tale for the journalism community and the public alike. Although intended as an inspirational story, the facade quickly unraveled after Sotto’s bold accusations sparked public outrage, opening the floodgates to investigations about those whom we have trusted and deemed fit to serve our country. Journalists must remember that it is their primary duty to inform the public, not to entertain or profit from it. The pursuit of truth and accountability should always outweigh the allure of clicks, views, and brand deals. At the same time, all of us, being media consumers, must bear the responsibility to critically assess the information fed to us by our social media algorithms, distinguishing credible journalism from entertainment. As we navigate through this digital era, we must learn how to sift through what media outlets spoon-feed our minds and absorb stories beyond face value and feel-good content. The right to pursue the truth is not only for journalists, but for all of us as citizens of a functioning democracy.