YOU BE THE JUDGE: An analysis of the effects on U.P. students of the coverage given by selected print and online media to the May 21, 2011 Judgment Day story

ABSTRACT

Dadis, D.A. and Pua, F.N. S.M. (2012). You Be The Judge: An analysis of the effects on U.P. Students of the coverage given by selected print and online Media to the May 21, 2011 Judgment Day story. Unpublished Undergraduate Thesis, University of the Philippines Diliman.

This thesis tackles how the media covered the May 21, 2011 Judgment Day story and how the manner of coverage by the media influenced the perception of UP Diliman students on the said story.
This was accomplished by the researchers using the triangulation approach. The method includes: (1) archiving news stories from the chosen newspapers (Manila Bulletin, The Philippine Daily Inquirer, The Philippine Star) and video reports from selected online news portals (abs-cbnnews.com, gmanews.tv) about the May 21, 2011 Judgment Day coverage from May 1 to June 1, 2011; (2) conducting a survey gauging the perception of the UP students regarding the issue; (3) Interview with an expert in the philosophy of religion and an actual reporter who did a coverage on the said story. The researchers did a qualitative analysis of the archived materials and interviews, while a quantitative approach was applied in interpreting the survey results.
The research argued that the reports on the judgment day story in the local news tend to focus on ascertaining the reality of the claim, thus rendering institutions (Catholic church) more powerful, while discrediting the proponents of the claim (Family Radio group). The researchers found a need to deviate from this manner of reporting such highly-speculative stories and instead, provide more context and fresher perspective regarding the story in order to make it more relevant to the people.

KEY WORDS: May 21, 2011 Judgment Day, Audience Perception, Print Online Media, Media Coverage

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