BREAKING SOCIAL BONDS:

A STUDY ON RAPPLER AND ITS EFFECTIVENESS IN TERMS OF EFFICIENCY,

POPULARITY, ACCURACY, AND CONVENIENCE AS COMPARED TO
TRADITIONAL MEDIA IN THE PHILIPPINES

able television, radios, newspapers, and the Internet these were the
breakthroughs that governed the trends of Generation Y: children born
on 1977-1994 who are known to be more diverse and flexible with digital
and electronic technology. On the other hand, in an already highly

technological environment, children born on 1995-2012 is Generation Z. With the

coming of age of this new generation, modernization and the high rise of technology
has since then increased very rapidly (Schroer, 2004). Because of this, it is not only
influencing Generation Z but also affecting the lives and the manner of thinking of
Generation Y.
The Internet today has revolutionized social media. With the currently rapid
advancements of gadgets, wi-fi, and digitalization, Generation Y and its so-called
old media is, at present, challenged by Generation Zs new media. Both these
media, traditional and online, are very influential to society especially as mediums
for journalism. Founded on this acknowledgment, this study aims to find out
whether the modernization of technology has revolutionized how society gets their
daily news as well as to discover whether the new media, specifically online media,
is contributing to the efficiency, popularity, accuracy, and convenience of journalism
and the social news network Rappler in comparison to traditional media in the
Philippines.
Wael Ghonim, Egyptian activist considered the voice of Egypt in 2011, along
with the rebels, sparked a revolution through YouTube, Twitter, and a Facebook page
entitled We Are all Khaled Said. During the Egyptian protest against corruption and
the dictatorship of Hosni Mubarak, social networking was their greatest weapon
gathering millions of people in front of Tahrir Square, Cairo (Lindsey, 2013).
The Libyan dictatorship against Muammar Gaddafi on February 2011 was
inspired by the Arab Spring protest together with the power of social media but the
difference between the Egyptian protest with the Libyan revolution was that the

LACSON | 2
government of Libya was using social media to send warnings and threats to its
citizens (McHugh, 2011). If the EDSA People Power Revolution in the Philippines was
spurred by the power of radio bringing people together, then coups today,
generated by a social media backbone, could probably be expected to create
gatherings of four to five times more people.
Just 27 minutes before the news was reported on television and radio
stations, the report on Whitney Houstons death on February 11, 2012 was already
posted on Twitter. The tweet by Associated Press that reported the tragic incident
was quickly retweeted by more than 10,000 other people all over the world and in
just an hour after the tweet was first posted, Houstons death already became a
trending topic registering about 2.5 million tweets and retweets (Plafke, 2012).
Twitter once again was the tool which spread the news first regarding the
Hudson River plane crash on 2009. With more than 40,000 views in just four hours,
the Twitter photo of the US Airways half submerged in the water with passengers
getting out of the plane by Janis Krums emphasized the power of social media; the
end result no casualties (Marrone, 2009).
Even the Duke and Duchess of Cambridge believe in the influence of social
media. On 2011, their royal wedding was first announced on Twitter and when their
royal baby was born earlier this year, social media, with the use of Twitter,
Facebook, Instagram, and Google Plus, reported the news before any other form of
traditional media. Within minutes after the historical event was announced, Twitter
registered more than 1,000 tweets per second (Robinson & Jones, 2012).
One of the more controversial breaking news was the tweet by Sohaib Athar
reporting about Bin Ladens death by accident. In retrospect, several reported
deaths of the Al-Qaeda leader were found inaccurate but this time, with the
potential and capability of social media, the report on 2011 was proven to be true
when US Special Forces raided his compound and shot him. Athar was tweeting the
series of unusual events as it happened without knowing that it was all leading to
one of the biggest stories in history: the death of Osama Bin Laden in Abbottabad,
Pakistan confirmed by US President Barack Obama (Bin Laden, 2011).
Emphasizing the power of social media as a potential tool for journalism, the
first Atlantis shuttle to take off was tweeted minutes before it broke off on
television; the terrorist attacks in Delhi and London first went viral on Twitter; the
earthquake in China was posted on Twitter by technology blogger Robert Scoble an

LACSON | 3
hour before it was reported on television and other news media (Hodge, 2010); and
the Boston Marathon bombing that took place on April 2013, although not exactly
reported first on Twitter, became ubiquitous in social networking platforms which
provided the

Boston police investigators, who tweeted pictures of possible

suspects, with information that turned out to be extremely helpful in identifying and
locating the masterminds and in just a day, Dzhokhar Tsarnaev was identified and
apprehended (Rogers, 2013).
Social networks are quick, influential, and powerful tools for online media, but
the question now is: Can online media really be a potential medium for journalism?
Is it more effective than traditional media? Does the information come from
trustworthy sources? Is it credible and accurate? Can it increase awareness even
more effectively than radios, television, and print? Where do Filipinos even rely on
to check the latest news, and do they do so with Generation Ys old media or is
Generation Z technology influencing them?
With all those questions in mind, one must first grasp the significance and
relationship of communication, news, and journalism. Communication is the
transmission of information from one person to another. Based on Berlos model of
communication, information starts with the Source that encodes the Message
through a Channel or medium which is then decoded by the Receiver. News, then, is
defined as a newly-received piece of information gathered through communication.
According to Natalie Fenton (2010), news writing, otherwise known as journalism, is
the critical act of compiling information, discussing it, and putting it into action.
Journalism, therefore, is not only providing information but is also placing the
information in context: the what, where, when, who, why, and how. Furthermore,
news journalism, unlike basic writing, must always be current, accurate, timely, and
for the common good and concern of the society.
Likewise, the press refers to the mass media industry which plays a highly
important role in todays society: writing and reporting relevant issues and current
events. During the mid-twentieth century, Kent Cooper, the General Manager of
Associated Press, popularized the right to information. Because of this, the press
became the watchdogs of the government: the Fourth Estate (Fink, 1990).
Weinstein (1990) agreed to this idea by writing that The press has become our
great sorting mechanism, bringing some order to the chaos of demands by special

LACSON | 4
interests and the varied challenges to public decision at home and abroad (p. 51).
Expected to disseminate information, to teach standards, and to guide beliefs, mass
media has become a need the need to know and for others a daily routine
(Krishnasamy, n.d.).
Because the media plays an important role in connecting people all over the
world, everything that we already know, want to know, and need to know can be
learned through different mediums of communication. May it be in the form of radio,
television, or print, traditional media has become an integral part of the peoples
lives.
Newspapers, magazines, journals, and books these are the most popular
forms of print media. Published daily, weekly, monthly, quarterly, or yearly, print
media hold informative and entertaining - general or specific - content. Newspapers
have always been a primary medium for journalism since the eighteenth century
and examples of these still printing today in the Philippines are the Manila Bulletin,
Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Philippine Star among many others.
Another form of traditional media is broadcast media which comes in the
phenomenon of radio or television. A radio is a portable one-way audio device used
for informative and entertainment purposes. Its biggest impact was during the
Philippine People Power Revolution wherein millions and millions of Filipinos
gathered to end the 20-year dictatorship of ex-President Ferdinand Marcos. In
addition, the radio is one of the oldest forms of media still popularly used in the
rural areas of the Philippines. On the contrary, television is an audio and video
device that puts us face-to-face with different issues, events, and media
personalities. Dr. Crispin C. Maslog (2007), a former Dean of the School of
Journalism in Silliman University, Dumaguete City and The 1995 Outstanding Filipino
Awardee for Literature and Journalism, wrote:
In the Philippines, radio and television have built a solid
reputation for being the most popular sources of news and
information, the most reliable vehicle for advertising and
marketing efforts, the least expensive pastime or leisure
activity, and the best launching pad for many careers including
acting, singing, newscasting, and politics (p. 237).
Today, the ability of the old media to spread information is being challenged
by the power of online media journalism the posting and publishing of news

LACSON | 5
articles and current issues on the Internet. According to Mike Ward, the difference of
this new medium with the traditional is the fact that it is multifaceted and usercentered (as cited in Contreras, 2007, p. 399). Journalism today means wi-fi,
laptops, smartphones, and tablets; combining texts, images, videos, and sound
produces the story. Internet users can read an article and, at the same time,
comment on it through email, comment boxes, forums, and chats. Thus, the online
media offers a sense of communication. It not only gives journalists an opportunity
to write stories online but it also enables them to listen to the voice of the people. In
the book The Internet Companion: A Beginners Guide to Global Networking, Tracey
Laquey and Jeanne Ryer (1994) wrote:
The information age has been ushered in by new and powerful
methods of communication. Gutenbergs invention of the
printing press took books out of the ecclesiastical libraries and
put them into the hands of the people. Then, the telephone
system emerged to allow people instantaneous communications
with one another. Now the Internet merges both these
technologies, bringing people and information together (pp. 12).
Veteran journalist Maria Ressa expanded this idea when she said Online
media is capable of spreading information quickly throughout the world, a feat that
is almost impossible to do with traditional media. Al-Jazeera presenter Veronica
Pedrosa also said that giving off information has been much easier and simpler
since the start of the social media revolution (as cited in Santos, 2012a). In fact,
social media has been a hot topic since 2009 and the #1 activity on the worldwide
web. This type of online media has contributed so much to society that, according
to a survey by University Research, 40% of colleges in America believe that social
media, with the use of Facebook, Twitter, YouTube, or Instagram, is essential for the
main purpose that it can reach students better than newspapers, radio stations, and
television networks (Luckerson, 2012).
Two popular social networks in the world are Facebook and Twitter. Facebook,
whose main market consists of high school and college students, was founded by
Mark Zuckerburg. Visited by about 500 million people a month, Facebook is
currently the #1 social networking site on the worldwide web in terms of population
(Crossing, 2013). Facebook Timeline, the Like button, and the News Feed are just
some of the key features of this social network. Twitter, headed by Jack Dorsey and

LACSON | 6
Dick Costolo, is ranked the 11 th social network in the world with an estimate of 500
million active users. Meier (2013) wrote in his article that 40% of Twitter users
started tweeting more often just last year, 2012, making it the worlds fastest
developing social network. Known as a quick and simple platform, about 175 million
tweets are registered every day (Crossing, 2013). Unlike Facebook, it is recognized
for its 140-character limit, retweet-reply-favorite buttons, and #hashtag trending
topics. Also, Twitter is a social networking platform most professional journalists
prefer to use. This emphasizes its potential for reporting breaking news within just
a matter of seconds, the information can already be spread throughout the world
(Harper, 2010).
In 2002, there were only about 250 million web users worldwide (Dominick,
Sherman, & Messere, 2000). At present, based on an infographic by Gator Crossing
(2013), an estimate of 2.5 billion people are on the Internet - that is one-third of the
worlds entire population. Moreover, out of the total, 70% of them check the Internet
every day. There are about 1 Billion Facebook users worldwide and, as reported by
Chay Hofilea, 27 million of them are from the Philippines pushing the country up to
8th in the world and 2nd in Southeast Asia in the list of nations whose populaces are
familiar with the social media site (as cited in Santos, 2012a). On the other hand,
9.5 million Filipino users have Twitter accounts making the country the 10 th largest
Twitter user worldwide (Montecillo, 2012).
With 93% of Facebook penetration, Philippines now holds the title of the
social networking capital of the world. Based on the usage of social networking
sites and the ratio of Internet users, ComScore (2011), a website that provides
graphs and charts about specific, unusual, and interesting discoveries, wrote:
At present, the Philippines continues to hold the top spot for
Facebook penetration and also ranks highest in share of time
spent on social networking properties across the world, making
it the most social media-addicted market globally. Of the total
time spent online in April 2011 by the Philippines online
audience, 41.3 percent was spent on social networking sites.
Rappler, which was officially launched on January 2012, is a social news
network headed by Maria Ressa, CEO and Executive Director. Rappler, from the root
words rap and ripple, is a platform for journalism where its stories aim to inspire
awareness and create social change with the use of modern technology and by

LACSON | 7
crowdsourcing the act of obtaining ideas and opinions from the online community
(Rappler, 2013a). As the only news network owned solely by journalists, its goal is
to move news from being a commodity to a catalyst for empowering Filipino citizens
by covering a story, posting it online, and making it trend, as well as by interacting
and engaging with the online social community, thus the term activist journalism.
Aside from its belief in the power of words, Rappler also believes that feelings
are influential and significant especially when it comes to news.

Just like

information, the dissemination of emotion through social media can go beyond

borders. Based on certain studies by the Rappler Core Team (Rappler, 2013a), 80%
of decision making is determined by emotions. Because of this, Rappler came up
with a hearts and minds approach through its own Mood Meter which emphasizes
the fact that how we feel influences anothers emotions faster than what we say. For
every Rappler story, the Mood Meter gives the reader the option to click on his
emotions - happy, sad, angry, dont care, inspired, afraid, amused, or annoyed which are then processed to the websites Mood Navigator. The Mood Navigator
then computes the percentage of the total and crowdsources the mood for the day
enabling Rappler readers to identify what stories to read based on the emotion of
the people.
Although Rapplers Mood Meter gives the network a unique vibe, in terms of
popularity, Ressa credits its creative and innovative web design (as cited in
LaFrance, 2012). Creativity is and should be original, unique, and beneficial for it to
be successful. Merrit and McCombs (2004) added to this idea stating that it is
creativity, rather than technology, which will create social change one of Rapplers
main goals; technology may be the instrument, but the quality of the message and
the medium is what will move journalism towards a new source.
Albeit the Mood Meter and the web design, Rappler focuses on social
interaction by reaching out to Internet users through leading social media networks
such as Facebook, Google Plus, YouTube, and, most especially, Twitter. With around
200,000 Twitter followers and about 250,000 Facebook likes, a Rappler article about
Megan Young as Miss World 2013 written by one of its contributing journalists, Ira
Agting, gained an estimate of 5,000 shares with 3,000 on Facebook and 2,000 on
Twitter after exactly an hour. After 16 hours, the article gained 12,000 shares with
9,000 on Facebook and 3,000 on Twitter. Because of the social networks key

LACSON | 8
sharing feature, the dissemination of information and emotion is quick and
beneficial.
For this study, the researcher conducted a random sample survey and
gathered a total of 50 Filipino college students of Silliman University aged 15-21: 17
from the College of Mass Communication; 15 from medical colleges specifically
College of Nursing, Institute of Clinical Laboratory Sciences, and Institute of
Rehabilitative Sciences; and 18 from other colleges specifically, College of Arts and
Sciences, College of Business Administration, College of Computer Studies, and
College of Performing and Visual Arts. In addition, 22 were aged 15-17 (Generation
Z) and 28 were aged 18-21 (Generation Y). Out of 50 respondents the majority
(54%) preferred the Internet as the best platform for journalism compared to print
media with a shocking 0% and broadcast media with 46% (23 out of 50) of the
votes, based on the survey conducted. Moreover, 80% (40 out of 50) believe that
online journalism is as reliable as traditional media. Likewise, out of the estimated
100 million Philippine population, majority of the Filipinos check the Internet for
news and information every day with 85 percent of them aged 16-20 and 71
percent aged 21-24 as documented by TNS Digital Life 2012 (Santos, 2012b).
Alexa, a Web Information Company, states that Rappler, in just less than two
years of its existence, is the 3 rd top news website and the 25 th most popular
website in the Philippines following Philippine Daily Inquirer and ABS-CBN
respectively (Rappler, 2013b). For the 50 Silliman University college respondents,
Rappler as an online platform for journalism is popular to 34 out of 50 (68%) and out
of the total, 24 (71%) prefer checking the latest news and other issues through
Rappler.
In terms of effectiveness, out of the 34 respondents familiar with Rappler, 25
respondents (74%) say that the social news network is indeed effective. Among the
50 respondents, 50 (100%) have Facebook, 36 (76%) have Twitter, 29 (58%) have
YouTube, and 27 (54%) have Google Plus. Because of this, 100% (25 of 25) of the
respondents who believe Rappler is an impressive and potent platform for
journalism deem that its interaction with these social networks mentioned above is
one of the reasons why the website is effectual.
Also, out of the 100% and the 76% that have Facebook and Twitter
respectively, 27 out of 34 respondents (79%) follow Rappler. From the total, 100%
say that it has increased their awareness on current issues in the Philippines.

LACSON | 9
Rappler is professional and innovative said 56% (14 out of 25) of the
respondents. Other large news platforms in the Philippines who have digital editions
fail in this area because their interfaces look dull in comparison to Rapplers neat
and organized design which gains it more than a million views a month (LaFrance,
2012). Stephen Quinn, a former digital development editor for an English Hong Kong
newspaper, even wrote a study on Rappler and how the social news network is one
of the most innovative media companies in the Asian region (as cited in Rappler,
2013b).
Furthermore, 100% (25 of 25) of the respondents who think that Rappler is an
effective medium for journalism credit Rapplers up-to-date news reports and 80%
(20 of 25) for the websites free and easy accessibility.
The difference of Rappler with traditional media, according to the 34
respondents familiar with the social news network, is its creativity and fun web
design and its organized and easy way to read and locate articles both
acknowledged by 27 of the 34 (79%). 23 (68%) believe in its website and content
quality and 21 (62%) find the network reachable and interactive compared to print
and broadcast media.
Despite all those outstanding results, out of the 71% (24 of 34) that prefer to
check Rappler for news, only 12% (4 out of 34) go to the website every day, 29%
(10 of 34) go to the website 3-4 times a week, 44% (15 of 34) check the website
once a week, and 15% (5 of 34) never even go on Rappler.
Moreover, 9 of 34 respondents (26%) stand by their opinion on Rappler and
its ineffectiveness. One respondent who preferred broadcast media than the
Internet as a medium for journalism emphasized the networks inconvenience and
wrote, We still need to go online while we [can] just turn on our TV to watch the
news.
With the lowest votes in terms of effectiveness (25 of 34 respondents), 13 out
of 25 (52%) do not find the Mood Meter unique and effectual and 14 out of 25
college students (56%) still question whether Rappler is credible and transparent. In
relation to this, Rappler has recently been receiving a lot of doubt due to its
inaccurate reports like the present-day Zamboanga crisis. In an article by Rappler,
Maria Ressa wrote that about 80 MNLF or the Moro National Liberation Front rebels
had surrendered when, in fact, negotations were still ongoing as reported by the
Armed Forces of the Philippines. Another issue was an article by Natashya Guiterrez,

LACSON | 10
one of Rapplers journalists, who wrote about the luxurious properties of the
daughter of Janet Napoles in connection to the pork barrel scam. But not only
Rappler is being sued by Napoles, 6 other sources reported the wrong information
too, including Philippine Daily Inquirer, one of the leading periodicals in the
Philippines.
Indeed, news is necessary for a society to function properly. Without it, the whole
world will be ignorant, disasters would keep on happening, and violence would be
rampant. Regardless of communication, journalism, together with the different
mediums and the different newsworthy events, is constantly changing. With that in
mind, communication has not only connected the world but has also moved the
mainstream and global society to where we are today.
Although radio and television still continue to be a huge part of the Philippine
society, online journalism is clearly revolutionizing the entire mass communication
system mostly because of its potential and power to connect the people in all
aspects political, social, cultural, and global. Because of the dozens of things we
can do online, the online milieu holds new opportunities for human expression
(Levinson, 2001). Howbeit, with the population of the cyber world, news can
manage to spread literally 24/7 and the entire two billion Internet users can catch
up with the global world.
Unlike traditional media, online media provides readers with a free platform
to react with instant feedback to the news. Because Rappler is owned by the
journalists themselves, the communication with the readers is beneficial. It lets the
Rappler team speak directly to the readers and vice-versa. Although interaction
through Facebook, Twitter, and other social networks may seem informal, Rappler
can gather more comments and even better reactions from the online community.
With this tool for news, communication is instant and two-way.
Moreover, Filipinos are very politically stimulated and entertainment-driven;
they are also part of a society with a penchant for the mainstream. With journalism
in the Philippines slowly shifting online, it is giving voice to the Filipinos and is
continually enabling them to be aware of the issues happening in the country and
the whole world at any time of the day - students can just choose an article to read
via the Rappler website or mobile app. They can get the latest news and search for
issues that they have missed throughout the week; they can read an entire story

LACSON | 11
instead of just listening to the latest update on radio and television. With an online
platform for journalism like Rappler, Filipinos have also become more united.
Despite the reality that any medium for journalism can make mistakes and
although credibility in online journalism is still ambiguous, many Filipinos still rely on
the Internet for the latest news. It remains a convenient and a popular means for
accessing information. In addition, more Filipinos, especially the youth, have
become more interested in the current issues in the country. With news stories
constantly updated through online media, Filipinos have become up-to-date as well.
In the contemporary world of journalism, Rappler has definitely changed the
rules of the game: within just a year and a half of its existence, it managed to
establish itself as one of the most reliable mediums for journalism. Majority of the
college students in Silliman University aged 15-21 are already familiar with Rappler
and find it impressive and efficient. With this technologically-savvy generation,
getting the latest news through Rappler is definitely easier to access for them as
compared to having to pay 20 pesos for the daily newspaper or having to scan thru
different news channels to check the latest news.
Undoubtedly, the online media has become significant because of its
potential in reporting the news. For the majority of the Filipino college students aged
15-21 in Silliman University, broadcast and print media, although more credible, is
not as popular, convenient, and efficient as the online media, specifically Rappler.
Thus, Rappler proves to be most effective.

LACSON | 12

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