The Pharmacy(tm)

Ces Drilon, notable host of ABS CBN’s documentary show Pipol was reported missing as early as Monday, 9 June 2008.

By June 10, news began leaking out that the reporter and her crew was in fact kidnapped by the Abu Sayyaf Group (ASG), a terrorist organization in the Philippines with reported links to Al Qaeda.

The group is reportedly asking for a ransom for the release of the news crew.

What’s interesting is that ABS CBN has ordered a media blackout regarding the matter, but that did not prevent some tid bits from coming out, particularly on foreign press like Bloomberg, Radio Australia, and an item on the US National Terror Alert.

To date, ABS CBN has issued a press release, explaining their media blackout on the matter, citing the safety of the reporters as their motivation. This has been documented in Philippine news by this time.

This is an excellent template for study on the effects of media on viewers. Very little facts are released at the moment, so the media blackout is an effective way to keep sentiments at bay. This is very different from the usual treatment of terrorist activity–which is usually front-page news even before the actual event hits.

A comparative study would be the coverage of the aborted Manila Peninsula Coup (ironically also covered by Ces Drilon at the time)–where blow by blow reportage, even with nothing to report, was experienced (i.e. the media trying in vain to put a spin on something).

Also, it should not be missed amongst viewers that this kidnapping happens at a very opportune time for the Lopez group that owns the ABS CBN media company. Just within the last month, the Philippine government attempted to wrest control from another Lopez controlled company: the electric distributor Meralco, and very recently the government slapped a reduction on toll fees, which is perturbing profits at yet another Lopez company: the tollway operator First Philippine Holdings.

Acid Test: no outrage factor here, despite the terrorist angle. Critical minds are interested to see how this plays out.