Governance and Media: Sangguniang Kabataan’s Media Use and Consumption and Their Perceptions of Governance

The Philippines is “the only country in the world to have a grassroots-based, government-funded political structure for young people that is recognized nationwide”- Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) UNICEF (2007, p.16). However, there has been a call for its abolition because its contribution to youth development is unclear. A basic inquiry on how these youth leaders understand governance is then forwarded. On the other hand, recent social and/or political movements shown in the media have shown adolescents calling for social change. Thus, a further question of whether the media contributes to their definition of governance. This query is also built on McCombs and Shaw’s agenda-setting theory, which emphasized on “mass media’s ability to transfer the salience of items on their news agendas to the public agenda” (Griffin, 2006, p. 395). The research was done in Cagayan de Oro, Mindanao, Philippines. It employed both qualitative and quantitative approaches. A complete enumeration of SK Chairpersons and FGDs and KIIs among SK councilors and key personnel in selected areas was done. There were a total of 79 respondents, 30 FGD participants, and five KIIs. Both the questionnaire and the guides involved inquiries on media use and consumption and perceptions of governance. The results of the study showed that majority of the SK Chairpersons were males and have been residing in their respective barangays for 16 years and more. In terms of media use and consumption, 92% of the respondents have access to the radio, 96% had access to the Internet, and 60% had access to newspapers. All have access to television. There were an equal number of those who read the newspaper for 0.5 hours (18) and 0.38 hours (18). The number of hours spent on listening to the radio (44), watching the television (66), and accessing the Net (61), however, is greater - 1-5 hours a day. The television (49) is the most frequently accessed media for politics and political events, while the radio (34) was the least frequently accessed media for these matters. For their understanding of governance, the following were the outcomes: a) Governance was understood to mean guiding, leading, and managing the people; b) Transparency was defined as the barangay being visible and open of where the money is going, ensuring that everything is clear to the people; c) Accountability was understood as the responsibility of those in political or government positions; d) Effectivity and efficiency was thought as just related to good governance – a concept that even needs more explanation; e) Almost half of the participants did not know what stakeholders’ participation is; f) Democracy was described as the people having freedom to choose, while fair competition, was simply defined with its opposite, having no biases. Media did not come out as one major source of views on governance and its different components. Ideas on governance, democracy and fair competition were usually obtained from family members, while friends and relatives, were sources of information on the rest of the elements. For those who articulated that they also get some views from the media, television came out as the main source of information. In conclusion, very few of the respondents have access to newspapers, while all of them have access to television. The television came out as the most frequently accessed medium for politics and political events, while the radio was the least frequently accessed medium for these matters. The definitions and understanding that the respondents and participants have of governance and its different elements were all vague. Their understanding on different concepts of governance, were also vague. Stakeholders’ participation was one component that many respondents and participants did not know. Although the respondents and the FGD participants expressed that they have access to the different media, this did not necessarily translate into the media becoming a major contributor to their views of governance. Respondents and participants usually watched news programs in the television, yet this did not affect their ideas on governance. Their ideas usually came from family, relatives, and friends. Going back to the agenda-setting theory of McCombs and Shaw, the case of SK leaders of Cagayan de Oro offered a different scenario. Access to the different media did not necessarily contribute to their ideas on governance.