By: Arvin Carlo B. Sicat, student producer
Episode aired last August 27, 2014
Guest: Ms. Trixie Concepcion, Regional Director of the Earth Island Institute Asia-Pacific
When our professor in Broadcast Journalism 101, Ms. Khrysta
Imperial Rara, told us on the first day of class that our midterm exams will
involve radio production, I got instantly excited because of the thought that
popped on my mind- listeners in their homes would finally get to hear my voice
on radio. How cool is it right? But what my professor said next just slowly
killed my excitement and turned my face into shady. Our midterms would start
the week after and I would be the third one to take the hot seat! That
announcement terrified me, knowing that as a transferee, I purely had no
background in radio production compared to the most of my upperclassmen
classmates who have taken production class. But since I am a man who hates to
run away from challenges, I accepted it with all pride and courage.
Exactly on
my birthday, I was tasked to research about the condemnation of dolphin and
whale captivity in Taiji, Japan. I immediately thought that my topic would be
very boring because I had no interest on dolphins or whales before at all. All
I knew back then about them was that they were smart and total performers in
ocean parks. Apart from it, I was also worrying of finding a guest that would
explain the issue to be tackled. Too good to be true, my professor added that
we already had a guest on the next episode of her animal show! Yahoo! (That was
my best gift ever.) She was none other than the Regional Director of the Earth
Island Institute Asia-Pacific, Ms. Trixie Concepcion.
To be
honest, I took pleasure in the production process, especially the part in which
I had to write the script, including the choosing of appropriate songs and
quotation to be used in relevance to the show’s topic. But what I found really
challenging in this whole production was researching about the dolphins and
whales. In this process, I read a lot of articles in the internet regarding the
dolphin and whale killings in Taiji. I also had to bombard myself with the
information about the organizations involved in this issue in order for me to
better understand it. The night before the showtime, I got to see “The Cove”, a
documentary film dealing with the dolphin and whale captivity in Taiji. I must
say that the last 20 minutes of the film got me. The film served as an
eye-opener for me to see the cruelty behind exploiting these innocent creatures
whose freedom was being stolen by mankind. This documentary film is definitely
life-changing and deserves to be shown in every part of the world.
On the day
of the radio show, I was literally shaking as I was walking upstairs towards
the DZUP room. Ma’am Khrysta even added up my anxiety when she said that our
guest would be late for the show. Who
would be relaxed if the main host of the show would ask you to do adlib while
waiting for the guest , knowing that it was your first time to go on-air? But as
soon as I heard the theme song of Kwentuhang Pets Atbp, somehow, I gained
confidence and started to talk. It was a magical experience indeed! I did not
even notice that our guest already
arrived. During our discussion, I was overwhelmed on how Ms. Trixie answered
the questions being thrown by Ms. Khrysta with power and conviction. I almost
forgot that I was part of the show so I slowly took turns in asking questions
with Ms. Khrysta and injected additional information about the issue.
After we
tackled the issue about the killings of whales and dolphins in Taiji, Japan, I
realized how serious this issue really is. Everyboy should get involved and
join the campaign to stop this very brutal practice in Japan. Our guest, Ms. Trixie,
also shared helpful tips on how to support their campaign. One good example is
ousting local shows in ocean parks that promote dolphin performances."Whales and dolphins should live freely in the ocean because in the first place, it is their right, not their privilege.", she added. The ocean
parks all over the world, including the Philippines, import dolphins from Japan
and train these pitiful mammals live shows. In this sense, we can show our love
and support for the whales and dolphins.
Truly, my
whole experience in radio production was something to hold dear. Because of this
opportunity, I was able to unleash my soft heart for the dolphins and whales.
The way I view life will never be the same now after covering this issue.
Freedom is not a privilege but a right and should always be exercised not only to us humans, but also to all that possess life.
How about you? Are you one of us in protecting the wildlife animals? Share your thoughts and comments!
How about you? Are you one of us in protecting the wildlife animals? Share your thoughts and comments!
If you missed our episode, don't worry!
Here is the link for the complete episode:
Here is the link for the transcription:
Here is the link for the other news:
No comments:
Post a Comment