Agriculture news stories framing and politicization in ABS-CBN’s TV Patrol and PTV’s Ulat Bayan

Date

7-2025

Abstract

President Ferdinand R. Marcos, Jr.'s unprecedented decision to appoint himself as Secretary of the Department of Agriculture brought renewed media attention to the sector. Despite agriculture's significance in the Philippine context, framing studies have yet to fully explain how its news coverage becomes politicized. This study explored the politicization of agriculture in the news frames of ABS-CBN's TV Patrol and People's Television Network's Ulat Bayan.

Using Viorela Dan's (2018) integrative framing analysis-which separates visual and verbal components-94 stories comprising 1,486 scenes were analyzed. Verbal frames were drawn from audio transcripts, while visual frames were coded by watching footage without sound. A verbal-visual frame congruence ratio was then calculated.

Findings showed that business and agri-business actors, alongside government officials, dominated coverage. Government action and response were the most prominent verbal frames in both programs. Visually, TV Patrol also emphasized government response, while Ulat Bayan focused more on food security. Most stories exhibited moderate to slightly high verbal-visual congruence.

These results revealed that TV news presents agriculture not as a neutral issue, but one shaped by powerful interests. Ulat Bayan generally reflected a pro-government stance, while TV Patrol leaned toward a watchdog role. However, limited representation of farmers and civil society narrowed the discourse. sidelining grassroots concerns.

The study highlights how media framing of agriculture serves both as a political tool and a reflection of governance dynamics. It calls for more balanced, inclusive reporting to support democratic engagement and diverse agricultural stakeholders.

Document Type

Master Thesis

Degree

Master of Science in Development Communication

College

Graduate School (GS)

Adviser/Committee Chair

Benjamina Paula G. Flor

Committee Member

Serlie B. Jamias, Evelie P. Serrano

Language

English, Filipino

En – AGROVOC descriptors

AGRO-INDUSTRIAL SECTOR; AGRICULTURAL DEMONSTRATION; AGRICULTURAL MARKETING; TELEVISION; STATE INTERVENTION; POLITICAL ASPECTS; JOURNALISM

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