as heavily. "Media in the P!
             hilippines...is simply a reflection, an outgrowth, a mirror...of society as a whole." (Benigno, 1993, 6) After all, media has been perceived to have such a large power over people. But, rather than performing its role in society, media today has strayed, having a more negative than positive implication. It backstabs, destroys images and reputations, covers up the truth, stimulates negatively, and imparts the wrong messages. Moreover, people experience a freedom of the press that becomes an avalanche of conflicting information and opinion. It is a freedom which is often misleading. "It confuses even as it is supposed to enlighten, it assails the senses even as it is supposed to refine them, it entertains more than it enlightens, it gossips more than it informs." (Benigno, 1993, 6) The right to freedom of expression is being severely tested today as artistic expression is under attack, as some groups seek to impose their morality on the rest of society. Thus, media has become morall!
             y and creatively bankrupt. Media shows no values and moral ethics and the content is filled with no other topic but violence and sex. Consequently, media mirrors society by reflecting it as a society with low morals, with crime, sex, and pornography. It contributes to the national breakdown and the moral degradation of society. It has corrupted and exploited the freedom of the press (Benigno, 1993, 6). Media teaches by means of vibrations and images that leave a greater effect on the youth (Reuter, 1993, n.p.). People become victims of media's manipulation as they are being influenced for the worse. Because of the influences that affect the subconscious, all forms of media should be taken more seriously as to avert harmful effects (Gonzales, 1984, 9). "Media is one-sided. It only cares about money - this is media's world." (Cañaberal, 1993, 44) Thus, it corrupts and exploits society, predominantly the youth, by generatin...