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The stories that we found and shared on social media in 2011
In many news organizations these days, dedicated personnel are constantly trawling social media to fish out stories. That's either where many big stories begin or where small stories get big. Then they trend. GMA News has caught its fair share of big fish this way. Here is a rundown of 11 of the biggest stories that crowded your newsfeeds and timelines in 2011.
1. Pampanga shooting video - No sense of urgency? BACKGROUND: Last September 20, a 13-year-old boy pulled the trigger on himself shortly after shooting his purported 16-year-old lover inside a mall in Pampanga. Two weeks after the incident, the wounds still fresh, an amateur video taken inside the mall was uploaded on the internet, showing the younger boy still alive and moving for at least over the duration of the video, which ran for almost 3 minutes. THE TALE: It raised doubts over whether authorities handled the situation properly, with many netizens reacting with outrage. ENDING: PNP Chief Nicanor Bartolome said the situation required training and that the people who were there did the best they could. The mall’s management, on the other hand, denied responsibility, saying the police placed it under “their jurisdiction, took over the investigation, and restricted access to the victims." 2. NAIA: Worst Airport in the World? BACKGROUND: The issue began with a "foreigner criticizes Pinoys" story that triggered heated conversations in the Philippine cyberworld. In a blog entry, Englishman Geoffrey Bastin called Manila a “dump” and the “disgrace of Southeast Asia” with special mention of the Ninoy Aquino International Airport.
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THE TALE: Netizens argued over the validity of Bastin’s statement. Then a travel site in October threw fuel on the fire by publishing the results of its poll showing that their readers voted it the "worst airport in the world.” Never mind that it's a site for travelers who sleep in airports and the poll rated airports according to their comfort for overnight stays. ENDING: The Department of Transportation and Communications vowed to start the renovation process this January. But in an unpopular move, it rejected the pro-bono redesign plan of Filipino designers Kenneth Cobonpue and Budji Layug, saying structural and electro-mechanical repair is the priority. That spurred a debate of aesthetics vs. function that will probably go on until Pinoys see changes, and be satisfied, with the country’s international gateway.
3. DPWH photoshop mess: I could do better than that BACKGROUND: When typhoon Pedring hit Manila in late September, it disfigured one of the most iconic places in the capital: the Baywalk along Roxas Boulevard.
THE TALE: A blogger loudly noted that a PR photo uploaded on the Department of Works and Public Highways’ Facebook page was altered to show three officials in deep thought while inspecting Roxas Boulevard. ENDING: Mentioned even in the Washington Post, the manipulated photo became a global joke and a meme where creative manipulators put the three officials ‘in deep thought’ in various absurd situations, including Lady Gaga’s music video of Bad Romance. The DPWH Facebook page would have to wait a long time for some peace and quiet.
4. Christopher Lao - He got his revenge BACKGROUND: “I should have been informed!” went viral after it was uttered by UP law student Christopher Lao in a GMA News report last August showing him drive his car into a flooded street. THE TALE: Lao trended on Twitter worldwide due to the blizzard of ‘I-should-have-been-informed’ tweets, most of them mocking rather than sympathetic. But some supporters chimed in, saying Lao did not deserve the cyber bullying. Lao kept his silence until October, after the issue had died down, when he re-emerged with a commercial on YouTube for a bank's car insurance plan. It showed him in a re-enactment of the same report featuring the same memorable line. It appeared like the sweetest revenge. ENDING: "Some good finally came out of this crisis. It became an opportunity. I can now pay for the tuition of my daughter," Lao said. 6. Lola Aurelia finds Lolo Luis: Unlikely love story BACKGROUND: In one of the more touching stories that bloomed from a photo posted on Facebook, an elderly woman was able to reunite with her missing husband, to the delight of many who shared word of her search. 
THE TALE: Lola Aurelia was roaming the streets of Manila looking for her husband, whom the family believed to be suffering from dementia. Photographer ‘Reddie Js’ spotted her along Roxas Boulevard one day, with a missing person printout for husband Luis pinned to the back of her dress. He took a black and white photo of her, uploaded the picture, and then let the Internet crowd take over. The image was shared over 50,000 times.
ENDING: Lolo Luis had been missing 12 days when Kara David reported on GMA News’ 24 Oras on November 22 that the elderly couple were reunited in an emotional encounter under an LRT station along Quirino Avenue. 5. Itlog ni Topacio/Put the little girl to sleep: Oh these Arroyo spokespersons
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When Salonga, however, was picked by eventual winner Angola’s Leila Lopes to ask her the question, the Broadway star drew flak for what many said was a softball question that may have given Miss Angola the crown: "If you could change one of your physical characteristics, which one would it be and why?" Salonga clarified later through a tweet that, “Just so you all know, I didn't write my question. All our questions were pre-written and each judge is assigned one. Luck of the draw."
ENDING: In an interview on GMA News TV’s News To Go soon after the pageant , Salonga revealed that she, too, picked Miss Angola to win, but chose Supsup as1st runner up. -- HS, GMA News
