MANILA, Philippines?The media may have overstepped the bounds in their blow-by-blow account of Monday's hostage drama inside a bus in Manila that left the hostage-taker and eight of his 25 hostages dead.

In an analysis of the drama that has shocked the world, academicians and a journalists' group on Tuesday agreed that the broadcast of sensitive incidents provoked Rolando Mendoza into shooting his mostly Chinese hostages.

"I think the airing of the arrest of the brother was careless because they didn't know what it can trigger to the hostage-taker. Terrible,'' UP Journalism Prof. Luis Teodoro said in an interview.

He was referring to footage of the arrest of Mendoza's brother, Gregorio, who helped in the negotiations but was taken into custody by the police for violation of procedures, reportedly prompting Mendoza to start firing.

Police had supposedly requested TV networks not to air sensitive portions of the negotiations and police operations because Mendoza was monitoring the live coverage on the bus TV.

Teodoro observed that the media broke standard protocol when they aired sensitive footage of the stand-off, forgetting that these would reach the hostage-taker who was not in his right frame of mind.

"You assume that anything can trigger violence on the part of the hostage- taker. So I think the media forgot about that protocol. The main thing there is not to make things worse,'' he said.

"I don't know if the media were aware that whatever they were reporting was getting to the hostage taker, and therefore was likely to provoke a reaction. I don't know if they were aware of that. If they were, they should have known better.''

It now appeared that the media focused on "getting the information, and beating the competition'' but forgot about the safety of the hostages and the impact of their killings on the country's image, the professor said.

Nestor Burgos, president of the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines, agreed: "It was a case of showing it too much, not too little.''

Burgos, Inquirer correspondent in Iloilo, acknowledged that the media violated rules and procedures in the coverage of a crisis situation like Monday's hostage drama.

He said the blow-by-blow coverage not only "telegraphed'' the actions of the Special Weapons and Tactics assault team, but triggered the rampage of the hostage-taker.

"The footage of his brother being restrained and handcuffed, that really triggered the rampage. There were calls not to cover this. But the TV and radio networks were trying to outdo each other to get a scoop,'' Burgos said by phone. "It's lamentable that in a life-and-death situation, many of our colleagues were going for a scoop to be on top of the ratings game.''

The media's handling has come under the microscope again in the aftermath of the the hours-long hostage drama that many thought would end peacefully, but ended tragically.

Teodoro, who teaches at the UP College of Mass Communication and edits the Philippine Journalism Review, observed that the blow-by-blow coverage of the hostage drama was unnecessary.

Worse, the airing of interviews with Mendoza's relatives, colleagues and neighbors to fill "dead air'' during the stand-off may have fed into the stress of the hostage-taker, he said.

"It's doubtful if such interviews served any purpose in terms of assuring the safety of hostages. That's the main thing,'' he said.

"In this particular case, the fact that the (eight) hostages were killed, that's really horrible for the Philippines. We're being blackballed by Hong Kong, and I'm sure other countries will follow. They will tell their citizens not to come to the Philippines. That's one of the impact of what happened. And it's possible to argue that the media contributed to that.''

Even without a request from the police not to air sensitive portions of the stand-off and police operation, Burgos said it was prudent for the media to have acted with self-restraint.

"When in doubt, use self-restraint,'' he said on the phone. "Of course the situation was very fluid. But let's not forget that innocent lives were at stake here.''

If the reporters crossed the line in their reportage, Teodoro said their news managers should have quickly called their attention with the warning: "Back off.''

Teodoro said the handling called for a review of the protocols in the coverage of hostage-taking, terrorism and conflict.

"And these protocols are meant to prevent the worsening of the situation,'' he said.

Burgos said there was a need for media owners and industry leaders to meet and review how to improve coverage of crisis situations, like hostage-taking, and improve closer coordination between the media and the police.

If at all, there should be a simulated hostage-taking incident where both the policemen and mediamen would take part for the purpose of delineating their roles, he said.

"It's a matter of educating the people we send for coverages, and preparing them how they would cover,'' he said.

UP Political Science Prof. Clarita Carlos, who admitted seeing only glimpses of the drama on TV, declined to comment on the media's handling of the hostage drama, but said that the police should review their rules of engagement.

She observed that the police had to arrest Mendoza's brother, the police negotiator "didn't account for much,'' and that the assault team broke the glass windows with a sledge hammer "without concern for the safety of the hostages.''

"There was already a drama going on in the bus, why should there be drama on the side, which exacerbated it?'' she said on the phone.

She, however, said she could not say that the policemen violated their rules of engagement, but called for a review of these.

"There is a need to reexamine the PNP rules of engagement, the need for policemen to be trained in hostage negotiation, and there should be utmost concern for the safety of hostages. And lastly, there should be standard operating procedures on the role of the media,'' she said.

"It should be a learning process for all of us. If we really want tourists to come to our country, let's clean up our acts,'' she added.

She wondered: "Why was there no top government official on the site?''