Digitalizing the Media

By Sandie Gadia

TV, radio, newspapers – these are the kinds of media that people are generally used to. In today’s society, media is not only restricted to broadcast and print. It has paved way to other alternatives, one of them being online journalism. The term is used to refer to creative outputs that are posted on the World Wide Web such as news or feature articles, photographs, videos, audio clips, and podcasts, to mention a few.

The online journalism fad is rapidly climbing up the ladders of the developing media. Given a few more years, computer experts have predicted that the new source for information will be found solely in none other than the internet.

The deal with online journalism

Newspapers and other media companies are quickly adapting to the emergence of online media.

According to David Carlson, a contributor in Digital Journalism: Emerging Media and the Changing Horizons of Journalism, these media companies have expanded their scopes of information by publishing their articles online because of a single reason: its (online journalism’s) potential.

He writes, “…an online journal can have the depth and breadth of newspapers, the immediacy of radio, television’s ability to make us ‘eyewitnesses’ to events, and the typography and resolution of slick magazines.”

Indeed, the internet makes it possible for just about anyone who is interested in the creative arts to express themselves through different media, be it visually or through text.

Online journalism, according to Carlson, isn’t solely about giving away useful information. It’s also about the money. Yes, money.

He says, “They [media companies] create a new and better product, give it away for free, and still have a lot of money, potentially increasing their profitability.”

Carlson makes online journalism sound appealing to many, which is why in this day and age, indeed, a lot of print publications have expanded to digitalize their news.

Campus online journalists

The Ateneo has already infused the fad of online media among its campus journalists.

The official newspaper of the university, The GUIDON, has been translating its printed text into digital airwaves. They have two websites: The GUIDON Online and Alt+G, The GUIDON’s lifestyle e-zine (online magazine).

With this, the student organization established a Web Staff, comprising of Web Technical and Web Content. The former is composed of students who are into the techie stuff – coming up with codes behind the web pages of The GUIDON Online, proper lay outing of the articles published online, etc.

Web Content, on the other hand, is responsible for the lifestyle articles on the e-zine that are a mix of “lighter” articles than the ones published on The GUIDON print. For example, Alt+G writers do reviews on must-try restaurants and newly released music albums. Feature articles are also included in the Alt+G website although they are much shorter as compared to The GUIDON’s feature articles in print.

Web Editor of The GUIDON, Monique Avila (III AB IS), recounts her experiences so far in working with the Web team, fostering the growth of online journalism in campus.

“I started out in publications as a writer for my high school paper. When I heard that The GUIDON had an online magazine (e-zine), I decided that it would be a refreshing change for me [going from print to online]. Being a web addict myself, I thought it would be fun to write something on a medium that's new and different,” Monique says when asked what made her decide to venture into online journalism.

The fine line

Monique continues to say that there is a fine line between print journalism and online journalism. Being on the Web Staff of The GUIDON for 3 years now, she has come to take note of these differences.

According to Monique, print media is static while online media is interactive. For one thing, The GUIDON receives instant feedback from its viewers with the use of tag boards and comment boxes on both its websites.

Recently, the student publication has already started advertising The GUIDON hotline: 0917-7-GUIDON. With the use of the official GUIDON cell phone, Guidoneers receive instant feedback from its readers through air waves still.

The student publication is expanding their alternatives by not limiting themselves to tag boards and comment boxes on their websites.

Truly, snail mail isn’t the way to go here.

Advancements on the web

The GUIDON’s Web Editor continues to say that when it comes to online journalism, news websites have the freedom to put other multimedia such as videos, audio clips or podcasts. These multimedia devices can hook the readers into browsing the site.

In fact, Alt+G includes videos to their webpage from time to time. These videos serve as complements to the feature articles published online.

Pros and cons

Monique stresses that an advantage of online journalism is that it has the tendency to be more up-to-date than print media, at least for The GUIDON (a monthly publication).

The articles printed on the previous issue are updated in the website’s section, Breaking News. This is where The GUIDON places more urgent news stories or feature stories which serve as follow-ups to those that were featured in the newspaper. This way, the newspapers’ readers get to learn about new issues and events faster -- preferably right after they happened.

As mentioned, Guidoneers are able to get feedback from their readers instantly with the use of tag boards, comment boxes, and text messages. This allows for interaction between the members of the publication and fellow Ateneans or random internet surfers or newspaper readers as well. This feature is really used to the advantage of the editors of the paper, especially. They relay the feedback to their respective staffs, which makes it easier for the entire publication to work as a team.

Monique also points out that the website has a wider reach in terms of audiences as compared to the print version. Since The GUIDON Online is on the World Wide Web, people from all over the globe can have access to its content.

To add, Monique stresses that online journalism has to be much more brief and straight-to-the-point than articles on print. There should be a sense of urgency. As mentioned, being a web addict herself, readers want concise and interesting articles.

This is a disadvantage for web writers though since there is a certain limit to be followed. Wordy articles are a big no-no when it comes to online journalism.

An online article is ideally 3,500-4,000 cws (characters with spaces) long.

“Anything further than that, the reader would lose interest,” says Monique, “It seems as if we're at competition with the other sites that our readers can go to -- if they can get shorter content there, why do they have to read ours?”

Another disadvantage of online journalism, according to Monique, is how very few books and guidelines have been written about it.

“Basically, you just have to learn everything from experience,” says Monique.

Lastly, since online journalism is part of the vast domain of the internet, just about anyone can copy an article on the net without proper acknowledgement.

The GUIDON’s Web Editor adds that, “people have yet to make laws to protect and guide online work [in terms of copywriting, privacy issues, etc.], so, you never know if you can defend yourself against certain situations, such as someone copying your work or violating your journalistic integrity.”

Last word

David Carlson leaves progressive insight for those interested in venturing into the world of online media.

He says that above all, article selections should be of personal use and interest to the readers whether it be news sites, personal blogs, or auction sites.

Secondly, he states the importance of producing free content on websites unless it is very specialized. Free content draws more readers, leading to more effective intake of information, according to Carlson.

Lastly, similar to what The GUIDON’s Web Editor, Monique, mentioned earlier, interaction between the writer and his reader is important. Online journalism provides the opportunity for speedy improvement on the output of the website through audience feedback.

Monique concludes the sharing of her experiences by saying, “Online journalism is fun! It's a lot of hard work, but it’s very fulfilling when you see the visitors comment on the tag board and react to the content posted on the sites. There's a lot of freedom in it, too, since it is very new and different from the traditional form of publications.”

So, are you up for digitalizing the media?

Only Three Climbers Left for the Step-Ladder

Ateneo stays alive and prepares for 4th La Salle face-off
By Jeff Cape

Better cling to your seats because the final chapter of Season 70 is about to commence. After two rounds of grueling games in the eliminations, a couple of sudden death and knock out games, we’re now down to this year’s triumvirate: The Blue Eagles nesting in Katipunan (Ateneo de Manila), the Green Archers from Taft (De La Salle) and the still undefeated Red Warriors from Recto (University of the East).

The first round of the eliminations gave a hint of the possibility of making UAAP history—the Red Warriors would force everyone down on their knees and get a staggering 14 wins- 0 losses card. And with adrenaline-abundant games in the second round, UE was able to attain that sweep, thus gaining an automatic spot in the championship and muddling it up for everyone else.

The Adamson University (AdU) Soaring Falcons and the University of the Philippines (UP) Fighting Maroons were immediately eradicated in the league with their score cards carrying dismal 2-12 and 0-14 records. The latter’s coach, as a result of this depressing standing, got kicked-out. The National University (NU) Bulldogs on the other hand, failed to reach the upper half of the league with a 6-8 standing. Thus, the University of Santo Tomas (UST) Growling Tigers, Far Eastern University (FEU) Tamaraws, Ateneo and La Salle were left to battle it out to get to the top.

Since UE attained the right to an assumption to the finals, the remaining schools would adopt a step-ladder system. The step-ladder system is literally like a ladder—one has to get through every step to get to the top. Significantly, the remaining teams have to face eliminations and knock-out games to fulfill this.

First on the list of eliminations were FEU and UST. With a 7-6 score card, FEU was aimed to step on UST with its 8-5 standing. With their last match in the second round eliminations, FEU was able to do so garnering an equal rank of 8-6. A playoff was scheduled and the defending champions, UST, were able toss FEU off the ladder and gain a match with either La Salle or Ateneo.

In another play-off match for the twice-to-beat advantage, the Green Archers, by a mere point, were able to swoop ahead of the Eagles. Ateneo then stepped down to battle it out with UST and in a heart-stopping game, the Blue Eagles were able to keep the Tigers locked inside their cages. This led to the fourth Ateneo-La Salle face-off of the season this coming Thursday. The Blue Eagles really have to fly high and win twice over the Archers to move on to the top of the ladder and face UE.

Predictions

This I believe is the Season of Faith for the Ateneo. Never mind wasted opportunities against the Bulldogs or that play-off with La Salle. What matters now is what the team can do. The odds are against us, but I believe that with the three-pointing skills of Salamat, Escueta and Tiu, and the heart of the Eagles themselves, we can cling on to that championship. We were able to beat the Archers twice in the elimination; we’ll do it once more. Impossible is nothing. One down, four to go.

Go Ateneo. All-heart, baby.

Dress Code To Be Implemented in LS

Smockets to be moved, says Cuyegkeng

By Anna Bueno

“You cannot get to me through a tantrum; you can only get to me through reason.”

These were the firm words of Ma. Assunta Cuyegkeng, Ph.D., Vice-President of the Loyola Schools, when the crowd booed her on the Loyola Schools (LS) Consultation on the Implementation of the Dress Code last September 19, 2007, at the Colayco Pavilion. Cuyegkeng, as with other members of the LS administration, were present at the consultation organized by the Sanggunian ng mga Mag-Aaral ng Paaralang Loyola ng Pamantasang Ateneo de Manila (Sanggu).

The Sanggu organized this consultation to address the circulating rumors about the implementation of a dress code in the LS. The consultation also addressed rumors on the banning of smoking pocket gardens (smockets) on campus.

Negative image

Cuyegkeng said that the administration has been receiving negative comments on Ateneans, especially on the way they dress on interviews, meetings, and other transactions outside the school. Most of the comments come from potential employers, alumni, and other external publics. “They keep complaining behind our backs,” Cuyegkeng said.

The lack of explicit guidelines on the dress code as written on the Magna Carta pushed the administration to formulate guidelines on the dress code. Cuyegkeng said, “People don’t see the lines anymore on what is appropriate wear and what is not.”

The Colayco Pavilion was overflowing with people who wanted to hear confirmations on the rumors. When Cuyegkeng announced that slippers, of any kind, would not be allowed, she was met with rude comments and loud boos from the audience.

There were more of these scenarios at the open forum after Cuyegkeng’s initial announcement on the dress code. As of press time, only general guidelines have been released (see sidebar). “We are still in the process of formulating specific guidelines and sanctions,” Cuyegkeng said.

As such, the next semester would be an “adjustment semester,” said Cuyegkeng. The LS will impose the general guidelines but will not admonish the students for violations yet.

On smockets

The smockets, on the other hand, will only be moved from their original locations in the campus. This is in contrast to the rumors that the smockets will be totally banned. The moving of the smockets is due to Sections 5 and 6 of Republic Act 9211 or the Tobacco Regulation Act of 2003.

Section 5 of the Act says that smoking shall be banned from all public areas, including schools. Section 6, however, allows the designation of smoking and non-smoking areas on areas not covered by the ones indicated on Section 5.

The smockets, then, will be moved to non-LS property near the school, such as the Institute of Social Order (ISO), or any other piece of land not owned by the Ateneo.

The Dress Commandments

General Guidelines on the LS Dress Code

By Anna Bueno

Thou shall wear:

• Sandals, canvas shoes, heeled slip-ons
• Walking shorts, cotton tees

Thou shall not wear:

• Rubber thongs and flip-flops
• Leather and plastic slippers:
• Pajamas
• Lounging gym shorts
• Sando or camisoles
• Soiled shirts
• Beachwear, bar, disco, nightclub wear

This is as of September 19, 2007.

Ford, Focus

By Timmy Nolan

In the early years of Ford Arao’s (IV AB IS) career as a Blue Eagle in the Ateneo Men’s Basketball Team, he was known to be a sloppy, slippery-handed player. When a pass was directed towards him, it was almost an automatic turnover. He would enter a game for a minute or so, then take a seat. The word “impact” was never involved in his game then. Arao had no defensive presence; he had no post moves; and opponents never saw him as a threat in the paint.

As Jc Intal and Doug Kramer graduated from the team last year, many lost hope in finding a dominant big man that can replace them. Having an unreliable center such as Arao (or so they thought) to replace Intal and Kramer, it was a fear for numerous UAAP fanatics that the Ateneo team would not go the distance. They were wrong.

Ateneo’s first game for UAAP season 70 was against the Adamson Falcons. The team barely escaped with a victory. Bad shooting. Bad defense. Terrible game. However, playing his finest game in five years, Arao stood his ground and shot 10 out of 16 Ateneo points in overtime as the Eagles recovered from awful shooting to break away from an early double-digit deficit. Ford stepped up in the dying minutes of the game and lifted the team as the highest scorer with 20 points and 15 rebounds. Sa wakas, sumikat na rin ang ARAO. His numbers, compared to that of last year, and the years before that, are staggering. Ford now scores an average of 18 points and 13 rebounds per game. He is a huge threat under the basket both on offense and defense. Opposing teams feel his inside presence tremendously. Passes from teammates are easily received and delivered to the hole.

It’s about time that Ford Arao proved his dominance in this game of basketball. He is an unstoppable finisher and a muscle underneath. As the co-captain of this year’s basketball team, his teammates look up to him for guidance and leadership. He remains to be the Arao we once knew, egging the crowd to cheer and taunting the other team, but now with reason. He has reason to stand tall. Once, he was jeered “Ford, focus!” Now, Ford is focused, and he continues to surprise the Ateneo community with his numbers on the board. He can carry the team on his back, and he will. Who would have thought that Ford would change his game dramatically?

The fate of the Ateneo team rests on the coming game this Sunday, September 23, 2007. A much-anticipated match up between UST center Jervy Cruz and Ateneo’s star Ford Arao will take place. In this game, mabubulag ang mga tigre sa lakas ng Arao.

Media Talks@ADMU Launched

First of three talks entitled "Media and Morality: Seeing the Other in the News"
By Bek Tulad

September 5, 2007 marked the beginnings of a project of the Department of Communication called “Media Talks@ADMU." According to its convener Jonathan Ong, a lecturer from the department, the media talks are a series of seminars or public lectures geared towards “increasing the awareness of critical study of the media and how it intersects with the industry and the concerns about it such as politics.”

The department tied up with the Center for Communication Research and Training Multimedia Information Resource Laboratory (CCRT-MIR) whose director is Estelle Marie Ladrido, and with Ong’s Media and Globalization (MAG) class, in putting the project together.

Jason Cabañes, a lecturer from the department, Franz Ong (III AB Com), Ella Evangelista, an executive producer for GMA shows like Wish Ko Lang, and Howie Severino, host of Kapuso shows such as Sine Totoo were the speakers during the first talk held in Escaler Hall. Maria Ressa, Head of the News and Current Affairs Group of the ABS-CBN cancelled at the last minute due to a sudden meeting.

The second part of the media talks is scheduled on November and is to address the field of advertising. Cabañes will be its convener since Ong will be momentarily away. The tentative speakers for the seminar are Ladrido, Andrew Ty, also a professor from the department and Dondi Gomez, Marketing Director of Unilever.

The third which is going to be about the interrelationship of journalism and politics is to be conducted in January. Ong said that they are planning to discuss the topics of spin doctoring, campaign spending and the influences of media in international and local policies. For the speakers they will be inviting Leloy Claudio, a professor in the department and Claire David of the Social Weather Station (SWS).

Ong said that a couple of years ago, the department tried launching something like the media talk with UNICEF as its sponsor but it was not pursued.

Tabloid Journalism: The Popular Journalism

By Portia Silva

In the Philippine contemporary period, tabloid newspapers are usually associated with feeding readers sensational celebrity gossips, giving stories with no clear basis and providing unreliable pieces of information. Filipinos automatically snigger upon the mention of such a newspaper and instantly come up with Tiktik, Abante and Tonight as primary examples of such. Many of us do not realize that tabloid is a term originally used to refer to “a newspaper that contains many pictures and gives the news in short and concise articles” (Reyes, 1972, p. 242). Phenomena boiled down to minimum wordage, without having to give up significant details of these stories.

Tabloid journalism started in the Philippines in 1916 when Carlos Ronquillo initiated the shift of Taliba Newspaper from the regular spreadsheets to small, compressed lay-outs of the newspaper. 1916 marked one of the highlights in Philippine journalism when the said newspaper began publishing “vulgar headlines under huge, dramatic pictures, with the main articles jammed in eight columns” (Reyes, 1972, p. 25). A few years after, Ang Mithi followed the path Taliba fearlessly took in the height of Filipino journalism.

Clearly, tabloid was used only to refer to the shift of the sizes of these newspapers that publishers made earlier on. The use of more striking and eye-opener headlines did not completely alter the content of the articles since editors then carefully screened what events are to be published and what items are to be thrown in the bin. People were naturally attracted to tabloid newspapers mainly because they come in handier and are way cheaper than the regular newspapers they had back then. Moreover, commuters preferred to carry smaller information spreads that contained the items broadsheets had.

However, tabloids evolved from pint-sized newspapers (with heavy emphasis on the change of size and lay-out) to spread sheets featuring “unethical and unimportant” issues in society to the extent that journalists write without being too cautious since tabloid journalism has “very few set rules” (Bentley, 1953, p. 199).

Moreover, tabloids became a way to relive the traditional themes used in long-forgotten news writing —— celebrity and personalities, picture stories, sensationalized crimes about sex and violence. Before tabloids reached its peak and completely turned into cheap pieces of folded recycled paper, this kind of spreadsheet was noted for using “good story approaches” to “human interests” (Tunstall, 1996, p. 200). Eventually, it deliberately led popular news agenda as tabloid journalism started to play an important role in the entertainment industry. Curran and Seaton (2003) found out that generally, “less than twenty percent of the content of the national popular press is allocated to political, economic and social issues” (p. 347).

Evaluating what tabloid journalism has become today, many Filipinos can attest to the fact that it has become popular among readers. But from the perspective of the more critical consumers, tabloid journalism’s status as “real journalism is still questionable.” Media analysts even go to the extent of “marginalizing” and “disqualifying” tabloid as a formal product of the field of journalism (Langer, 1998, p. 8). Tabloid is simply a newspaper that caters to the peoples belonging to the lower economic classes, and a newspaper that answers the prayers of publishers in finding cheaper versions of the broadsheets.

In Britain, tabloid excess has caused outraged among the public back in 1993. Public trust in journalists and their stories dropped drastically and people no longer wanted to read anything that was published in tabloid newspapers (Curran and Seaton, 2003, para. 358).

On the other hand, ABS-CBN’s current news and affairs head, Maria Ressa, argued that tabloid is “not sensationalism." It just so happens that tabloid news has become the norm globally since it “appeals to the emotions of the viewers” while “digging deeper into the issues being covered” (de Jesus, 2006, para. 12). In fact, many of the television station’s news programs have adopted the styles of tabloid journalism —— straightforward headlines, fusing entertainment with news and banking on thought-provoking images for their stories.

Journalism has been continually developing all throughout time and many have changed since it first began. Tabloid newspapers, for one, were created to provide alternative reading materials for the public. But no matter how the intentions may seem noble, the tabloids existing today fail to live up to these purposes.

References

A. Books

1. Bentley, G. (1953). Editing the Company Publication. New York: Harper and Brothers Publishers.

2. Curran, J. & Seaton, J. (2003). Power without Responsibility. London: Routledge.

3. Langer, J. (1998). Tabloid Television. Great Britain: T.J. International Ltd.

4. Reyes, L. (1972). Peryodismong Pilipino. Cebu: Habagatan Publications.

5. Tunstall, J. (1996). Newspaper Power. Oxford: Clarendon Press.

B. Online Newspaper Article

De Jesus, Ayn Veronica. (23 June 2006). ABS-CBN raises the flag of journalism excellence. Retrieved 17 September 2007 from http://www.manilatimes.net/national/2006/june/23/yehey/life/20060623lif1.html.