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.

Relentlessly in Pursuit

A review on the film 'Veronica Guerin'
By Jo Cruz

Veronica Guerin first studied accountancy and political research and founded a public relations company before she joined Sunday Business Post and Sunday Tribune. It was only in 1994 where she joined the Sunday Independent and became an investigative journalist wherein she wrote about the criminal underworld of Dublin, Ireland. With her works and articles, she had to use nicknames to dub criminal drug lords in order to avoid Ireland’s libel laws.

Because of her line of work, she and her family received numerous death threats from these criminals. She was also brutally attacked by John Gilligan, a convicted criminal, in September 13, 1995. But this did not discourage her or stoop her down. She kept on going for the pursuit of truth. “I am simply doing my job,” she said. “I am letting the public know how this society operates.” With her passion and devotion for her controversial and dangerous job, this eventually led to her assassination in June 26, 1996 where she was attacked by two gunmen at the Naas Dual Carriageway and was shot five times at the back. Her death enlightened the Irish about the reality of criminal drug lords at the time. After her untimely death, one hundred fifty arrests were made and a hunt against Irish organized criminal gangs. Vital reforms of Irish laws were also made.

Because of this, her life story was made into a movie.

The movie was better than expected. It was a straightforward story of a crusading journalist taking on forces larger and more powerful than herself. It was both sentimental and emotional yet very much realistic. Its realistic impression of criminal low lifes as vicious and sadistic thugs was brutally honest which made a convincing portrayal. They did not also make an effort to glamorize or give the characters a sympathetic dimension which helped the image of the criminals be as ruthless as possible. Cate Blanchett’s performance and portrayal of Veronica Guerin was brilliant and very much believable. She was even able to capture the gestures and vocal rhythms of Veronica Guerin herself which awed not only the local Irish audience, but also its international viewers. The film also had a good stable and solid script which made the film more captivating and easier to watch. Although having these good points at hand, the film however digressed from reality in the end wherein they portrayed the aftermath of Guerin’s death as rather “salvific” wherein the drug related problems in Dublin somewhat completely vanished because of her sacrificial death to society. This is not entirely true and can be considered as Hollywood’s attempt to fictionalize stories to make it more sellable.

Veronica Guerin’s pursuit for truth and justice is deeply admirable. She devoted her career and life to exposing various criminals and drug lords for justice to be put to place. Journalists like her, in my belief, are considered to be as contemporary heroes. They risk their lives for the propagation of truth and justice for the masses. Although most of these journalists, like Veronica Guerin, have given their lives for the line of their work, their memories and efforts will forever remain in the hearts of many.

Human Security Act Enforced

By Bek Tulad

With a vote of 16-2 favoring the “Yes," Republic Act 9372, more commonly known as the Human Security Act or the Anti-Terror Bill, authored by Senator Juan Ponce Enrile, was passed by the Senate last February 8, 2007. In March 6, President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo called for a special meeting of the House wherein she signed the bill into a law. And finally last July 15, RA 9372 was implemented.

According to Anti-Terrorism Task Force Spokesman Ricardo Blancaflor, RA 9372 was created to primarily address the problem of terrorism in the country. The HSA is actually the very first law in the country which is about terrorism. Under the bill, terrorism is defined as the act of “sowing and creating a condition of widespread and extraordinary fear and panic among the populace in order to coerce the government to give in to an unlawful demand." Those who create the said fear and panic are branded as terrorists.

According to the Philippine Information Agency, other crimes covered by the law include “piracy and mutiny in the high seas, rebellion or insurrection, coup d’ etat, murder, kidnapping and serious illegal detention, violation of the laws on arson, toxic substances and hazardous and nuclear waste, atomic energy regulation, hijacking, anti-piracy and highway robbery and the laws on possession, manufacture and acquisition of firearms and ammunition. The law prescribes a penalty of 40 years in prison."

The government has assured that the provisions of the law shall be implemented in accordance with the Constitution and human rights.

Despite the assurance of the administration however, the HSA was still adversely welcomed by anti-Arroyo groups. They believed that implementing the RA is like forcing an undeclared martial law. The law’s definition of terrorism is very vague and can thus be easily modified to fit the government’s purpose.

Also, according to the said critics of the government, the provisions of the HSA directly violate human rights. From surveying possible “terrorists” to arresting them without warrants and indefinitely detaining them, the said Republic Act clearly only serves the government.

The law also allows courts to put suspected terrorists under house arrest if the evidences are not that strong, and for the police to open and seize their private accounts and freeze their assets.

The Communist Party of the Philippines said that Arroyo hastened the approval and implementation of the HSA also due to the pressure coming from the United States. “US President George W. Bush has likewise been pushing for an "anti-terrorism" law in the Philippines patterned after the US Patriot Act,” said the Information Bureau of the CPP.

Within the very short time that the HSA was drafted, proposed, amended, approved signed and implemented, the Filipino people really did not see the law coming. Millions were shocked when news that a law on terror was created and that it was going to curtail the freedom of expression of the citizenry exploded. Activists guarded the Senate hearings and made known their protests regarding the RA. Unfortunately, the bill still did get passed with only Senators Consuelo “Jamby” Madrigal and Mar Roxas voting against it.

People who are critical of the government are now exercising much caution with their moves but are also appealing to the masses to fight the anti-terror law. Filipinos should not be afraid of the government but instead should open their eyes to all the wrongdoings of the administration and use their rights to regain the equality and fairness in society.

Philippines Second Most Dangerous Country for Journalists

Iraq is number one, says IFJ
By Bek Tulad

Christopher Warren, President of the International Federation of Journalists (IFJ), accused the Arroyo government of being unresponsive to the numerous journalist killings happening in the country. With 50 journalists killed from 2001 up to February 2007, the Philippines which was originally known to have the freest form of press is now recognized in the international arena as the “second most dangerous country for journalists.” Iraq, with it’s war against the Bush administration is still number one.

According to IFJ, 2006 was the worst year for journalists as “at least 155 murders, assassinations, and unexplained deaths” happened in various countries; 13 of which came from the Philippines.

Political

It is suspected that majority of the killings are political. Most of the journalists who have been found to be dead or missing have been assassinated because of their work on politics. Marlene Esperat for example was shot by hired assassins last March 24, 2007 in her very own home. She was allegedly killed for “her exposé on graft and corrupt practices in the agriculture department.” Like her, many other journalists have died because they discovered the corrupt and unjust ways of certain politicians and had the guts to reveal the truth.

This continuous deaths and threats to journalists in the country have earned the Arroyo administration much warranted criticisms, especially since the number of dead journalists under the six-year term of the Arroyo administration has been found out to be alarmingly higher than that of the 21-year reign of Marcos.

In a meeting of the IFJ with numerous media representatives from various countries, Warren said that, “The Philippine government can no longer ignore this terrible record and we join our colleagues around the world in demanding an end to the culture of impunity which has flourished under the Arroyo administration.”

The National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) on the other hand, has called on Justice Secretary Raul Gonzalez to “do his job” in giving justice to slain and threatened journalists.

Taking action?

In light of the said killings and attacks on the government, President Arroyo has tasked the Supreme Court to designate special courts across the country which will address the pressing issue of political killings. She has also created the Melo Commission which is designed to solve the mystery behind the mysterious killings happening in the nation.

Senator Aquilino “Nene” Pimentel however denounces the Palace by not making public the recommendations and findings of the Commission. Pimentel suspects that the military might have been found to be the perpetrator of the said killings which is why the government chooses to be silent.

Despite the vagueness with the actions of the government, journalists in the country still continue to fight for their much deprived rights. Several have tied up with international organizations to pressure the Arroyo government to actually do something with what’s happening to the freedom of the press, and the protection of those who serve and work for it.

Warren said in his meeting with various media practitioners from the Philippines that “This has gone on for too long, and far too many lives have been wasted, for the government to continue to remain idle.”

Is Journalism Turning into Show Business?

So I Love and So I Hate
By Sandie Gadia

There is an apparent likeness between journalism and show business. Really, there is. Aside from the competitive nature of both fields, both cater to an audience, may it be a reader or a viewer. This entails that both career paths provide room for audience feedback and criticism (being ruthlessly judged by the people that they reach out to).

It’s a saddening reality that professionals in the fields of both journalism and show business, who only want to express themselves creatively, are barred by dissidents. What ever happened to freedom of expression if acting and writing are constantly misjudged and criticized to the bone?

Of course, let’s not forget the bursts of sensationalism that are inevitable in both fields. Are journalism and show business combining forces to turn into a big, manipulative machine that triggers their audience’s gullibility?

Journalism, much like show business, deals with issues that entail individuals to decipher which aspects of their lives they should prioritize at the point of their respective careers.

“It’s all in the matter of balancing out your priorities”, my parents once told an eleven-year old me when I asked them if it was okay if I pursued a career in journalism. Of course, it’s easy to say that I’m ready to make sacrifices when I do establish a career for myself in the field of journalism. It becomes tricky, however, when I find myself in the said situation already. When the dreaded issue of career versus family life arises, which will I choose? Will I even be able to make a decision at that?

It’s no surprise that the media has already showcased such hard instances especially in movies that I’ve seen – Veronica Guerin and The Devil Wears Prada, to mention a few. Through these films, both journalism and show business are incorporated.

The main characters, Veronica Guerin and Miranda Presley, respectively, found themselves in crossroads. That is, choosing between their successful careers and their personal lives. Evidently, the two women opted to stand firm in their chosen careers. Both women possessed strong passions for the craft, even if it meant putting their personal lives at risk.

It is also a known fact that successful career persons in both journalism and show business may have somehow jeopardized their personal lives for the sake of successful careers. Some are single parents, some are divorced, and some may have experienced marital or family problems.

Much like show business, there are also other factors to consider especially if journalism is perceived to be the issue here: hectic work hours, death threats, invasion of privacy, to mention a few.

Journalism, being mind-boggling and time-demanding, is reminiscent of how show business is like. In comparison to today’s celebrities, aren’t journalists experiencing the same exact dilemmas, ones that journalists face? No sleep, banters from their audiences, and such?

Such recounts from my parents, peers, and mentors did not startle me at all. From the very beginning, I was aware of the demands of the field. I grew up hoping to become a successful journalist in the field of fashion or lifestyle. With this, my parents have already briefed me on the back-biting reality of print media.

The only factor pushing me in pursuing a career in journalism is that, similar to showbiz, passion plays an important role.

Of course, I have to consider that sooner or later, as my parents have warned, I may have to face my own crossroads – passion or priority? But really, is it possible for passion to really exceed a certain extent?

My take on it, though, is that it’s all in the matter of one using both his head and his heart when it comes to careers. Taking into account Veronica Guerin who jeopardized her loved ones’ lives for the compensation of her career, then, frankly, it’s being downright silly. Knowing which things to put at the top of the priorities list is the way to go. It’s okay to be passionate in doing something as long as one does it for self-gratification, although for the benefit the people around him.

It’s a short life ahead. Will it be all passion but screwed up priorities? I beg to differ.

Dreams

Sunburnt
By Bek Tulad

There are many things I thought I understood. I thought I knew why a 60 something year old man had to market his body to gays for at least 30 pesos a day. I thought I knew why so many activists end up missing or dead every month or so. I thought I knew why little kids had to stand in the middle of the road, risking their lives just so they could sell a couple of rags.

I admit to be guilty of idealism. I see the cruelties of life everyday; scenes of poverty become my breakfast and dinner most of the time. Yet, what can I do? I am a mere sophomore student in an elitist school. I am really nothing more than handicapped in doing anything that could help the needy. I am not well-off myself. My family relies on me to support my two younger sisters’ education among other things. I like to dream that upon graduation I would be able to start my life as a proper journalist and be of some help. Eventually I imagine myself to be like Howie Severino or Maria Ressa. I want to expose the truth, serve the public, and fight for the rights of the marginalized part of the society – the part where I come from. By doing so, I may just be able to make the lives of many more livable. However, I realized I was being too idealistic again.

Turns out the profession I dreamt of was another thing I didn’t quite understand.

Journalism is more than just reporting an event or revealing the facts, it is sacrificing your life for the sake of the truth and your principles.

Upon seeing the film Veronica Guerin, I couldn’t help but imagine myself to someday, end up like Veronica, lying covered in her own blood with at least four bullets in her body.

Like Veronica, I enjoy investigative journalism. I want to expose the rotting system of the country, and of the people who should pay for how the nation and it’s people has turned out. I want revenge from those who corrupt the lives of the innocents for their own gluttony. I want to write.

However, I also want to live. I want to marry, have kids and be there every minute of my life for my family. I want to always keep my loved ones safe and secured. Unfortunately, I guess I haven’t really been thinking. If I want to fight evil in society and protect the oppressed from opportunists who have been multiplying rapidly, I will need to devote a lot of my time and strength on my profession.

I will also need a great deal of sensibility and logic. I don’t want to reach that point when I have to decide between the safety of my family and the story I am writing. Both are my passions, and losing one means losing a very big part of my life. I don’t think that Veronica was selfish when she pursued her work on the drug dealings in Ireland despite the threats she received. I thought she was very brave and admirable and I want to be like her. The only problem is, I’m scared.

When I was a child I thought that reporting would be easy. You just have to stand in front of the camera and say the right things (and of course look good). Upon learning about journalistic killings, I found out that one other thing a reporter needs is to keep herself alive. Probably the only real solution to my dilemma is for me to erase all my idealistic thoughts about the world and journalism and try to accept every bit of truth that I encounter. I know that I want to write and I know that it will be my inevitable but satisfying future. I just don’t know if I’ll be able to live that long to reflect on the work I have done. I’m keeping my fingers crossed.

Ateneo Student, Puked a Full Meal!

Caped Crusader
By Jeff Cape

"If some great controversy is not announced every morning,
We feel a certain void, 'Nothing in the paper today,' we sigh" -Paul Valery

The statement above proves how much tabloids and sensationalism has penetrated our lives.

For tabloids, blatant headlines on crime, sex and disasters come as rice. The viand takes on the form of a juicy starlet in a bikini or a local celebrity facing controversies. The dessert served, on the other hand, are the latest Lotto results Add to that the economic news, sports news with the most ludicrous language, possibly even voyeuristic sex stories, and if one is unfortunate enough, one can find a page with people who have nothing better to do but look for text mates. To top it all off, they have ridiculous names such as Tiktik and Toro. Clearly, tabloids should be taboo.

While it is true that the news should be accessible to everyone, it doesn’t mean that writers and publishers should stoop down to sensationalized writing as such. These papers commonly identified with boisterous, brief news content, attempts to captivate or persuade the masses with their colors and headlines about wonderful, amazing and even shocking stories. Their treatment for news stories and some of the news that they have for that matter, can be described in two words--unprincipled and inconsequential. Where else can you find a hyped-up and major feature on a street fight between alcoholics?

Tabloids augment the significant events of the times to give way for showbiz and preposterous news. In the States, Paris Hilton’s night life is given more attention as compared to the Iraq war. Locally, Angel Locsin’s big switch has been the talk-of-the-tabloids and everyone has seemingly forgotten that there are more pressing issues. Another dire effect of this is that the idea of public service is abandoned. Furthermore, with these kinds of topics, the public is not stimulated to think about pressing issues and in turn, become nothing more than empty heads, amused and astounded by such writings.

An interesting perspective is that these sensational tabloids are a product of our societal conditions. The ten-peso difference from the major broadsheets mean a lot to people who live on minimum wage, which clearly makes it more affordable for them. Also, since almost all tabloids are written in Filipino, it becomes more readable to the ordinary Filipino. And in the end, the topics in tabloids that people in the slums would want to read—not those that he cannot relate to.

Taking in to consideration all these reasons why tabloids proliferate, one “tabloid” comes in to my mind. Tempo. Tempo is not what I would categorically consider as a tabloid since it has no almost-nude girl on its cover, it tries to balance the news between crime and its contemporaries with those of pertinence and its cost is no different with other “tabloids”. So the thing is, it’s actually possible to strike a balance between commercialism and responsibility. So why not move towards it?

However, the fact still remains that the only reason certain reporters bang stories like a gong is because it sells and it plays upon the emotions of readers. So at the end of the day, tabloids are not a valid form of journalism. It is insulting for me that the types of journalism that maintain a certain astute are leveled with stories without substance, provided only to whip readers into a frenzy whilst devoid of facts.

Tabloids used to be different with broadsheets only in size, but today, the differences they have are immediately recognizable. Given the large impact they have, tabloids should be more responsible with what they feature and how they feature them.

And the status quo, the tabloids’ current situation, is something I am ready to barf out anytime as soon as I ingest them.

Amen

Dare You To Fly
By Anna Bueno

It is terrifying to hear news of extra-judicial killings. It is more terrifying when you hear that the number of these killings increase each day, and when you discover that a big part of these killings involves journalists. This is especially disheartening when you are studying in college and hoping to become a journalist someday.

For sure, there will always be optimism—the hope that things will somehow turn out better when you step into the real world. There’s always idealism—you believe that through you and your noble efforts, the world will change. You hope for the best; you believe you will be part of that change.

Yet sometimes, the statistics can really slap you in the face, and can lay to doubt all that you have hoped for, all that you have built up your life for.

We should all know this by now. The Philippines is the second most dangerous place for journalists in the world. Journalists have been killed, harassed, kidnapped, and maltreated in every way, in their pursuit of news and truthful information.

In addition, it is not easy to chase interviewees for an article. It is not easy to piece together a seemingly seamless write-up for a newspaper, or for a news broadcast. It is not easy to live in a world that follows its own time, that chooses its own pace for events, that surprises you with its catastrophes and disasters. The journalist must always be on his feet.

Surely, this is not the ideal way to live—you don’t even get paid much for that 3,000-word article that you’ve labored over for a month. You do it for the love of it—if any trace of that even remotely exists.

So why be a journalist?

In a sophomore student’s very limited view, the answer is simple: the “love for it” still exists. And maybe, just maybe, aspiring journalists do tend to be a little bit idealistic.

It always starts with a love affair with writing. You get amazed by the flow of words, you get carried away when you express yourself in paper and ink.

As you get older, and consequently, experience more of the world, there is a point when you ask yourself: what is the sense of what you are writing? What is the bigger picture? Who are you writing for? Why do you write?

There should always be a sense of purpose. And what nobler purpose than for that of society?

Journalism is a vocation, yet different from what a vocation is conceived to be. A member of a religious order, for example, stays in his house, and prays. A journalist, in stark contrast, goes out into the world in pursuit of something that is not for himself, but for others.

Sure, a person has dreams for himself. Everybody wants to fall and stay in love. Everybody wants a family. Everybody wants to live in peace, away from the irregularities of the world we are living in. Is this even possible when you feel a call to write, to expose, to bring some kind of change?

Is it possible to be idealistic in a world that has become jaded? Is it possible to write more for others, than the self? Is it possible to rouse people, who have almost given up, to act for what they’re fighting for?

In the point of view of an idealistic, optimistic, and hopeful eighteen year old, I say yes.