Sun.Star website: www.sunstar.com.ph
The Sun.Star website empowers Philippine communities by providing news and information from the provinces to a national and global audience.
It is in the list of top websites in the country based on Effective Measure reports, the media organizations industry provider of standard audience measurement. It placed number 68 as of March 2012 ranking.
Sun.Star brand of journalism carried over the Internet makes the website a reliable source of news in the surfeit of information online.
The website was first uploaded as Sun.Star Cebu website at www.sunstar.com.ph in October 1996, making it the first Philippine community newspaper to go online.
On May 10, 2000, the website at the same URL was converted into the Sun.Star Network Online, Internet home to the only network of community newspapers in the Philippines. It pools news and information from Sun.Star newspapers and networks in 12 major cities around the country.
The website covers Manila, Baguio, Pampanga and Pangasinan in Luzon; Cebu, Bacolod, Iloilo, Dumaguete, and Tacloban in the Visayas; and Davao, Cagayan de Oro and Zamboanga in Mindanao.
News and information on the website have interactive links that allow viewers to be part of online communities and to interact with other readers.
Updated 24 hours a day, www.sunstar.com.ph also carries breaking news and interactive special sections and blogs that allow readers to share stories, photos and videos.
It has links to Bisaya news (news in the Visayan dialect), an archive of past issues and breaking news from the Philippines and around the world.
It also has social media accounts like Facebook: Sun.Star -- Philippine news Twitter: @sunstaronline, YouTube (sunnexdesk channel), Google+ (Sun.Star Philippines) and LinkedIn (Sun.Star Philippines).
The Sun.Star website at www.sunstar.com.ph won as Best Website (newspaper category) in the 4th Digital Filipino Web Awards given in Manila in 2010. It also won as Best Website (corporate category) in the Catholic Mass Media Awards of 2009 given by then Cebu Archbishop Ricardo Cardinal Vidal.
In the Effective Measure report of March 2012, Sun.Star at no. 68 ranked higher than Yugatech.com, Friendster.com, Philboxing.com, Manilastandardtoday.com, Abante.com.ph, Journal.com.ph, Bworldonline. com, and Malaya.com.ph. The number 1 website was Facebook.com.
In the portals category for March 2012, Sun.Star came at number 7 after news websites Abs-cbnnews.com (no. 2), Inquirer.net (no. 3), Philstar.com (no. 4) and GMAnetwork.com (no. 5).
The website is managed by the Sun.Star Network Exchange (Sunnex), a department of the Sun.Star Publishing Inc. with headquarters in Cebu City, Philippines.
Return to Top:
Staff box
Editor-in-Chief - Nini B. Cabaero - ninicab (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Managing Editor - Mildred V. Galarpe - mvg (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Content Editor - Laureen R. Mondoñedo-Ynot - jrmondonedo (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Assistant Content Editor - Daryl D. Anunciado - ddanunciado (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Assistant Content Editor - Jay Ann S. Clamohoy
Assistant Content Editor - Nera Mariz A. Puyo
Manila Editor - Ariel B. Catubig - abcatubig (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Manila Reporter - Glaiza D. Jarloc
Manila Reporter - Virgil B. Lopez
Manila Reporter - John Carlo M. Cahinhinan
Manila Reporter - Third Anne P. Peralta
Manila Reporter - Ruth Abbey E. Gita
Web Technology Officer - Francis June A. Ygot - webtechofficer (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Web Technology Support - Gun Ann Rose B. Agravante
Web Technology Support - Ron Arbiel S. Tumandao
Web Technology Support - Jay Martin L. Epile
Web Specialist - Ruldan C. Elmetanio
Administrative Assistant (Cebu) - Leah Y. Capuyan - onlineads (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Administrative Assistant (Manila) - Arlene B. Dionisio
I.T. Consultant - Dino Simeon Madarang
Editorial Consultant - Rosemarie H. Borromeo
Return to Top
Sunnex Manila
Office Address: Unit 701, Tycoon Centre, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Office Telephone Number: (02) 470-1378
Office Fax Number: (02) 638-7475
Office email address: sunnexmanila (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Return to Top
Major features of the Sun.Star website
Comprehensive coverage of 12 major cities
The Sun.Star website carries news, opinion, features, weather, foreign exchange, photos, maps, graphics and video. It is a multimedia approach to the story-telling function of media.
Sun.Star network homepage showing the 12 areas.
Multimedia specials
Major news events in the Philippines were marked by coverage through live streaming or real-time video reports over the Internet of the Pedro Calungsod (2nd Filipino saint) thanksgiving day in November 2012, Sinulog celebration in Cebu in January 2013, local and national elections in May 2013, President Benigno Aquino III’s State of the Nation Address (Sona) in July 2013, and the Ironman 70.3 Philippines in August, among others.
Multimedia breaking news reports such as those on the February 6, 2012 earthquake that hit Cebu and Negros also were among the most read articles on the website and on Sun.Star’s social media.
Blogs and Specials http://blogs.sunstar.com.ph/
Sun.Star Blogs and Specials, a section where you can find updates on current events and hottest issues of the day. This section contains several micro-sites that were designed to cover certain topics and issues, such as corruption in the government, developments in the Aquino administration, updates on Cebu’s grandest festival – the Sinulog, environment, entertainment, schedule of fights and the life of Filipino boxing champ Manny Pacquiao, and even a section for Filipinos abroad, among others.
Each of these micro-sites is interactive and has videos, photos, maps and graphics.
Sinulog Festival (http://blogs.sunstar.com.ph/sinulog/2012/)
The Sinulog coverage in multimedia by www.sunstar.com.ph is a highlight every year that brings peaks in visits and page views to the Sun.Star website. The section’s aim is to provide the global audience with information about the Sinulog, annual fiesta of Cebu, in text, photos, video, music, and live streaming.
Interactivity and feedback
The Sun.Star website offers its audience a plurality of methods through which to speak out or talk back.
Newspaper readers can voice out on issues through texting and by e-mail. Online visitors could do the same plus they have the facility to comment directly on a news report through a message board or by clicking on the comment link on a blog post. Publication of online feedback is immediate or, if delayed, it is usually for approval purposes only so publishers could screen out abusive, foul and unrelated comments.
News websites post e-mail addresses of authors and editors. A click on such a link would bring the online visitor to an email page containing the writer’s address. Feedback by media consumers used to be purely one-way. Today, that conversation could be two-way or in multiple channels as in social media, with the exchanges happening at almost the same time.
Some are in text, others in video or audio. It might not always be a sober conversation, it could even sound like a babble of voices; but the result is people trying to converse with each other.
Icons represent reader’s tools or tools to allow readers to print the article, e-mail, comment on it, share it with other readers and to subscribe to a news feed.
Online games
Whack the vote-buyer -- Created last May 2013 in a bid to discourage the selling of votes and to help the Commission on Elections fight vote-buying.
Sona Word Search -- Created on July 2013, for the website’s coverage of President Benigno Aquino III’s fourth State of the Nation Address (Sona).
Webcast
A new initiative, Sun.Star’s webcast is still on test broadcast status, but it has been available on the Sun.Star website since June 5, 2013. The webcast is delivered in Bisaya, local dialect of the people in Cebu and other major cities in the Philippines, particularly Visayas and Mindanao.
Screenshot of Sun.Star's webcast as seen on the website.
Social media
The Sun.Star website is benefiting from the content sharing going around among users of Facebook and Twitter.
Facebook, that social media site that is an online hangout for most of its 800 million users worldwide, is giving the website an advantage in terms of reach as Facebook sharing is sending readers to it. The Associated Press has reported on a study done by the Pew Research Center's Project for Excellence in Journalism that showed how “Facebook is influencing what news gets read online as people use the Internet’s most popular hangout to share and recommend content.”
Links to articles on the Sun.Star website are posted on Facebook and these get to be shared and “liked.” This recommending and sharing of content is not one-way and is not limited to serious news. It can be fun, light and interactive.
With the growing importance of social media in the distribution of its news and other information, the Sun.Star website office has devised a protocol to guide its reporters and editors on the use of these tools.
Return to Top
Electronic paper
The Sun.Star website has an electronic newspaper, a digital replica of the Sun.Star Cebu, Sun.Star SuperBalita Cebu, Sun.Star Davao, Sun.Star Cebu YearBook and Bisdak Magasin.
An electronic newspaper, or e-paper in short, is an exact digital replica of the printed paper. The e-paper would have everything found in the newspaper — aside from the news, the horoscope, the classified ads and the obituary, which are not necessarily found on the newspaper’s website. In this respect, the e-paper is better than the newspaper’s website.
The e-paper can be read on your desktop computer, laptop, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, WinMobile, iRex, Nokia Smartphone, or Kindle. For readers outside Cebu or the Philippines, this offers them the possibility of reading Sun.Star’s latest issues just as if they’re reading the print version.
Other advanced features of the new digital edition are full graphics and text views, foreign language translation capabilities, text-to-voice conversion, article sharing options, page and article printing, bookmarks, clickable URLs, and interactive tables of content, among others.
The Sun.Star digital publications can also be downloaded and saved for offline reading using NewspaperDirect’s PressReader application.
If you’re pressed for time, you don’t have to read anything as you can search using a keyword or topic to find the story you wish to read. You can also browse through the archive to find past issues.
The new Sun.Star digital edition even allows you to comment on the stories published on the paper and share them with your friends through email, blogs, and even on Facebook and Twitter.
The e-paper is updated daily and is available through the Sun.Star website.
Return to Top
Sun.Star Publications Network
Sun.Star Bacolod
Sun.Star Bacolod provides accurate and balanced news, gathered by a highly skilled and motivated news team.
Sun.Star Bacolod
Published daily in English
Format: Tabloid (Page size: 11" x 17" / 29 cms. x 43 cms.)
Newspaper Cover Price: P5.00
Editor-in-Chief: Nanette Guadalquiver
General Manager: Aileen Parcon
Office Address: Door 13, Annex Bldg., Lopues Mandalagan Lacson St., Mandalagan, Bacolod City
Office Tele-Fax Number: (034) 709-6122; 708-1776
Office email address: ssbacolod (at) yahoo (dot) com; sunstar_admat (at) yahoo (dot) com
Affiliate website address:www.sunstar.com.ph/bacolod/
Fiesta Celebration: The MassKara Festival, celebrated every October 11 to 19, is the biggest annual tourism event in the province. It coincides with Bacolod City's Charter Day celebration. The term "MassKara" was derived from the word 'Mass' meaning the multitude of people and the Spanish word 'Kara' meaning face. Thus, Masskara means the "face of the masses." The happy masks underscore the Bacolodnons' special zest for life and for fun.
Sun.Star Baguio
Sun.Star Baguio is the only daily newspaper in Baguio City. Tabloid in size, it has broadsheet contents, covering all facets of the community.
Sun.Star Baguio
Published daily in English
Format: Tabloid (Page size: 11" x 17" / 29 cms. x 43 cms.)
Newspaper Cover Price: P8.00
Editor-in-Chief: Mary Ann Cacdac
General Manager: Peter Rey A. Bautista
Office Address: Wong Bldg., 110 Lower Magsaysay Avenue, Happy Homes, Old Lucban, Baguio City
Office Telephone Number: (074) 444-8302
Office Tele-Fax Number: (074) 424-4564
Office email address: sunstar_baguio (at) yahoo.com
Affiliate website address: www.sunstar.com.ph/baguio/
Fiesta Celebration: Panagbenga or the Flower Festival is celebrated in the whole month of February, with highlights in the third week with a parade and street dancing amidst a city in bloom.
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro
Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro
Published daily in English
Format: Tabloid (Page size: 11" x 17" / 29 cms. x 43 cms.)
Newspaper Cover Price: P8.00
Editor-in-Chief: Grace Cantal-Albasin
Acting General Manager: Erwin G. Nuñez
Office Address: Unit 1, Ground Floor, Waterside Living Complex, Julio Pacana Street, Licoan, Cagayan de Oro City
Other publication: SuperBalita, every Monday to Saturday in the vernacular Bisaya
Office Telephone Number: (088) 856-8549
Office Fax Number: (088) 856-1321
Office email address: sunstar_cdo (at) yahoo (dot) com; cdosunstar (at) gmail (dot) com
Affiliate website address: www.sunstar.com.ph/cagayan/
Fiesta Celebration: The Kagayhaan Festival is held every August 28 in honor of the city's patron, St. Augustine.
Sun.Star Cebu
Sun.Star Cebu is the mother publication of the Sun.Star network of local newspapers in the Philippines. It is Cebu’s leading daily newspaper, enjoying the largest readership and the larger advertising share. It is a multi-awarded newspaper, counting both local and national awards. It is run by skilled and dedicated journalists.
Sun.Star Cebu
Published daily in English since 1982
Format: Tabloid (Page size: 11" x 17" / 29 cms. x 43 cms.)
Newspaper Cover Price: P8.00
Editor-in-Chief: Isolde D. Amante
President: Julius G. Neri
Other publications: Weekend magazine on Sunday (inserted in newspaper); SuperBalita, daily newspaper in the vernacular Bisaya
Office Address: Sun.Star Building, P. del Rosario St., Cebu City
Office Telephone Number: (032) 254-6100
Office Fax Number: (032) 253-7256
Office email address: centralnewsroom (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Affiliate website address: www.sunstar.com.ph/cebu/
Fiesta celebration: The Sinulog festival, held every third Sunday of January, is a pageantry of faith in honor of the Sto. Nino or the Child Jesus. It celebrates the origin of the island of Cebu.
Subscribe Now
For print:
Annual: P4,550.00
Bi-annual: P2,530.00
For our digital subscriptions, click here
Sun.Star Davao
Sun.Star Davao is a multi-awarded daily newspaper, tabloid in format but broadsheet in content and focus. It has sections found in broadsheets -- news, business, opinion, lifestyle and sports.
Sun.Star Davao
Published daily in English
Format: Tabloid (Page size: 11" x 17" / 26 cms. x 37.5 cms.)
Newspaper Cover Price: P10.00
Editor-in-Chief: Stella Estremera
President: Gina G. Atienza
General Manager: Tessie A. Paña
Other publication: SuperBalita, daily in the vernacular Bisaya
Office Address: Door 5, Ebro-Pelayo Bldg., (former Department of Foreign Affairs office), Jacinto St., Davao City (across Ateneo de Davao University and beside Holy Child School of Davao)
Office Telephone Numbers: (082) 282-3871, 282-3851, 282-3498, 282-3515, 285-7125, 285-7080
Office email addresses: ssdavao (at) gmail (dot) com
Affiliate website address: www.sunstar.com.ph/davao/
Fiesta celebration: The Kadayawan Festival, celebrated every third week of August, is the mother of many other festivals in the region. It honors Davao’s heritage, its past personified by the ancestral lumads. Highlights of the celebration are a floral float parade, street-dancing competitions and exhibits showcasing the island's tourism products and services.
Sun.Star Dumaguete
Sun.Star Dumaguete is a purely online publication that carries reports on issues and events in Dumaguete province and neighboring areas.
For inquiries or comments, contact the website at sunnexdesk (at) gmail (dot) com.
Fiesta Celebration: Sandurot Festival is celebrated every November 24 and 25 in honor of Sta. Catalina de Alexandria. It coincides with Dumaguete City's Charter Day celebration.
Sun.Star Iloilo
Sun.Star Iloilo is a purely online publication that carries reports on issues and events in Iloilo province and neighboring areas. It can be found at www.sunstar.com.ph/iloilo/
For inquiries or comments, contact the website at sunnexdesk (at) gmail (dot) com
Fiesta celebration: The Dinagyang Festival, held on the last Sunday of January, is one of Iloilo's prides, aside from its rich culture. It is a month-long celebration of street dancing, merry-making, food-tripping and culture presentations of the Ilonggos in honor of the Señor Sto. Niño. The festival is celebrated as thanksgiving for a good harvest, abundance and grace for keeping the land safe against natural calamities.
Sun.Star Manila
Sun.Star Manila is a purely online publication found at www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/ and is updated daily with news from the nation's capital.
Sun.Star Manila is updated daily and is in English.
Format: Online
For inquiries or comments, contact the website at sunnexdesk (at) gmail (dot) com
For Manila editorial needs, contact us at:
Office Address: Unit 701, Tycoon Centre, Pearl Drive, Ortigas Center, Pasig City
Office Telephone Number: (02) 470-1378
Office Fax Number: (02) 638-7475
Office email address: sunnexmanila (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Affiliate website address: www.sunstar.com.ph/manila/
Sun.Star Manila Marketing Office
Office Address: Unit 702 Taipan Place
F. Ortigas Jr. Road, Ortigas Center
Pasig City, Metro Manila, Philippines
Office Telephone Number: (02) 914-0176
Office Telefax No: (02) 638-7992
Return to Top
Sun.Star Pampanga
Sun.Star Pampanga is the only daily newspaper in Pampanga. It covers the news and provides different voices for its community.
Sun.Star Pampanga
Published daily in English
Format: Tabloid (Page size: 11" x 17" / 29 cms. x 43 cms.)
Newspaper Cover Price: P8.00
Acting Editor-in-Chief: Jovi T. de Leon
General Manager: Narciso C. Sula Jr.
Office Address: Tita's Building 2F, Jose Abad Santos Avenue (formerly O. G. Road) City of San Fernando, Pampanga
Office Telephone Numbers: (045) 860-0517, 961-6741
Office email address: sspdaily (at) gmail (dot) com
Affiliate website address: www.sunstar.com.ph/pampanga/
Fiesta Celebrations: Sinukwan Festival, every second week of December, and Giant Lantern Festival, every third week of December.
Sun.Star Pangasinan
Sun.Star Pangasinan is a purely online publication that carries reports on issues and events in Pangasinan province and neighboring areas. It can be found at www.sunstar.com.ph/pangasinan/
For inquiries or comments, contact the website at sunnexdesk (at) gmail (dot) com
For website advertising, contact marketingweb (at) sunstar (dot) com (dot) ph
Fiesta Celebration: Pistay Dayat is celebrated every April 30 to May 2. It means a celebration of the ocean. The Bangus Festival every May 3 is the culminating activity.
Sun.Star Zamboanga
Sun.Star Zamboanga is a purely online publication that carries reports on issues and events in Zamboanga City and neighboring areas. It can be found at www.sunstar.com.ph/zamboanga/
Sun.Star Zamboanga is updated daily and is in English.
For inquiries or comments, contact the website at sunnexdesk (at) gmail (dot) com
Fiesta Celebration: The Fiesta Pilar is celebrated every October 12 in honor of the Virgin at the Fort.
Return to Top