News for smartphones, tablets now ‘in’: editor

WITH mobile devices increasingly becoming available to many and its capabilities becoming more complex, it's not surprising that people get their information quicker.

In a mobile era, journalists also face their own challenges.

For journalist and blogger Max Limpag, journalists should not be afraid of change and should learn the skills needed to adapt to this changing world.

Limpag, business editor of Sun.Star Cebu and co-founder of new media content producer InnoPub Media, said news organizations should produce content specifically for mobile devices and not think of mobile and online publishing as the same.

He cited as an example traditional media sites that initially did not think to change the format of their sites when accessed through mobile devices, saying it was difficult to read the content from the mobile phone. These days, most sites have a different format optimized for a mobile user.

Limpag was a speaker at the Reaching Out to Future Journalists forum for mass communication students held in line with the Cebu Press Freedom Week held at the University of San Carlos yesterday.

Priority

Limpag believes media organizations should now prioritize mobile over their main websites, as trends tend to show that more people get their information from using their mobile devices rather than logging in to a computer.

To adjust to the new way news is accessed, Limpag said organizations should be open to change. “It is the only constant. There are clues where we are heading but it is not certain where the new media landscape will be,” he told participants.

Limpag also said that media organizations should also be willing to experiment, adding that most would rather wait to see if things work or not.

“For me, this is the wrong way of doing it. Those who find out if it works will get the market first,” he said.

Ebooks

He identified things that can be done now that were impossible years ago, such as publishing ebooks independently, and for news to spread in seconds, even when the event is still happening, such as an earthquake.

“Advances in technology are very empowering. There are new possibilities using technology, new ways to tell stories,” he said.

Nick Baustista Wilwayco, public affairs e-publishing and online services manager of Smart Communications, spoke on ethics during the forum.

She admitted that the advances in technology brought in both good and bad things.

While social media becomes a useful tool during emergencies and disasters, it can also be used to destroy relationships and reputations.

Consequences

She urged the students to be fully aware of the privacy settings of their social media accounts and to always think about the consequences of their actions.

She added that even liking or commenting on a post on Facebook can have dire consequences, citing the case of Raymond Malinay-Lopez, a victim of cyber-bullying.

A poster of Lopez appeared on the Internet last July, describing him as HIV positive and having infected several male partners. Lopez fought back using the same medium and posted online a certification from the AIDS Society of the Philippines that he is HIV-free.

“It's easy to judge and easy to react. But it's best to think for a moment before you share, comment or like,” said Wilwayco.

She stressed the need to understand the legal implications of one’s actions online. At the end of her talk, she asked forum participants, mostly college students, to pledge against plagiarism and making false accusations against a person or entity online.