THE search is on for the top journalists of the city of Baguio of the past year.
The Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC), Inc. launched the search last week as it embarks to name the outstanding media practitioners in their respective fields of expertise when the Media Week culminates with the Media Awards Night on June 28.
It would be the third time the event will be staged after it was conceptualized during the term of BCBC past president and DzEQ Radio ng Bayan anchorman Robert Tabay.
"More awards will be given this time," said BCBC president Pigeon Lobien.
This year, writers specializing in features and sports will be honored in the print category.
And there will also be the first headline writer to be named in this year's search as well as editorial writing. The four new categories will bring up the number of awards in the print to eight with the report of the year, photograph, column and editorial cartoon, said BCBC director March Fianza, chairman of the awards committee.
Initially, in television, awards will go to the top report of the year and the news program, among others. The same categories are eyed in the radio, said co-chairman Marlon Marvil, BCBC vice president for television who at the meantime takes the lead in the radio with vice president for print Larry Madarang after the demise of their counterpart for radio, Florentino Lardizabal, last month.
Fianza has likewise called on the editors and station managers to help finalize the criteria for judging and the appointment of judges in the annual search.
It will be a four-day event with the seminars and lectures to be held earlier on June 25 until the morning of June 28 where students from all levels will be invited to participate and learn the craft.
Information officers will also be invited in the lectures in newspapering, sports and business writing as well as photography and the use of computer programs in editing photographs.
Lobien, who edits a local weekly, said the addition of sports and business writings are important because these are areas of coverage, which are neglected.
Moreover, he also intends to include Web page designing in the four-day lecture, which will invite lecturers from Metro Manila.
"With these lectures we hope to increase the competence of our fellow media practitioners and for them to have more venues to earn because as we know most journalists are paid on a per article basis," he added.
Likewise, this would be a big help for students who also have their school papers and for them to be more competitive in future press conferences, added Lobien, himself a product of elementary and high school journalism.
The first media awards was held in 2005 and continued with an expanded version in 2006 with a festival which included exhibits and a series of lectures, which was mainly supported by Smart. (Press release)
