Friday, August 29, 2008 Media awards set Saturday, lectures start
DESPITE some hitches, the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC), Incorporated Media Awards Night (MAN) 2008 will take place August 30 at the Hotel Supreme.
"The man will take place as planned," said BCBC president Pigeon Lobien.
Fifteen awards will be given in the three fields of print, radio, and television in the third staging of the awards, which started in 2005 and is backed by the City Government of Baguio, Smart, and SM City.
Of these, the bulk is print where eight awards are up for grabs namely: best in news writing, sports writing, feature writing, opinion writing, editorial writing, photography, editorial cartoon and headline writing.
Of these, half are practically new, including headline writing, feature, sports, and even news writing.
There will be three television awards in best field reportage, news program and magazine program, while four radio awards will be given -- best in field reportage, commentary, public affairs and news program.
The MAN was started in 2005 with then president Robert Tabay and was continued during the term of Ma. Elena Catajan when it was expanded into a festival.
Lobien said he regrets the exclusion of the festival but that he said is still in the pipeline.
"We have short a time to work with the awards itself. But we will have the festival later this year and we will have the lectures as planned," he added.
The awards, in the first place, were for last year, he added.
Lobien said the novelty of the project is one reason why it must be carried on.
"We also need recognition from our peers and from those who are supportive of the industry," he said.
It is also to drum-beat the works of the media people who day and day out, 24 hours a day, and 365 days a year under extreme weather, still go out to cover and bring out the story.
It is also a day of festivity when the media, their resource persons as well as supporters, will be under one roof for a night of fellowship.
Lectures have actually started as component of the project. Last August 23, a three-hour lecture on photography was conducted at the City Hall Multi-Purpose Hall where veteran location photographer Noli Gabilo talked about digital imaging.
Titled Beyond the Shutters: Photoshop and Lightroom, Gabilo discussed the use of computer programs to edit photos taken and the basic methods used in editing the snap shots.
Attended by close to 100 students from the University of the Cordilleras, University of Baguio, Saint Louis University and members of the media, local photojournalists shared their experiences in taking photos and how these shots reach publication, including captioning.
Among those who shared were BCBC vice president for print Larry Madarang and director Thomas Picana.
Students and their teachers, moreover, asked that lectures be staged in their schools, as the three-hour seminar was too short.
"These seminars will continue even after the awards until the end of my term hopefully in coordination with the various media clubs and media outfits," added Lobien, who said the seminar was supported by Councilor Perlita Chan-Rondez.
