CAMPUS journalists from different schools in Cebu gathered at the SM City Cebu Trade Hall last Sept. 18 for the campus journalism forum organized by Cebu Daily News (CDN) as part of the Cebu Press Freedom Week 2018 celebration.

Since the theme of this year’s Cebu Press Freedom Week was “Unity amid adversity,” CDN decided to invite speakers from different media outfits in Cebu.

CDN columnist and UP Cebu assistant communications professor Jason Baguia shared with the students how the freedom of the press didn’t come in a silver platter. He highlighted the efforts of the media in Cebu during the Martial Law years and how countless lives were sacrificed to attain the freedom of the press.

A representative of KBP (Kapisanana ng mga Brodkaster ng Pilipinas), RC Dalaguit-de Vela of radio dyAB, talked about the challenges of working in radio. She said that while some perceive online media to be competing with radio, she does not see it that way. Instead, RC embraces social media as a platform to extend their reach and influence.

Former Sun.Star Cebu editor-in-chief Isolde Amante also gave an informative talk on how to spot fake news, and encouraged everyone to always verify the information they read online.

The Freeman Online Editor Joeberth Ocao, for his part, encouraged campus journalists to engage in online journalism and to not limit their audience to readers of their school publications. This way, they can be well-rounded journalists, he said. He also said that while there is healthy competition among media outfits as to who gets to put out the news first, accuracy should never be compromised.

For University of San Carlos BA Comm media student Januar JuniorAguja, the forum made him appreciate the sacrifices of journalists in their fight for the freedom of the press. “It helped me to really sharpen my skills and it served like some sort of a bridge for me to practice professional journalism,” he said.

The event was participated in by about 250 students, advisers and coaches.

Cris Evert Lato-Ruffolo, project lead of the forum, said CDN started Siloy Campus Journalism three years ago as part of its corporate social responsibility. The project aims to roll out seminar-workshops that teach students about journalism and writing news, features, opinion and sports stories, as well as photojournalism. Michael Rey M. Cortes, CIT-U Intern