CAPITALIZING on social media where access to information is only a few clicks away, communication students and campus journalists coming from different schools in Davao City were urged during the 9th Davao Media Freedom Day (DMFD) Thursday, November 22, to grab the opportunity to become chroniclers of their communities.
Some 100 students graced the staging of the annual DMFD held at AVR of Holy Cross of Davao College (HCDC) in commemoration of the Ampatuan massacre in Maguindanao that claimed 58 lives, including 32 media practitioners, on November 23, 2010.
Organized by Davao media practitioners, the event is done every year to remember the gruesome incident.
Students are invited to ensure that the incident will live on in their consciousness and will not be forgotten.
During the activity, seasoned journalists served as resource speakers.
Former SunStar Davao editor-in-chief and culture officer of Mountain Haven Development Incorporated Stella A. Estremera talked about Leadership and Readership in the Connection Economy.
She highlighted the current landscape of the media, thus, a story must be remarkable to create impact and that trust must be upheld.
In the era where viral video is the trend, she said, “There is great value in the story that resonates.”
“Pag napansin niyo, it is about connection kaya siya naging viral dahil nag-connect. It’s about sparking inspiration, generate passion and to drive towards a purpose,” Estremera said.
Meanwhile, Mindanao Daily Mirror editor-in-chief Jon M. Joaquin, Jr. discussed newsroom management which he underscored has evolved over the past years.
“The newsroom is not a place, it’s an attitude. It’s an attitude of openness. If you are a reporter, you have to be open to be criticized, scolded, and corrected by your editors. It’s an attitude of humility also - you admit that there are things that you don’t know and therefore, you need your editor, fellow reporters, everyone else to do a good job,” Joaquin said.
He added that the newsroom is also an attitude of pride, confidence and being able to work together in coming up with better stories for the readers.
SunStar Davao social media strategist Ace June Rell S. Perez, for his part, gave tips on how to boost social media engagements while keeping the information credible.
“We have to think digital and act digital in storytelling, in delivering the news. As a media organization, if we want to increase our reach, we have to first post it but of course there’s a process, a very important process which is the discipline of verification,” Perez said.
Participants were from the University of Southeastern Philippines (Usep), University of Philippines Mindanao, University of Mindanao, Ateneo de Davao University, Jose Maria College and HCDC.
Gloyd Mesibas of the Collegiate Headlight, official student publication of the University of Southeastern Philippines Obrero Campus, on the other hand, said the forum helped him as a campus journalist.
“It's my third time to attend the Media Freedom Day. Every year I have always learned not just about writing alone, but I've learned the art of storytelling. This year, I, as a student journalist, learned how to weave and to tell factual, relevant stories of my community either in print or on social media,” he said.