TWENTY-FOUR years. Over 105 awards to date. Sun.Star Davao has indeed come a long way from being a community newspaper when then Ang Peryodiko Dabaw was first acquisitioned by Sun.Star Publications Network.
Sun.Star Davao Publishing, Inc. president Gina Garcia Atienza said, "We are not a newspaper but a media company." She underscored this in a meeting with editors on the premise that the company already made full blast in providing content via digital medium. The recent innovation was the Weekly Newsbits being aired over Sun.Star Davao Facebook and Youtube accounts every Friday evening.
The company has also incorporated multi-media content in its advertising packages while also regularly producing Dasig - which features inspiring stories of Dabawenyos; Best of Davao - showcasing the best homegrown food products; Artist in Focus - featuring local artists who excel in their respective fields; Sun.Star Focus - featuring new events, attractions or issues that matter to Dabawenyos; and Sun.Star Asks - randomly asking men and women on the street on controversial issues.
Sun.Star Davao stays afloat despite the challenges of the times it faced and endured the past 24 years. But it will continue to stay true to its mantra - giving more for less - the underprivileged, disadvantaged and neglected sectors of society.
It has also embraced its special role to train and mentor young student writers from different schools, colleges and universities through giving lectures on editorial writing, business reporting, news reporting, sports news writing,
photojournalism and social media/digital content, among others.
Founded as Ang Peryodiko Dabaw in 1985 by Elpidio "Pidiong" G. Damaso, the paper then enjoyed huge readership and following with its fearless reporting and quality stories at the height of unrest against the Marcos dictatorship.
Through the initiative of then editor Stella A. Estremera, Ang Peryodiko Dabaw became the first community newspaper in Mindanao to use desktop publishing as early as 1989.
When Sun.Star took over in 1995, Sun.Star Davao then became a part of the country's longest running community newspaper network.
The company continued to grow with the change in the industry as it became the first among the Sun.Star affiliates to go online even before the Sun Star News Exchange was formed to take care of the network's online presence.
In 1999, Sun.Star Davao gave birth to its Bisaya tabloid, the Superbalita, to cater to more readers.
And the rest, as they say, is history.