SOCIAL media as a source of information, regardless whether it is factual or not, is quickly becoming the trend. So quick that different industries affected by this change should work double time in order to stay relevant and to not be left behind. The use of social media to complement the traditional delivery of news and other information to the public is not actually as simple as sharing and posting online, keeping the likes and followers increasing, or creating viral videos. There is more to that.
In order to further understand this and to provide students with a glimpse of how the Internet is affecting mass media, the Malayan Colleges Mindanao (MCM) conducted a one-day forum called Media Convergence held last Thursday, August 29, at the school auditorium.
Distinguished guests were invited to talk on the current trends, opportunities, and challenges that encompass their respective fields. Among the invited guests were Bagane Fiola for film, Tek Ocampo for TV broadcasting, Ace Perez for print/social media, and Arnold Barbasan for radio broadcasting. Also invited was Ana Marah Mencidor of the Intellectual Property Rights Office to tackle about the rights and obligations of inventors, advertisers, and even average Filipinos who read and use contents online.
With the fast pace of changes and the very easy content stealing online, Mencidor’s talk was very relevant. Even Engineering students who attended can even relate to the rights that Mencidor discussed should they have inventions that they can develop in the future.
In their communication and arts subjects, the students will be exposed to advertising and its importance. The intellectual property rights and obligations gave a student a glimpse of how it is in the Philippine setting and how the ownership is protected here.
Trends, Opportunities, and Challenges
As Barbasan quoted a popular saying during his talk, “Change is the only constant thing there is,” the senior high school students from the Davao City National High School cheered him on agreeing with what him. In whatever fields that the digitalization has spread upon, practitioners will agree that there are always pros and cons – the pros being the ease of delivering news or getting them for a wider set of audience given many Filipinos have access to the Internet and has social media accounts. But given that everyone has mobile phones that are online, the cons now lies on the fact that everyone, even the random people on the streets, can act like journalists.
Ocampo, anchor of One Mindanao, shared that one of the many ways they cope up is using a portable, handier device that allows the reporter to go live wherever and transmit the video in very high quality. Compared to setting up on a specific place with the full equipment in a van, this portable device makes the setting up and reporting even more flexible. It allows them to easily run or adjust set-up when the need arises. However, this is only used now in special scenarios when an abrupt live coverage would be needed for example. One Mindanao is the first news show that can be watched in the entire island of Mindanao.
Perez, Sunstar Davao’s social media stretegist, explained the company’s efforts in penetrating social media and maintaining that online presence while still maintaining the quality of print component of SunStar Davao.
“You have to find the balance between social media and the print,” he reiterated when Kim Palma, a teacher from Davao Chong Hua High School, asked on the priority issues now that SunStar Davao, a print media, has decided to also be online.
Ocampo also shared that in order to be relevant, individual journalists should self-study and be aware of what’s going on online and to have at least basic understanding of stuff online.
Content is the key
Barbasan and Perez, on both their talks, discussed that no matter the trend in mass media is, the only thing that should keep journalists grounded and consistent on is the quality of the content.
Barbasan reiterated to the students that being a journalist is not a lucrative job, it doesn’t make you a celebrity contrary to what others say. Instead, he made the students understand that being a journalist is a public service -- that anyone on social media can feed people with facts but journalists should step up and provide people with the truth. Because they are two different things, he said.
Before Perez ended his talk he left the audience with a meaningful situational analogy, “When one person told you it is not raining outside while the other one told you it is, your job as a journalist is not to quote them both but to go outside and find out for yourself.”
Service to the people
Fiola is an award-winning director based in Davao City with some of his distinctions from international film festivals. He is known for his full-length films Sonata Maria and Baboy Halas (The Wailings of the Forest).
As there were Multimedia Arts (MMA) students who attended and co-organized the event, they were especially interested of the process that Fiola and his crew undergo when doing a full-length movie. Some of the MMA students present are also student filmmakers with their films making it to local film festivals.
They got more captivated and curious with how Fiola and his crew were able to work peacefully with the Lumad when they shot Baboy Halas (The Wailings of the Forest) in Marilog. Fiola told them that the notion that the Lumad are “aggressive” and difficult to work with should be eradicated. He instead encouraged them to work with these different types of people to better understand and portray their story.
The Media Convergence was attended by about 300 students including those from Chong Hua High School, Davao City National High School, UP Mindanao, and Davao Doctors College.
This event was organized by the Communication and MMA students and teachers in collaboration with the Admission Office’s “My Career Move” program with the intention of guiding interested students to enrol in the Communication and Multimedia Arts programs of MCM.