SUN.STAR Publishing Inc. has made yet another approach to connecting Filipinos anywhere in the Philippines by providing news and information even to the remotest areas in the country through a partnership with Internet.org and Smart Communications Inc.
Internet.org is the brainchild of Facebook founder, Mark Zuckerberg. It’s an Android app launched in the Philippines last March to make mobile Internet services available to two-thirds of the world who are not yet connected.
Only 38 percent of the Philippine population had Internet access as of mid-2014, according to the Internet and Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines.
Advocacy
Vida Fe Sioson, senior product officer of Smart’s Internet and Media Partnerships, said the partnership is in line with Smart’s advocacy, which is to provide Internet connectivity to all Filipinos.
“As we speak, only one out of three people can go online globally. But with our partnership with Internet.org and Sun.Star, 70 million mobile users of Smart, Talk ‘N Text and Sun can now access Sun.Star news for free,” she said.
“With our partnership with Facebook to launch Internet.org through Talk ‘N Text, we’re aiming to help more Filipinos discover and use the mobile Internet. More than just Facebook and Messenger, the Internet.org offer of Talk ‘N Text provides access to 23 other sites, now including Sun.Star,” said Atty. Maria Jane Paredes, Smart Public Affairs VisMin senior manager.
Sun.Star pools news and information from at least 12 major cities in the Philippines.
“While broadsheets are based in Manila, we are located in the many communities of the Philippine archipelago. Our website carries news and information from 12 major cities. Our inclusion into Internet.org would make our content available to more people outside of the national capital,” said Nini Cabaero, Sun.Star Network Exchange (Sunnex) editor-in-chief.
First outside Manila
Sunnex runs www.sunstar.com.ph and is the new media department of Sun.Star Publishing Inc.
What makes Sun.Star a unique addition to the Facebook-led initiative is that it’s the first Internet.org partner-news organization outside Metro Manila, and provides news and information not just in English, but also in Bisaya, the dominant language in the Visayas and Mindanao.
To access Sun.Star news and information from smartphones or tablets, a Talk ‘N Text, Smart or Sun Cellular subscriber will just have to download the Internet.org app from Google Play Store.
Non-Android users can read Sun.Star news by typing www.internet.org on their browser and clicking on Sun.Star from the list of sites and services available.
Users may also text INTERNET to 9999 or visit talkntext.com.ph/internetorg for more information. Mobile data must be turned on to access Internet.org mobile app and site for free.
My Sun.Star
Sun.Star also launched Thursday, May 28, its mobile app called My Sun.Star, as well as its new and responsive website at www.sunstar.com.ph to provide its readers an optimal viewing experience.
My Sun.Star, which is now available on Google Play Store and soon on the Apple Store, allows users to select content based on their preferences. Readers only need to select what they want to read based on the categories available on the app, be it news in English or Bisaya, sports, lifestyle, entertainment, business, opinion, jobs, properties, or even Obituaries.
All these digital products the Sun.Star introduced Thursday were created to serve a larger community of readers in and outside the Philippines, at whatever platform possible.
As what Sun.Star president and general manager Julius G. Neri Jr. had said, Sun.Star’s responsibility now is to be where its readers are and to remain relevant to them.
“Sun.Star is out to give the public the best and most complete information. It is no longer just a newspaper, but an information provider. As the consumption of news has changed, we would like everyone to know that Sun.Star will be with you now and in the future in any platform possible,” said Neri during the launching of Sun.Star’s newest digital products at SM Northwing on Thursday. (Sunnex)