UST Journalism alumni repeatedly reminded budding student-journalists of the importance of reading and writing in the craft.

These two learnings have been the constant advice of the guest speakers of the “So Journ? Alternative outlets in Journalism,” in order to help improve the students’ journalistic skills.

The symposium was organized by the UST Journalism Society and invited speakers include Alexis Romero, reporter of The Philippine Star, Kristine De Guzman, reporter for 9News and Rose-An Dioquino, junior reporter for GMA News Online.

The three discussed journalism in the context of print, broadcast and online together with the advantages and disadvantages faced by each medium.

The seminar aims to immerse the students in the world of journalism, and for students to get a glimpse of the different aspects of journalism as a profession.

‘Is Print Media Dead?’

Alexis Romero discussed the issue of the “sinking ship” of the print media.

According to him, print media in the Philippines is not yet dead because  internet penetration in the Philippines is still low, pop up advertisements are not that recognized by online readers, hence advertisers still invest in print, newspapers are still more convenient, and there is still a market for the tangible information source.

Aside from the challenges faced by the print media, he also discussed the realities behind the Journalism profession, specifically the myths that many people think about Journalism like – including that it’s a glam job, absence of math in the profession, easy to get into media organizations, honor students have advantages and TV journalists are better than print journalists.

He also mentioned the drawbacks of being part of the print organizations in terms of interviewing sources, salary wise, and proving ones credibility.

Towards the end of his discussion, Romero posted a challenge to the audience.

“Kaliangan kahit ano pa yan kaya nating gawin, be flexible rather than gullible.”

Behind the cameras

     “At the end of the day, it’s still the passion that will drive you to success,” said Kristine De Guzman after asking the audience on what medium they want to be into in the near future.

De Guzman gave her advice to the field reporters aspirants in the audience.  She discussed how to deal with live reporting and covering, what to shoot and not, how to write scripts and how to gather details on the field through interview with sources.

She also shared her personal experiences as a field reporter for the past years as well as her own ups and downs in the industry.

“[When] you made a mistake, it’s okay to feel bad, but at the end of the day you just have to get over it, be better and learn from your mistakes,” she said.

Practical tips were also given to the audience especially for the newbies, but De Guzman pointed out on one piece of advice.

“Practice. Practice. Practice.”

The world of online journalism

Being the youngest among the three media in Journalism, Rose-An Dioquino shared her experiences as an online journalist as well as the advantages of online platform.

Dioquino explained the sense of immediacy in the online world – that there is always a demand for uploading and updating a story fast.

She also discussed some of the advantages of online journalism: stories could be presented in a multimedia way, abundant space for different stories, easy dissemination, stories could be reported faster and more avenues to read news.

In terms of news gathering, she said gathering is still through legwork which consists of phone calls, interviews, e-mails and documents but for online, citizens join in making stories.

Despite the advancements that the online journalism can provide, Dioquino still believes that online journalism could not replace print.

“It would not take over print, but online media is supplementary to print journalism,” she said.

Photo courtesy of UST Journalism Society