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CAMBA, Meeko Angela R.

2014-09279

J 100 SRU [Prof. Guioguio]

03/21/15

Philippine Press: Where are we headed?


The 13th of March 2015 turned out to be another inspiring day for young journalists of
various colleges, having been able to spend it with fellow communication students at the third
Philippine Journalism Research Conference (PJRC) hosted by the UP College of Mass
Communication along with many other sponsors. The event lasted for an entire day from 9 a.m.
up until 5 p.m. held at the UP Cine Adarna and UP CMC Auditorium, Diliman, Quezon City.
College students from different levels and universities competed for the prestigious recognitions
awarded by a panel of experts and professionals after a deliberation under three categories
namely Journalism Projects, Investigative Reports, and Academic Researches.
But before the actual presentation of studies kicked off, BusinessWorld and
InterAksyon.com Editor-in-chief and also the events keynote speaker, Roby Alampay graced the
stage with a few eye-opening reminders for young aspiring journalists. According to reports
published at the official website of UP (www.up.edu.ph), Mr. Alampay expressed that the field
is moving faster than any of us can figure out, whilst referring to the many advancements and
changes that favor the use of technology in the field of journalism at present. He expressed just
how essential it was (or is) for journalists to overcome the difficulties of handling such
technological advancementsparticularly of social media websitesin able for one to remain
relevant to the fields current audience.

Another topic he touched on during the speech was the importance for journalists to
know how to acquire, handle, and understand data. Since journalism is a field that runs solely on
how its practitioners present facts and pieces of information, it is required for them to have a
thorough grasp on whatever it is that they write about.
Although what seemed most intriguing about his speech was his touch on robot
journalismonline programs where data is inputted and news articles are instantly created
something that he says can be controlled properly, should journalists of the present learn to
understand the first two things he mentioned (technology and data). He further expressed the
importance of the ethical component of the craftsomething he thought could be mishandled if
robot journalism should continue. If this is already happeningwho is accountable? was the
question he raised regarding the subject of cases that such articles may interfere with libel laws
and/or respect for privacy.
Living in the age of technology
It does not matter what you write, it does not matter what you produce. If you dont
understand social media, all your work does not exist. You can do an investigative piece, you can
have your own blog and so on. But until you post it on your Facebook page, until you tweet it, it
does not exist. It is the tree falling in the forest that (nobody hears), (as cited by Encarnacion, A.
retrieved from http://www.up.edu.ph/do-not-fear-numbers-alampay-tells-young-journalists/).
With Mr. Alampays speech in mind, the initial reaction I had was similar to that when a
person receives news or information that was surprising at first then realizes it was obviously
true; there is no denying that we are actually living in the age of technology. For the past decade
or so, the human race had been developing and creating various machines and programs that

gradually took over how the world operatedparticularly with how people acquaint themselves
with information. With the convenience of the Internet and the thrill of various social media sites
such as Facebook and Twitter, more and more individuals from the populationor at least
particularly among the youthrely on machines and gadgets in the form of phones, tablets, and
computers to get their daily dose of news. This would then imply that it is extremely important
for present-day journalists to understand and grasp the essence of such platforms should they, as
Mr. Alampay said, expect their works to reach an audience at all in the not-so-distant future.
Using social media networks to disseminate information can go both the positive and
negative direction; while it is easier to increase exposure on news articles, they would also have
to compete with others that may not have been written with the most credible of sourcesin
short, false information. To avoid the latter, proper education or training in handling these
platforms, particularly on its ethical aspect, is a must.
Personally, I found it really interesting that a successful practitioner such as himself had
already been integrated in this reality. With the way things are going, it is not unlikely for the
field of journalism to move on with using the digital platform as its primary outlet. That being
said, its not far to predict that proper subjects on using such medium would be integrated in
communication courses for it to be maximized to its highest potential.
Harnessing the advantages of growth
If there was one thing that was evident after the PJRC its that journalism is a multimedia
field that is ever growing and evolving; beginning from print, to radio, to TV broadcast, and, at
present, digital/social media. It is an inevitable direction for the field to undergo at the rate of
which more and more people tend to make use of it. But aside from its increasing number of

audiences, the field would also grow in terms of practitioners. Because of the ease that the
Internet offers its users, many find it more attainable for them to share what they know to the rest
of the world. Citizen reporting has never been this widely practiced before and it is in this sense
that proper guidance is required to avoid any mishandled information.
The human race is going through a transition wherein digital solutions are seen as the
most practical to develop, therefore to not get left behind, journalists and communication
institutions must start making proactive responses to harness the advantages that this transition
might present. Social media is an opportunity for the field to grow and progress in ways that I
believe would further the limits of what we know to be journalism. With the proper training in its
use and a growth in diversity of its practitioners and readers, social media and other digital
platforms are sure to take over the field by a stormin mostly the good ways, of course. And
seeing the young people who would soon take over the field, Im hopeful that this transition
would be a positive one.

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