Learning from the Veteran News Writers and Photojournalist
I may not be a full fledged writer but my student and professional days are filled with journalistic memories.
When I was an elementary and high school student of Our Lady of Caysasay Academy in Taal Batangas, I was honed as a writer of The Olcan, the school's official publication. At that time, I was somehow forced to become a writer due to extra-curricular activities that I must participate then to grab hold of my honor roll.
I though I would become an ordinary college student in University of Batangas. I happened to pass the qualifying examination of The Western Advocate, the official student publication of UB. There, I was developed from a mere correspondent into news editor then associate editor. It did not stop there, I was encouraged to join the UB Law Journal in law school until I graduated as its legal editor.
And during those days in college and law school, I work as part of the Provincial Information Office. For the days I spend with PIO, I devote time and effort to efficiently handle my assigned tasks. At present, I am in charge of maintaining and administering the website and social networking sites of the governor and PIO, supervising the SMART Infoboard, writing press releases for publication, submitting office reports, producing scripts for the audio visual presentation, editing newsletter, laying out, radio broadcasting and photo/video editing.
With the new administration under Governor Hermilando I. Mandanas, many employees are sent to trainings to develop skills and broaden knowledge on their designated field.
On October 6 and 7, I was selected by our office to undergo the News Writing and Photojournalism Workshop in La Corona Hotel, Lipa City. This workshop was made possible by Dyaryo Veritas, News Information Bureau and Philippine News Agency.
Our two days there were full packed.
Basic News Writing
Mr. Saul Pa-a is the Media Affairs Relations Officer and News and Information Officer of Presidential Communications Office in Malacañang. Through his knowledge and experience, he taught us strategies on how to develop a news release and disseminate information based on government programs.
He presented strategies on getting back to the basics. We tend to forget the 5 Ws and 1 H but this is the foundation of news. The sample he presented made us think that we must stick to the basics but with a twist. We must put an impression that we are good and professional writers to come up with this kind of articles.
He presented strategies on getting back to the basics. We tend to forget the 5 Ws and 1 H but this is the foundation of news. The sample he presented made us think that we must stick to the basics but with a twist. We must put an impression that we are good and professional writers to come up with this kind of articles.
Understanding the Media
Next speaker is Mr. Noel Alamar. He is an award winning broadcast journalist and anchor in ABS-CBN specifically DZMM Radyo Patrol 38. He told us the perspective of the government towards the media and vice versa. What he told us was the reality. The government must respect the media since they are the one who will mold the image of the former.
He showed us his PowerPoint presentation about Public Relations Theories and Practices. He simply explained that the theories regarding public relations must be practiced since the government-media relationship must be taken seriously. The media hold a vital position in the government and so the government to the media. If this will be ruined then the information sought to be disseminated will be tainted with misunderstanding or malice.
He then laid down this ten rules of good media relations.
He then laid down this ten rules of good media relations.
News in Photo, The Modern Aprroach
We got so excited by the arrival of the third speaker, Mr. Revoli Cortez. He is an international award winning photojournalist. And he's proud to say that he produced "I Shot Five Presidents", a collection of his 30 precious photos of those presidents in his twenty yours of being a photojournalist.
The said achievement was enough for us to believe that the man in front of us has been an important person in the eyes of the highest people in this country. He is now a free lancer after serving Presidents Cory Aquino, Fidel Ramos, Joseph Estrada, Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo and Noynoy Aquino.
Among the helpful pieces of advice he shared to us are the following.
One proof of this was this shot of three lightning strikes seen on his balcony. According to him, he used half filled bag of films just to have this one of a kind photo. He waited for the so called perfect timing to capture these three.
And when he was invited by former President GMA, he took the time to be luckily prepared with an instant camera. It was hard to get the beautiful photo but he managed to shoot the special bonding of the former president with her husband at the beach.
And what stunned us was the photo of this beheaded man. He submitted this at the Associated Press and he learned that if you took a photo, you may edit it to remove unnecessary spaces. He said that he submitted the photo below, then he would have received praises rather than comments.
Furthermore, he taught us that we need planning and forecasting in every action and possible doings of our subject. We should think outside the box and think globally. In this digital era, he said that there is a big competition among photojournalists since there is an existing citizen journalism as captured by phone cameras. Photojournalists must have double-time. There is a one second space for error. You need to adjust and you have no excuse if your photo will turn out as a bad one.
Transforming Press Releases into News and Feature Writing
Came our second day of training. We were welcomed by Mr. Earl Victor Rosero. He is also a News and Information Bureau Officer.
He narrated the real meaning of News among writers. He said that news is not just the event, people, issue or situation. It is what event means and how it affects people, how and why those people matter to other people, how and why the issue is affecting the lives of people and how and why that situation involves many people.
He showed us this outline as to hierarchy of facts. This will be our guide in making news releases.
He also shared some tips in writing sports game coverage article which most writers find difficult in submitting.
And as to our opinions, Mr. Rosero made it easier for us to compose our own editorial.
With his expertise, he examined how we can come up with our own news articles. He then ended his presentation with his healthy criticisms which would help us in writing news, feature and editorial articles.
Desktop Publishing / Print Media
For our last speaker of the day, we were introduced to Mr. Zen Trinidad. He is the Calabarzon Bureau Chief of Philippine News Agency, Publisher/Editor of Kiplng Times and Senior Manager of Grolier International.
He took time to share to us desktop publishing techniques. He showed us his works in Kipling Times along with layouts of various foreign newspapers. We realized that we must experiment in order to come up with a better looking newsletter for our organization or institution.
In his short presentation, we put in mind that we must not be afraid to take a risk and try new things to improve in our field.
And within those two days, we're grateful towards Dyaryo Veritas, News and Information Bureau and also Philippine News Agency for letting us grasp knowledge needed to be better writers and photojournalists. The two day training was worth it and special due to the person who attended and found time to teach us with new yet basic techniques.
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