- Teaching and doing journalism - December 10, 2024
- Are media councils still relevant? - October 29, 2024
- Finding “Success” in digital news - September 4, 2024
“We are born. This, we announce humbly.”
I borrowed this inaugural issue’s title and lead from the great Atty. Sinai C. Hamada, founder of the Baguio Midland Courier, in his first editorial announcing the birth of Midland on April 28, 1947. I have always loved the simplicity of these two lines. I often reread them and the paragraphs that followed, which expounded on the 4-F motto of Midland, whenever I felt the need for editorial guidance back when I was sitting as its assistant publisher and editor.
Sadly, the Midland closed its pages on July 21, 2024. This historical event signaled the end for the longest-running community newspaper in the country. Or as one foreign academic researcher, who was doing a study on community papers in South East Asia (SEA) way back in the mid 2000s, told me “probably the longest running community paper in SEA.” I still kick myself for forgetting to jot down her name in that short conversation in the Midland offices in Kisad Road. She was inquiring about who she could get in touch with to study the archives. I don’t remember if my former publisher, Dr. Charles Hamada, eventually relented to her studying the archives in the office.
When I left Midland in 2011, Dr. Sonia Daoas immediately adopted me here in the Cordillera News Agency (CNA). As we work on the birth of the CNA’s new website, we hope that technology will pave the way for CNA’s revival in producing news and features on the region and be a beacon of hope for community journalism. May this column be my humble contribution to CNA’s efforts.
“In Medias Res” is a Latin phrase for “in the midst of things.” I chose it to signify how we aim to jump right into the middle of things as your local media-observer, journalism educator, researcher, slash “Marites”. The past month alone was very eventful for the Baguio media with various media-related trainings, hearings, and conferences happening, which we hope to explore and expound on in the following issues.
Incidentally, while researching on this title (just in case someone else has already stake a claim on it for a column), I found that it is also the title of the compilation of essays on the Philippine Media of the late Dean Luis V. Teodoro, veteran journalist, staunch media advocate, and critic. Maybe just maybe we can be inspired by his writings too, as we take on this challenge of column of writing.
My profound gratitude goes to Malen Catajan and the rest of the CNA core movers for this opportunity to write and humbly express my thoughts. We look forward to creating our next pieces. Maraming salamat po.