Media, Speeches, Tech Tack Talk

(Updated) After the Pinoy Citizen Journalism Seminar

5 Comments

Based on the sheer number of participants (close to 100, based on Tonyo Cruz’s account), one may safely assume that the Pinoy Citizen Journalism Seminar last November 29 was a “resounding success.”

But more than the unexpected turnout, I would like to think that the success is in the effective packaging of the free seminar to various audiences, resulting in a healthy mix of bloggers, techies, journalism students, scientists, campus journalists and community organizers from Metro Manila and beyond.

I was assigned to give the first lecture on citizen journalism, the PDF file of which may be retrieved from this blog’s “Downloads (PDF)” section located in the sidebar.

Please find below the highlights of my discussion:

  • In the Philippines, citizen journalism is nothing new and has existed even before the introduction of the Internet;
  • Citizen journalism is a mechanism for media literacy of audiences;
  • Giving feedback (e.g., posting a comment in a blog or writing a letter to the editor in a newspaper) and being a source of information do not make an audience a citizen journalist;
  • Audiences should be properly trained for them to know the highest professional and ethical standards to practice journalism; and
  • More than the necessary skills, the people should know the role of journalism in society, which is to provide relevant information in order to help shape public opinion.

Thats me waiting for my turn to speak. Photographed by Tonyo Cruz.

If you attended the seminar, you may have noticed that I looked a bit tired and sluggish while waiting for my turn to speak. I had a cold and a slight fever that time, and the former had obviously affected my voice.

Fortunately, my limited experience in radio broadcasting somehow “saved me” as I held the microphone in a way that my voice can be better projected.

Did it work? I honestly don’t know, as I did not stay long enough to hear any feedback or to even entertain questions from participants.

Judging by the picture on the right (photographed also by Tonyo Cruz), please understand that I was holding on to my knees as I felt weak and a bit disoriented even before my lecture.

It could be the weather that Saturday morning: I felt that it was hot outside and the venue’s airconditioning was too cold.

Anyway, several individuals had written about the recently concluded seminar and provided a photo documentation of the activity. Do visit these if you have time:

5 thoughts on “(Updated) After the Pinoy Citizen Journalism Seminar”

  1. thanks for the link! pacensha na, konti lang ang photos na nakuha ko sa lecture niyo. medyo ang hirap kasi pumuwesto sa jampacked venue e. hehe. thanks again and sa uulitin po!

    Sagot: Walang anuman. Mainam na ring hindi ako gaanong nakunan ng litrato dahil, tulad ng naisulat ko, may sakit ako’t mukhang ewan. Sa susunod, sigurado akong sa takdang oras na tayo magsisimula. Ha ha.

  2. hi sir! I was there po hehehe.. approach ko nga po sana kayo kaya nga lang umalis na raw po kayo kasi may appointment pa raw yata kayo..

    congrats po sa event na yun!

    Sagot: Salamat sa komento mo. Kailangan ko talagang umalis dahil may sakit ako, bukod pa sa isa pang obligasyong kailangan kong gawin. Mabuhay ka!

  3. hi sir! im D.A. from City College of Manila (Philippines) kc po gus2 ko po sanang gumawa ng thesis on citizen journalism proposed title is “Impact and Effectiveness of Citizen Journalism to the Filipinos” if ever po na matuloy, ok lng po kung ma interview po kau para po malaman ko po ung things behind this journalism…. salamat po… e2 nga po pla ung email add ko po (deleted by moderator) para kung sakaling matuloy po salamat! ^_^

    Sagot: Puwede mo naman akong mainterbyu sa paksang ito. Nasa pahinang “Contact Me” ang mga email address ko, pati na rin ang numero ng telepono sa aking opisina.

  5. Pingback: Pinoy Citizen Journalism

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