N.B. – This was published in Asian Correspondent (August 16, 7:00 p.m.) where I write a column (Philippine Fantasy).

A student from the University of the Philippines Los Baños (UPLB) emailed questions on my experience as a campus journalist. Here are my answers. Since the questions were written in Filipino, I took the liberty of translating into English both the questions and my answers.

What motivated you to work for the Philippine Collegian in particular and the student movement in general?

I joined the Philippine Collegian (official student publication of the University of the Philippines Diliman) during my sophomore year in the late 1980s. At that time, I only wanted to develop my journalistic writing skills as I may be considered a “late bloomer” in campus journalism. I was not part, after all, of student publications in my elementary and high school days. In other words, I took writing seriously only in college!

It was only much later that I realized that journalism does not only require excellent writing skills but also a keen sense of awareness of what’s happening around us. It is through the latter that we could provide analytical depth to the articles we write.

As a result of a better appreciation of Philippine social reality, I also got involved in student activism. I actually joined the now defunct Kabataan para sa Demokrasya at Nasyonalismo (KADENA, loose translation: Youth for Nationalism and Democracy) whose mandate was to organize the out-of-school youth.

What were your good and bad experience of being part of the Philippine Collegian?

Through my involvement with the Philippine Collegian, I learned the importance of journalism in society. I appreciated the power of the media in the movement for social change. The demands of producing a weekly publication made me become more patient and diligent. I learned how to better deal with stress and other related problems that are considered part of being a journalist (particularly that of an editor, reporter and layout artist which were among my major tasks).

I cannot classify the problems I encountered as “bad experience” because I learned from them. It would be safe to assume that my college life became more memorable because of my work as a campus journalist.

What are the important lessons you learned from your experience in the Philippine Collegian?

I learned that journalism is more than just writing skills even if the latter are very important in communicating the intended message. Equally important to form (e.g., grammar, syntax, diction) is the substance of the article that can only be produced if a journalist knows how to analyze, if he or she knows how to make sense of the social reality.

As a campus journalist in your student days, what do you think are the duties of a campus publication?

A campus publication is essentially a student publication. This means that it is oriented toward promoting and upholding student rights and welfare. That it has a pro-student orientation doesn’t mean that a campus publication will turn a blind eye to the excesses or mistakes (if any) of students and student organizations. Through constructive criticism, a campus publication may actually end up exposing what it believes to be shortcomings of certain student groups and ideologies. Through in-depth analysis of issues and concerns, campus publications could help raise the level of discourse and contribute to the shaping of public opinion.

Had there been changes in the orientation of campus publications through the years?

I would like to think that today’s campus publications still have a pro-student orientation although there could be different interpretations of it. From my interaction with some of them, there are faculty advisers and student editors, for example, who think that campus publications should distinguish between national and local/community issues and that they should focus on the latter. I always stress that this is wrong because issues to be covered in a campus publication depend on the significance in the lives of the primary audience, the students.

Besides, what makes campus publications different from the mainstream/corporate print media is that they could better analyze national issues in the context of local concerns. Conversely, the so-called local concerns should be discussed in terms of how they relate to pressing national issues.

What factors caused such changes?

I think the culture of reading is not as strong as before among today’s youth. The latter are now more immersed in television and the new media. That Generation X is sometimes referred to as the TV generation shows the popularity and wide influence of audio-visual stimuli coming from the broadcast media. While today’s youth are more technology-savvy and media-savvy, it is unfortunate that they sometimes do not have the patience and diligence to read and understand important media texts.

In the face of suppression of press freedom, how did you cope with the times and continued your duties as a journalist?

Despite the threats I experienced in the past (the latest of which was when a radio program I co-hosted got cancelled in 2006 due to the government’s imposition of a state of national emergency), I try to continue my work as a journalist because the Filipino people deserve nothing less. I have no illusion that I will be read by everyone. But I cannot turn my back on those who are interested to know more about the issues and concerns I have chosen to analyze. They may agree or disagree with me, but what’s important is that I communicate my intended message. As a result of my being a campus journalist in college, I now have a firm grasp of my responsibility as a journalist.

What is your message to young writers so that they could develop and help uphold press freedom?

All of us should be aware of what’s happening in society so that we could better analyze burning social issues and put everything in proper context. As mentioned, the intended audience deserves nothing less but quality coverage. That’s the only way journalists can help in the shaping of public opinion.

Want to know more? Please read “Campus journalists as `torch bearers’ (August 12, 2010),” “My views on campus journalism and the Philippine Collegian (April 20, 2007)” and “My experience as a campus journalist (October 10, 2007).”