Thanks to our University Information System (aka “CRS”), I was able to submit online your final grades even if I am currently in South Korea. Feel free to log in to CRS now to look at your grades.

J 122 TUV and J 122 TWX students: In case you haven’t done so, kindly get your graded papers from the department.

Media 120 WZZ students: Your graded final papers are still with me as of this writing. I can only send them via postal mail on April 8 (Wednesday) as I have a speaking engagement in Jakarta early next week. Since it takes about two days to reach the Philippines (this is the second time I sent postal mail to UP), please contact the department starting April 10 as to when you can pick up your papers.

For the readers of this blog, I hope you will take some time to visit the websites of my students in J 117 and J 122. They put a lot of work in their project and most of them live up to the high standards of online publication design and layout, not to mention online content. These websites were hand coded, which means that they used only a text editor in writing the HTML codes.

J 117 TWX (Online Journalism):

1. An Observer (Maria Katrina Elaine Alba)
2. Sentimyento (Gladyline Alvero)
3. Reindrops (John Reiner Antiquerra)
4. The White Table (Cres Andrea Bardos)
5. Lorax (Katherine Grace Catipay)
6. Out of Oblivion (Maria Ernica de Guzman)
7. The Observer (Ella Marie Dimaculangan)
8. The New Face (Noli Ermitanio)
9. (S)alamin (Marvin Lim)
10. Flashpoint (Clarisse Osteria)
11. Piece of My Mind (Francesca Marie Postor)
12. Papers, Pens and Blots (Jeff Meinard Ramirez)
13. P’s Journalism Files (Andres Paolo Tanchuling)
14. WebSight (Ela Marie Teodosio)
15. Black and White (Edgar Joseph Villar)

J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout)

1. The Curious Squid (Maria Katrina Elaine Alba)
2. Stories from the Sidelines (Katrina Angco)
3. Ilocos Sur (Riziel Cabreros)
4. Ignoy.com (Katherine Grace Catipay)
5. Jovan (Jo Javan Cerda)
6. Banda Rito, Banda Roon (Mark Allan Cervantes)
7. My Life, My World, My Site (Katherine Cortes)
8. Litrato (Camille de Jesus)
9. I Am Palaboy (Alpha Emata)
10. Documenting South Korea (Maritoni Molina)
11. Movie ‘Dict (Kris Rajani Nagera)
12. Snapshots and Scribbles (Jean Natividad)
13. Move, Shake, Drop (Cherrie Anne Ongteco)
14. The Pie Hole (Kevin Angelo Paulino)
15. Belle du Boudoir (Denise San Jose)

J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout)

1. Satirical Voyeur (Jean Lander Agor)
2. The Gypsy Tales (Anne Grace Apostol)
3. Drei Bardos (Cres Andres Bardos)
4. Laughing Out Loud (Norlegen Bayona)
5. Dream Jobs (Hazel Sarah Federico)
6. F.U.E.L. (Kristine Galang)
7. The Travelling Kikai (Keisha Therese Halili)
8. Artistina (Kristina Javier)
9. Ang Bahay na Pula (Rupert Francis Mangilit)
10. Six Hours to Session Road (Kariza Andrea Montealegre)
11. The Other Side of Me (Maria Sarah Ramayrat)
12. Running with Scissors (Jan Erick Roque)
13. Graffiti Revolution (Larissa Mae Suarez)
14. A Table Tennis Enthusiast’s Journal (Janet Tan)
15. TravELA (Ela Marie Teodosio)
16. Barry in Mind (Barry Cyrus Viloria)

Para sa mga estudyante ng J 122 TUV at TWX (Publication Design and Layout), puwede n’yo nang kunin ang mga papel na isinumite ninyo, kasama na ang mga ibinigay ngayon lang (Marso 4). Kung sakaling may kulang pa kayong proyekto, ipadala n’yo na lang sa email at huwag kalimutang gumamit ng PDF na format. Huwag n’yong kalimutan ang deadline ng inyong web advertisement at website.

Kung estudyante naman kita sa J 117 WUV (Online Journalism), siguraduhin n’yong maayos ang inyong website na magsisilbing pinal na eksaminasyon. Hindi ko na kailangan pang ulitin ang mangyayari kapag may nakitang dead link sa inyong website.

Sa mga gradwadong estudyante naman ng Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics), pagbutihin ninyo ang inyong pananaliksik dahil may malaking bahagdan ito ng inyong pinal na grado. Gaya ng nabanggit ko sa klase, posibleng irekomenda ko ang publikasyon ng mahuhusay na papel sa Philippine Journalism Review, bagama’t susunod pa rin ito sa proseso ng double-blind review.

Gusto ko namang kunin ang pagkakataong ito para batiin ang mga estudyante ng J 200-1 (Thesis) sa maaga nilang pagpasa ng pinal na bersyon ng kanilang tesis nang hindi isinasakripisyo ang kalidad ng pananaliksik.

Kung kailangan n’yo akong kontakin, kailangan n’yong malamang hindi ko dadalhin ang aking cellphone sa Korea, kaya sa email na lang kayo makipag-ugnayan.

Yun na lang muna at maraming salamat sa inyong atensiyon.

• J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout): Kindly submit your newspaper page on or before 5 p.m. The  magazine spread which is supposed to be due on March 3 is now OPTIONAL, but the web advertisement due on March 10 is still required. Should you decide to submit the magazine spread, please email the PDF file to me on or before March 3 since I will most likely be checking them online in Korea.
• J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout): Same instructions as J 122 TUV.

February 25 (Wednesday)

• J 117 WUV (Online Journalism): We will check the progress of your websites.
• Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics): We will discuss selected case studies in Advertising/Public Relations and Entertainment, as well as the prospects of media ethics in the country.

• J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout): Kindly submit the newsletter on or before 5 p.m.
• J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout): Same instructions as J 122 TUV.

February 18 (Wednesday)

• J 117 WUV (Online Journalism): Members of Group 4 will present their report on information technology and online journalism. You should also upload your website’s resource links section on the global financial crisis before the start of our class. Given the need to maximize the limited time we have, please note that your feature article (profile of a UP student) is due on February 25; and your column article (choose between two topics: online journalism education or art of handcoding), March 4. Your website which serves as your final exam is due on March 18.
• Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics): Kindly email your reflection paper on or before 2 p.m. We will discuss selected case studies in Journalism and Advertising/Public Relations.

If you’ve attended our class last week, you already know the “juicy details,” particularly  where, why and with whom I’m going. You are now free to tell your classmates who were absent, as well as others who are interested to know.

As far as our class is concerned, this simply means that you have to religiously attend the remaining meetings in February. You already know the papers, projects and other requirements and their respective deadlines, so please submit them on time.

If you’re my thesis advisee (undergraduate or graduate level), please see me in the next few days so that we can evaluate the status of your thesis and make adjustments (if any) to your proposal or actual defense (for graduate students).

With regard to our schedule in March, we have no choice but to conduct our consultations via email or YM (unless of course you can afford the plane fare to visit me personally).

In any case, kindly visit this blog every now and then for other announcements, particularly those specific to your class.

Thank you for your attention and wish me luck!

• J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout): Kindly submit your first project (brochure) on or before 5 p.m. Don’t forget to include the target audience and the original brochure which serves as basis for your own design and layout.
• J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout): Same instructions as J 122 TUV.

February 11 (Wednesday)

• J 117 WUV (Online Journalism): Your online newsfeature article should be uploaded before the start of our class. Members of Group 3 will present their report on webcasting.
• Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics): Those assigned to discuss selected codes of ethics in entertainment will make their presentation. I will also give you the question for the “optional, extra-credit” paper which is due on February 18.

• J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout): We will re-evaluate the template/welcome page of your website. Kindly make the necessary corrections based on my comments, as well as your classmates’. Please pay close attention to your source code. After the re-evaluation, we will discuss the other outputs you are required to submit in the next few weeks.
• J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout): Same instructions as J 122 TUV.

February 4 (Wednesday)

• J 117 WUV (Online Journalism): We will also re-evaluate the template/welcome page of your website, after which we will discuss mainstream and online journalism. Kindly read all materials listed in Part III of your syllabus. You should also start working on your news feature about the ongoing ratification process of the CRSRS.
• Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics): Those assigned to report on selected codes of ethics in Advertising/Public Relations and Entertainment will make their respective presentations.

How would the crisis affect the local media industry and community? Or do you think that the local industry and community would be spared from the effects of the financial meltdown? Why or why not?

Mainstream media organizations, considering that they operate no differently from other business entities, are directly affected by the global financial crisis in various ways:

1. As other economic industries like manufacturing lay off workers to cut down on production cost, it’s likely for some business organizations to either do away with or spend less on media advertising on which mainstream media are totally dependent;
2. As media owners have other business interests, it’s likely that they would see their non-earning media organizations as “white elephants,” resulting in either downsizing, merging with other media organizations or closing them down altogether; and
3. As consumers cut down on spending, their consumption of the mainstream media may be affected, resulting in less subscribers of publications and telecommunications services like mobile telephony, cable and Internet.

Content-wise, mainstream media organizations would probably provide news media content that caters more to the least common denominator, making it even more attuned to infotainment and escapism. The end-goal in this particular case is to attract the already dwindling number of media audiences.

The crisis would most likely affect a lot of sectors such as advertising and production. Advertising revenues may drop and, at the same time, production costs may shoot up. Do you think our media organizations are prepared for this?

Despite their dependence on advertising, the mainstream media organizations probably have plans to weather the crisis. But it would be hard for them to do so given that even cable channels that are supposed to survive mainly on cable subscription also have their share of advertisements.

Mainstream media organizations would likely resort to importing canned programs as it is much cheaper than producing shows locally.

Owners may also not see this year as the time to bring in more state-of-the-art broadcast and printing equipment, given that they would be resorting to various austerity measures.

Are we seeing now the effects on the media industry and community at this time? Or is it too early to tell? Why or why not?

The fact that media organizations are resorting to interstitial or stealth advertising is an indication of their efforts to pull in as much advertising revenues as possible, even if they are already compromising the dissemination of information (in the case of news and public affairs) and the presentation of the narrative (in the case of entertainment).

Even if ethical standards clearly stress the need to differentiate between advertisement and news media content, there are mainstream media organizations that opt to use the latter in promoting goods and services of advertisers.

This is, in my opinion, a creative way to pull in advertisers in the wake of the global financial crisis, given that they would have more “captive media audiences” through stealth advertising.

If you think the crisis would also affect Philippine media, do you think it would stay for a long time?

Commercialism in the Philippine media has been there since the various forms of media had been introduced, with the notable exception of the alternative media that, through the years, had maintained some degree of independence from profit-seeking entities.

The issue here is therefore fundamental: The global financial crisis could result in more “creative” ways for the mainstream media to generate income, even if this is done at the expense of shaping public opinion.

Are you seeing changes in newsroom policies and direction, such as job layoffs, closure of news outlets, media mergers, migration to online media, salary and budget cuts, and more pressure for journalists to be multi-skilled so they can do more for their salaries?

These are distinct possibilities, as may be gleaned from the unfortunate experience of Newsbreak and Pinoy Weekly that opted to just go online. Mergers in the print media may happen in the future, and the case of Manila Standard and Today is a good example.

Even a leading newspaper, according to a reliable source, is seriously considering venturing into the broadcast media and strengthening its online presence while maintaining the same number of reporters who will be tasked to produce stories not just for the paper but also for the broadcast and new media counterparts.

From a management point of view, this may be optimization and maximization of the staff (and could even be claimed as providing multimedia training to its journalists). From a labor point of view, however, this is plain and simple exploitation.

How would the global crisis affect the economic and working conditions of Filipino journalists and media organizations?

Just like in other economic industries, contractualization could become the order of the day in mainstream media organizations.

Other cost-cutting schemes like job rotation and diminution of benefits could also happen, hence the need for journalists to organize themselves into unions, as well as strengthen already existing ones.

What is the future of Philippine press, given its old problems (rising production costs, lower advertising revenues, lower readership, credibility issues, etc.) and the current global economic crisis? What should journalists and media organizations then do to handle the situation, and to survive in the future?

The future is not bleak as we are wont to think, considering that alternative media have been around since the Spanish period, assuaging the people’s hunger for information.

It is necessary for like-minded journalists to support the alternative media by reporting for them even if the financial reward may not be that much.

Mainstream media organizations should also help expand the audience base of the alternative media as the latter are not necessarily competitors. This can be done in various ways, though the most beneficial in the shaping of public opinion is citing the alternative media’s analyses of social issues in the mainstream media’s stories.

It may be also necessary to lessen dependence on advertising by studying alternative media ownership schemes like establishing cooperative-owned media organizations.

• J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout): We will evaluate your seatwork and your website’s template/welcome page (which serves as your midterm exam).
• J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout): Same instructions as J 122 TUV.

January 28 (Wednesday)

• J 117 WUV (Online Journalism): We will evaluate your website’s template/welcome page which also serves as your midterm exam.
• Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics): We will not have a class so that you could work on your midterm paper which is due on January 30 (Friday), 5 p.m.

• J 122 TUV (Publication Design and Layout): Members of Group 4 will discuss typography and design principles. We will also analyze the output you submitted last December. You should start working on your website’s template/welcome page which we will analyze on January 27. This project serves as your midterm exam.
• J 122 TWX (Publication Design and Layout): Same instructions as J 122 TUV.

January 21 (Wednesday)

• J 117 WUV (Online Journalism): Members of Group 2 will report on the definition and fields of online journalism. As in the case of my J 122 classes, you should work on your website’s template/welcome page in time for our critiquing session on January 28. In the next few weeks, you will be uploading the assigned articles to your website.
• Media 230 WZZ (Media Ethics): Students assigned to discuss selected codes of ethics in Journalism and Advertising/Public Relations will present their respective reports.