State Of Her Own Praise!!!

It is ironic that a State of Nation Address (SONA) of a president became a limelight event for her and not for the people. On July 24, the SONA made by President Gloria Macapagal Arroyo turned into her most promising day where she was the superheroine. The content of her SONA was her ever new empty promises and self-appraisal to all she had done in the country. It was obvious that she lifted her own chair in her SONA in telling the people her accomplishments during her administration. As a president, it was just natural to rule the country in progress in all aspects of the state. Personally, there's no need to give so much emphasis on the good works,if there's any real good works done needed most by the people. Let good deeds talk for themselves. Arroyo should gave more focus on her deficiencies from the start of her presidency up to the present instead of proclaiming out loud her administration. She should elaborate her unfulfilled promises and better explain why they became such.

Arroyo was exaggerating things when her SONA security almost like a security of a "goddess". What was that for? Of course maybe to ensure the safety of her threatened life. That meant many of her people do not like her or even worse.Why? She did not even mentioned her relationship with her own people in her SONA. She was very confident to say to all her rivals that she was game with a fight. She was very certain to say that because she could control her troops and some people behind supporting her. What a PRESIDENT!!!

I do not know what really came into Gloria's mind to uplift her own chair, but do not have the courage to admit her lackings on the other hand. Gloria should know how to face her people without shields. She should learn to admit her mistakes and her failures. And most important she should learn to fulfill her promises. If she really can't, better lock her mouth.

My First Ever Frustration As An Intern...

Last week, I accidentally attended the pressconference of Baguio City Mayor Braulio Yaranon. I was supposed to interview the Mayor regarding the landslide issues, but his secretary asked me to just join the pressconference that day. I went outside the office were there many people waiting for the Mayor. Ever since, I did not have the interest to attend pressconferences, but that day when I realized that those people outside came from different media agencies, I became interested to it. When the Mayor arrived, all of us hurriedly followed him inside the City Hall. It was my first time to attend a presscon!Since I brought my recorder, I started to record all the mayor had said. The presscon was about his clarification regarding the suspension issue in the Mayor's office. In that issue, Baguio City Vice-Mayor Reinaldo Bautista was also involved because according to the Mayor, V-Mayor Bautista was already implementing the decision of the president even if he had no authority. After I recorded the important things that the Mayor said, I hurriedly went to the Vice-Mayor's office to get his side of tthat issue. Unfortunately, he wasn't ther. I went to the DILG's office to verify if they really did not issue an implementation order of the suspension of the Mayor. I only interviewd DILG City Director Jose Rapanut through telephone.
I still couldn't finish the story because I still did not have the side of the Vice-Mayor. After my class, I returned to the V-Mayor's office. His secretary said the V-Mayor had a presscon regarding that issue. I realized the presscon was when I had my class already. I still tried to finish my story, but as I went on, I realized that there were many questions arising. There were also information I gathered, which I did not have the time to verify. I had doubts to give the story to my editor in Philippine Daily Inquirer and I already did not meet the deadline so I decided to just keep the story in my bag.
On my way home, I thought of the whole day without having my breakfast and lunch for nothing. I just regret my time spent in trying to complete that story. I ended up with nothing.
Somehow, it was a lesson to me. I should know how to race with the deadline and with other reporters in making news.

Just comments...

It's not for me to criticize the evening news show of channel 2 ( ABS-CBN),which is Bandila, since I did not have the chances to watch it for several times. Baguio City was hit by strong typhoon last week so I did not able to go to my neighbor to watch Bandila. Unfortunately, we do not have television in our boarding house.
Before the typhoon came, I happened to watch Bandila once. It was about news. Bandila was hosted by anchors Korina Sanchez, Ces Drilon and Henry Omaga Dias. The anchors presented the news accurately and effectively. Their credibilities as news anchors added to the credibility of their program. They gave comments in-between news reports. Their program became news/commentary program.
For me their in-between comments made their show boring because as a televiewer, I am not interested on their comments. I also do not care about their sides. All I am after is the whole story of the news so I have no interests on what they say on the issues. Another thing,I was expecting late news in the program, but I was disappointed. Most news were already aired in the earlier news programs of the channel.
I also expecting some exciting and extraordinary news to be featured in that program so it might get my attention and to waken me up in some way, that's why it is late night news program. Personally I found Bandila as a boring late news program. it would suit during earlier schedule because of its content and style. It is not exciting and worthy to watch during sleepy hours. Besides it seems like the program is very much scripted in some ways like the comments made by the anchors in-between the news story. It felt like they just reading from a sript all what they say. Another thing is that during those hours which all people are sleeping and hurrying to got to bed, as a televiewer I want more straight news program where I could feel the rush delivery yet accurate news reports rather than news/commentary program.
For me, Bandila is not that interseting and worthy to watch compared to other late night programs like Imbestigador or Reporter's Notebook or the likes. Bandila delivers news accurately, but not fresh. It is not suitable to be aired fduring late hours because it may bore the televiewers.

The Return of Superman!

I sometimes get tired of journalism. I sometimes get weary of following some politicians, feeling-like-celebrity people and other important figures for an interview valuable to my stories I make. How I imagine how complicated to run after some busy people just ton clarify different issues for the people to know what is really the story. I sometimes experienced to interview bigheaded and short-tempered interviewees. In these kind of situations when things are becoming more complicated, I just have to extend the limit of my patience to make our conversation smooth and professional. The waste of time waiting for someone no matter what the weather is is a burden I just have to survive just to get the fruit of my story. My spirit as an aspiring journalist fades little by little.
When I happened to watch the movie “Superman Returns” last week, it brought change in me. The leading lady in the movie is a Pulitzer awardee journalist. She has all the personalities that a journalist should have; aggressive, strong and powerful. Her eagerness to know behind the “black-out issue” in the story inspires me again to finish what I have started in the world of journalism. Despite of the contradictions she received from her editor in covering that black-out issue, she did not stop to dig information and data about it. The inspiration I got in the film is that even the best journalist still experienced hard time in gathering news and difficult time in dealing with other people. The film somehow uplifts my spirit as an aspiring journalist because of the conflicts I saw in the film. I realized that I have still more to experience in this world where everybody is persevere, patient and has enough courage to accept his/her fate as a journalist. After all, superman is SUPER to me.

Having no license means having no profession?

Do journalists feel intimidated of not having license like other professions? I doubt it. It doesn't matter if journalists do not have license in their hands, it won't affect their performances, I guess…Journalists are careless people. Careless in the sense that they don't care how complicated and how dangerous their beats are. They just gather news. It's their satisfaction. They are careless in undergoing many hard situations like dealing with many different people regardless of the people's backgrounds. They wouldn't mind if their interviewee is a terrorist or a murderer. They are brave enough to deal with these kind of people. They have charms to lighten the atmosphere between them and their interviewees.
I do not intend to make any comparison between journalism and other licensed professions. As a journalism student, my defense mechanism is it's all about passion and commitment to what world you want to belong. Journalism world is unpredictable and full of surprises. Every single moment, this world shows many new things, and the privilege of journalists is being the first one among other professions to know about these new things.
Having license of other professions is having power to practice those kinds of professions. Journalists having no license at all can practice their professions too. That's the power of freedom with the sense of responsibility. Not being limited means not being responsible. Every job has responsibilities. Professionals carry those responsibilities while practicing their professions. Professionals are accountable for their clients, same as the journalists. Journalists are accountable for the lives of their interviewees if they are involved in dangerous stories. They are also accountable for themselves. They protect not just their names and images, but also their lives when going to critical and dangerous situations while gathering news.
I ask myself, do only licensed professionals can be called professionals? Do journalists can also be called professionals?Personally, no and yes. No, not only licensed people can be called professionals.Yes,journalists can also be called professionals even the abscence of license because Journalism is considered as a profession and journalists are the ones practicing that kind of profession, so they are professionals.And the years in school that the journalists spent just to be called professional journalists is enough plus the experiences of being journalists that not all people experienced.