Responsible usage of social media highlighted in DANUM’s campus journalism seminar

Many journalists utilize social media as a tool to deliver news. In line with this, the Dalubhasaan ng mga Umuusbong na Mag-aaral ng Araling Filipino (DANUM) conducted a whole day journalism seminar entitled Dyorno last June 17 that aimed to promote the responsible usage of social media among campus journalists.

The event was integrated with a series of lectures by well-known journalists, media personalities, and writers. School-paper advisers and public high school journalists participated on the respective writing, layout, and photojournalism exercises that simultaneously occurred at A1703 and G209. Moreover, there were short contests conducted after every lecture, and the winners were announced briefly thereafter. The categories included sports writing, radio broadcasting, editorial writing, features writing, layout, and photojournalism.

Key takeaways

Lea Vinuya, the Managing Editor of Ramon Magsaysay High School’s student publication, shared that her experience in Dyorno was very memorable. She cited that it was her first time to visit the University. “I can say that they really did [a] great job, because all of us participants learned and discovered a lot. I hope they continue having seminars like this because it truly [helps] us to increase our knowledge about journalism,” Vinuya remarked.

Project Head Christopher Concha expressed his gratitude to everyone that made the event possible. “Malapit sa puso ko ang project na [ito] dahil alam ko sa sarili ko ang halaga ng campus journalism especially sa nangyayari sa social media. Kaya iniugnay namin ito sa tema ng seminar para sa taong ito,” he shares.

(This project is close to my heart, because I am well-aware of the relevance of campus journalism especially in light of what is happening nowadays in social media. This is why we integrated this aspect to the theme of the seminar this year.)

Advice to young campus journalists

As advice to young campus journalists, guest speaker and Philippines Graphic Editor in Chief Joel Pablo Salud shared, “They [have to] give emphasis on how to master the language. If they want to write in English, [they should] be better in English. If [on] Filipino, they should be good with that.” He also acknowledged the usage of simple words and simple lines to make an article more engaging to the readers, asserting that “the main goal of writing is to be understood.”

Salud has also been a judge in some prestigious literary award-giving bodies such as the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, Nick Joaquin Literary Awards, and F. Sionil Jose Young Writers Prize, among many others.