Where the pen meets paper, a writer confronts themself with a dilemma: to be poetic or precise. This circumstance is familiar to campus journalists, who are trained to deliver information with delicate consideration for word economy and sensibility. They are set off in the world with what former National Schools Press Conference (NSPC) participant Ally Llanera describes as a drive to “make things as easy as possible for the masses to understand.”
These students, doubling as correspondents on the side, come out of their extracurricular years equipped with an unmatched sense of urgency and conciseness. However, they border on being coached and being conditioned. Their critical edge presents a unique inquiry. In all its glory of planting world-serving mentalities among its participants, how guilty is campus journalism for breeding competitiveness and dog-eat-dog notions?
Hot off the press
For many student journalists, participation and championship in the NSPC have become a communal mark of success in the field. Every year, students compete from within their schools and divisions, eventually representing their regions in the nationals. Former NSPC participant and now school paper coach Dianne Delos Santos believes that this culture of idealizing the competition helps its entrants to set and attain goals for themselves. She grins, “Aside from [giving] people the dream, knowing that they can [do the] work to achieve that dream is another.”
In addition to fueling a desire to serve, campus journalism brews timeless skills expected of any fastidious individual. Former NSPC participant and collegiate writer Joanne Ramos, now a professional journalist, recalls how campus journalism served as a “training ground” for future professionals where fairness and accuracy were underscored. Delos Santos echoes this sentiment and zooms in on the importance of the technical skills imparted. To do one’s subject justice, the journalistic process must be honored holistically, from finding credible sources, conducting sensitive interviews, to developing articles with compassion—all while working under tight deadlines and external pressures.
College freshman Llanera, who has participated in these competitions for the better part of a decade, is living proof of this culture. They note a stark contrast between campus journalism and its professional counterpart, most evidently in its motivations. “In campus journalism…you have to be the best. You have to stand out from the rest [to] get the attention of the judges, the readers,” Llanera exalts. This competitive mindset, coupled with their acquired expertise, produces tactful but confident truth-tellers.
Even then, a good campus journalist will know that the work does not end so abruptly. In fact, as they bid their competing years farewell, it is only the beginning of their lifelong responsibility to be bearers of truth—especially of realities outside of their own campuses.
The first of many steps
In campus journalism, every skill is put to the test. In the span of an hour, weeks, or even months and years worth of training are expected to bleed through a singular article. “You only have one hour to prove [to] yourself na ‘Oh, I am a good writer, I am a good journalist.’ That one hour will really define you,” Llanera expresses. A well-written article, like a diamond formed under intense pressure, can propel one to the next stage, while a poorly-written piece concludes your journey for the season.
Despite sharing the same field, competitive campus journalism can easily be differentiated from collegiate and professional spheres. “[In] competitive campus journalism, you compete for the medal to beat other competitors. But in university journalism, you’re there to serve the community inside and outside your university,” Ramos expounds. The moment a student journalist exits the world of competitive press conferences, there are no medals to win and judges to impress—only the pen, the paper, the writer, and the audience for whom the article will speak.
At every stage of journalism, different aspects of the writer’s craft are honed. Campus journalism lays the foundation, and these skills would later complement the experiences at collegiate-level journalism. “Campus journalism promotes critical and creative thinking to these young minds, and, therefore, it makes them ready for what is to come,” says Ramos, drawing from her experience as a working journalist.
Beyond competition, journalism thrives on advocacies and social responsibility, which Llanera also thinks are best instilled at a young age. “If early on, exposed ka na sa campus journalism, exposed ka na [rin] sa ganitong klaseng thinking—sa pag-build ng importance ng good journalism,” they explain.
(If you’ve been exposed to campus journalism early on, then you’ve been exposed to this kind of thinking—to build the importance of good journalism.)
A shared podium
Given the Davao Region’s striking win as the overall champion for 2024’s NSPC, Ramos, Delos Santos, and Llanera all agree that the event foreshadows a positive turning point in Philippine campus journalism. The unprecedented change in the national titleholder signals both an increase in skill and sufficient regional support and training from local administrations.
“Everyone in the region is capable of becoming an NSPC giant,” says Llanera, emphasizing local journalism’s potential for growth. Each round of competition shapes thousands of student journalists all over the country, many of whom may pursue journalism in their later years.
As the fire ignited by competition burns and blazes bright, it is ultimately passion and appreciation for the field that keep student journalists going. Ramos optimistically claims, “Competitions like this can encourage students to participate in national discussions and open their eyes to what’s happening in the world.” Change begins with awareness, and awareness lies at the very heart of journalism.
The field of journalism in the Philippines is far from exemplary. However, the youth’s continuous fervor rings in a promising future. “Masaya ‘yung experience na nagko-compete ka. But more than that, ando’n ‘yung parang hinahanap-hanap mo [‘yong kagustuhang] magsulat,” Llanera confesses. “Hinahanap-hanap mo na gusto mo maging of service to others.” This conviction, ingrained in each campus journalist, may just be the greatest success for journalism.
(The experience of competing is enjoyable. But more than that, it’s like you find yourself longing to write. You find yourself longing to be of service to others.)
This article was published in The LaSallian‘s March 2025 issue. To read more, visit bit.ly/TLSMarch2025.
