Inquirer Write-Along challenges, inspires students

CITY OF MALOLOS, Bulacan, Philippines—Getting writing and reporting tips not found in journalism textbooks.

This was what Ron-Ron Lopez, a journalism student at Bulacan State University (BSU), liked most about the Inquirer Write-Along leg in Central Luzon on Friday, the second held for campus journalists in the country since it was launched in Cebu City in September.

Among the bits of information that Lopez kept in his notes were on covering events, developing sources and knowing what makes a news.

Short open forums, one on the prospects of newspapers, were bonuses to him in the daylong session attended by 27 campus journalists from Bulacan, Bataan and Pampanga who joined the daylong training at the BSU College of Arts and Letters’ speech laboratory  here.

Challenging questions

Lopez said he loved the challenging questions that Rolando Fernandez, chief of the Inquirer’s Northern Luzon Bureau, threw at them. One of these was on the proposal to ban ambush interviews.

The Inquirer Write-Along, a program started by the Across the Nation section this year, aims to promote editorial excellence and integrity among student journalists by giving them the opportunity to listen and learn from Inquirer editors, reporters and correspondents on how to write a story “the Inquirer way.”

Campus writers

Campus writers and journalism and communication students from BSU and Centro Escolar University in Bulacan, University of the Assumption and Don Honorio Ventura Technological State University in Pampanga, and Bataan Peninsula State University and Tomas del Rosario College in Bataan, joined the session.

Jun Bandayrel, Inquirer national editor and the activity’s coordinator, said: “[The Inquirer Write-Along] reaches out to campus writers. It shares the Inquirer’s 25 years of experience in news reporting. It shares what we know.”

BSU president Mariano de Jesus thanked the Inquirer for reaching out to students. “Gusto ko ang ginagawa ninyo (I like what you are doing), that you’re sharing wisdom,” he said.

Bandayrel discussed the changing concepts of news and media convergence while Pampanga correspondent Tonette Orejas talked about the basic news structure and the Inquirer’s techniques of storytelling.

Inquirer research head Miner Generalao guided the students on sources and online research while Fernandez engaged them on generating story ideas. Pangasinan correspondent Yolanda Sotelo shared tips on conducting interviews and photo correspondent EV Espiritu talked about basic photojournalism.

The 2008 film, “Nothing but the Truth,” was shown midday as a discussion point for the right of journalists to protect their sources.

Lopez said: “It was not just a seminar because it taught lessons which are not found in textbooks. It was very fulfilling to know that writers and editors [whose names I only read in the newspaper] were the ones giving us pointers in writing.”

“They instilled in us hope and inspiration that we can be successful journalists in the future,” he said.

Joana Florita Zafra said learning how the Inquirer writes stories and presents the news “gives me the edge.”

Zafra, 20, also a BSU journalism student, said her participation in the write-along was good preparation for a job in media.

News values

Mary Rose Viloria, a staff writer on the University of the Assumption’s “Regina,” said as a beginning campus writer, the module on news values was helpful.

John Kevin Benigno of Bataan Peninsula State University said he learned ways of improving the stories he would write.

Also an aspiring photographer, Benigno said Espiritu’s lecture armed him with tips on taking good photographs. The session was sponsored by BSU and Mang Inasal. Tonette Orejas and Carmela Reyes-Estrope, Inquirer Central Luzon