CEBU CITY—Cebu Daily News (CDN) turned 15 years old on Friday, stretching its wings farther to explore the challenges of a digital world.
From two rented houses in Escario 15 years ago to a new building in the North Reclamation Area, CDN is pushing forward to deliver the news to Cebuanos and neighboring islands with a commitment to excellence, credibility and professionalism.
Sandy Prieto-Romualdez, president of the Inquirer Group, joined staff members, journalists and executives of “the only independent newspaper” in Cebu to celebrate the anniversary at the CDN building with a call to action as its anniversary theme: Engage. Empower.
Romualdez thanked the CDN’s 19 pioneers who helped the company stand the test of time, sharing stories that inspire and engage the community.
“You can’t imagine what they had to go through. They left jobs that were secure and what we had to offer was an office in a garage. They left offices that were fully built … to establish something that was really a dream,” Romualdez told the staff.
“The heritage of independence, editorial excellence, service to our stakeholders is not something that is meant to be tucked in somewhere but shared.”
Romualdez said CDN immediately rode the wave of the new digital media, like Twitter and Facebook, to deliver breaking news, livestreaming on special events in its newly improved website.
Romualdez said that times “have been very challenging and very scary” but change always happens. “Although financial numbers could be better, it is the mission that carries us through,” she said.
Over the years, the men and women of CDN have become a “family,” Romualdez said, adding: “Let us not be [content]. Let us strive to reach the top, to become No. 1.”
Credibility, professionalism
CDN has established strong foundations, keeping one foot in the future by ensuring its growth in the digital environment and maintaining the other foot in its credibility and professionalism.
In the past year alone, the paper revved up efforts to serve a wider online audience, including young professionals and Cebuanos too busy to grab a print edition.
The appeal of a hyperlocal community paper translates well for readers beyond the borders of Cebu, who want to know what’s going on in the fastest-growing, oldest, biggest vote-rich island province in the country.
After Oct. 21, 2012, was set as the date for elevating a new Philippine saint, CDN launched the micro-site “Viva Pedro Calungsod,” assembling articles and photos in a running coverage of Cebu’s preparations for the canonization of a teenage martyr.
In print and online, a wealth of stories emerged.
5 platforms
CDN reported how tour agencies were overwhelmed in handling the needs of 3,000 pilgrims who traveled to the Vatican. Another article described the “mystery patient”—a Visayan woman whose speedy recovery from a deep coma represented the miracle needed to support Calungsod’s sainthood.
Last November, almost a million people gathered in Cebu City for a thanksgiving Mass for the new saint. A special eight-page supplement was put out to mark the milestone.
CDN also had the event captured on video and livestreamed for online viewers in partnership with NowPlanet.TV, reaching the faithful across Cebu, the rest of the country and the homesick, overseas Filipinos.
A digital world indeed offers an enviable reach: one story told in five platforms—a daily paper, a special event website, livestreaming video, CDN’s Facebook account and breaking news on Twitter.
Compelling stories
Not content with expanding its subscription base, CDN released in January a beta version of a new website, www.cebudailynews.ph. The site highlights the striking photography of CDN and a chance to purchase the images in an online photo store.
As a treat to subscribers, those who sign up for a one-year paper subscription are offered free digital access to CDN and all offerings of the Inquirer Group.
Since June 2011, CDN has joined the Digital Newstand of the Inquirer Group, allowing entire pages to be read on the iPad, Android tablets, smartphones or the desktop.
One of CDN’s most compelling stories was triggered by a Facebook photo of a teenage girl trying to stand on the back of a whale shark in the shallows of a coastal town.
The image sparked online outrage. A CDN team tracked the joyrider in Boljoon town, south Cebu, where the girl tearfully apologized for what she thought was harmless fun.
Sassy mascot
CDN’s special report on the “friendly” whale sharks of Oslob town won for senior reporter Marian Z. Codilla the Reporter of the Year award for print (environment and disaster reporting) in the first Globe Media Excellence Awards for Cebu.
Siloy, a black-winged songbird native to Cebu, is the paper’s sassy mascot who appears in the 15th anniversary logo. It also roosts in the must-read corner of the paper (as well as the new website) called “Siloy is Watching.”
Here daily street scenes that need urgent attention are exposed: road potholes, leaning electric poles, pedestrians who jaywalk, red-plate government cars parked in malls on a busy weekend.
Siloy has become something of a by-word. If someone is guilty of a misdeed, a Cebuano could be heard saying, “Hoy, baka ma-Siloy ka (Hey, careful, you may be exposed by Siloy)!”
The heart of CDN’s influence is its credibility as a watchdog. Since its first issue rolled out in Feb. 8, 1998, the paper has demonstrated a zeal to champion the interests of its readers and stakeholders.
It remains free to report on government affairs and uncover shenanigans because the owners don’t belong to any political family.
Sustained reportage uncovered the P98.9-million “amazing Balili land deal,” where private lots in Naga City were bought by the province of Cebu even though most of the land was underwater. Since 2009, the story was pursued by CDN to reflect public misspending and environment abuse.
But CDN isn’t just about graft-busting. The paper gives special attention to what makes Cebu proud of its identity. Every January, the paper has covered the Sinulog Festival with a special nine-day Fiesta Guide for visitors and locals, relishing an event rooted in devotion to Señor Sto. Niño.
Achievements that place Cebu on the map regularly land on the front page.
Siloys’ Nest is a perch for moving forward.
The bird call to engage readers and empower them is an urgent challenge for CDN journalists, business staff and shareholders, who see their role in mainstream media as indispensable for positive change.
For Siloys, the flight plan is clear: Stay true, stay connected.