A nice place to work

I attended the 15th Anniversary of this paper, and being an erstwhile human resource professional, one thing immediately caught my attention.

The main feature of the program was the honoring and recognition of nineteen members of the CDN staff who has been with the paper for fifteen years. Which means, they have been working here from the beginning.

The list includes Eileen Mangubat, Thea Rinen and my editor Rick Gabuya.

It is not unusual for a person a long, even a lifetime with a single employer.

When I was working for a mining company, each year we recognize several employees who had worked for 25 years with the company. Most of them went on to retire, spending all their productive life with one employer.

What was surprising with the CDN 15 year awardees was their number. Nineteen must be a good part of the present manning complement of the paper. Even if it is not, still it is a great number who have continued to work with the same organization.

There can only be one conclusion for this: Cebu Daily News is a wonderful place to work.

While I rarely visit the editorial offices, I can cite at least  three possible reasons why I love working for this paper.

One, it is a newspaper who can truly claim that it is the only independent local paper in Cebu, not beholden to any personal interest, but only to the truth.

CDN is not only a working organization, it is also with the family culture. Boss Eileen is not only top honcho but also serves as surrogate  mother to her staff. Boss Rick and I rarely meet, but I consider him one of the good friends that I have.

Third, CDN takes care of its own.

In her speech Boss Eileen mentioned that when the paper started, it immediately doubled the salary and benefits standard in the industry.

Judging from the heft that Boss Rick has gained (I have to continue mentioning his name to justify this piece as a sports column) he has not had a hungry night despite the long hours.

I was in that anniversary program as an honoree. Eight other columnists and I were also been given recognition for having written in the various sections of the newspaper as opinion writers. Collectively, this group has shaped the thinking of the Cebuano readers for the last 15 years.

Those who have tried writing a column knows how tedious it is to crank up an article week after week. Doing it for 15 years should be considered as one of a person’s lifetime achievements.

Hopefully, in the next 15 years, impartiality and independence will become the only criteria for choosing a newspaper, and thus make CDN your tabloid of choice, as it has been ours for the last 15 years.