Miranda: Week #1 at Manila Times

A plane ticket for Manila one Friday afternoon was an assurance that I could indeed have my On-the-Job training in one of the national dailies here, the Manila Times. Being a Masscom student means trying out every possible way to have a glimpse of the other side of the horizon. I just did. I am already here in Manila.

Now, I am here embarking on a new path. The first week of my OJT in a big, national newspaper opened a new horizon for me. I have to report from Monday to Sunday, from two to seven o’clock in the evening when the press room is all abuzz with activity. In the first three days, I was assigned in editing/proofreading. On my first day, I was given a stylebook so I can properly edit news items given to me for editing. I was introduced to the nature of the work. News articles, editorials, columns, business reports, world news, sports, lifestyle and special features are first edited by the editors first, then they will be passed on to the proofreading supervisor who will then distribute the task to us, the proofreaders.

I am given the assignment of editing the business, world, sports and lifestyle sections. With the help of the stylebook and the copyreading skills I learned since high school, I was able to do my job. The stylebook given to me was personally authored by the editors of Manila Times. My copyreading skills are a great help for me here because it makes me do my work faster and easier. The editing work is a technical work. I am given a big draft paper with the layouted stories. I have to carefully check the punctuation marks and other symbols, the placement of text, the meaning of abbreviations and acronyms, the names, places and dates and the jargons. My supervisor guides me on where to go next after editing. My next stop is the layout team. I will inform them the corrections and wait for another printing of the draft, but this time, it is printed on a long bond paper. I double-check if the corrections made are included. If everything is fine, I will pass the paper to the editor for final reading. If there are no corrections raised, a final paper will be printed and will be posted on the bulletin with a sign “OK”. Another set will be done for other sections. This happens for three days. I usually extend my working hours if it is already seven o’clock and my work is not yet done.

Three days later, I was assigned to write a story about an incident happened to former Senator Nikki Coseteng. The executive editor, Mr. Dante Ang II, relayed to me the scoop news he received by the PR man of the former senator. The former senator had a breakfast in one of the reliable restaurants in Pasay City. She was surprised by the bangus meal she ordered for it contained a whole small cockroach. She complained to the restaurant supervisor who assured her that it was just an accident and that they would just replace it and won’t charge her for it. Mr Ang wanted me to write a bigger story for this. He introduced the WSJ or Wall Street Journal Formula in writing a story. It must first be focused on an individual. Then there would be a transition to a larger issue which in here is “Are restaurants generally safe or not.” Or “how safe are the people of the food they eat in restaurants”. After this is a report on the larger issue and finally conclude the story by returning to the opening focus. He wanted me to gather facts first. This means checking the background of the incident, interviewing people and sources which for my story are Public Health Offices, verifying and corroborating information, and getting reactions of the other side of the story. For a promdi like me, this is quite a big deal because I have to go to different cities like Pasay, Makati, Quezon and Manila and it was my first time to interview unfamiliar faces in unfamiliar territories. I could not help but have butterflies in my stomach. But I survived the first two interviews of Pasay and Manila City Health Offices. The editor did not give me a deadline. He wanted me to work on the story well. Tomorrow, I shall do three more interviews before I can write my story, with hopefully, my by-line.

When I did my first two interviews, I remember the ones our masscom class had when we did our SPLAT features. Interviewing is one skill I learned in our journalism class. I was able to apply the steps taught to us. I did research for the background, made a concept map, prepared questions, followed-up questions during the interview proper and listened. I learned during the process of interview that it pays to be courteous, sincere, humble and smart. People will acknowledge and respect the interviewee and will answer the questions sincerely. I learn, too, that to gain their trust, I have to be credible-looking by dressing up properly.

Writing the story is the second step. I know I have to use my news judgement skills for this. I have to decide which part would be the most newsworthy. I have to organize my thoughts and prepare which lead to use.

On Wednesday, Mr Ang conducted a two-hour journalism workshop for the interns. He reviewed journalism, news and leads. He has a definition of journalism which we, the Ateneans, had learned in our own school. It is the discipline involving the process of gathering information, editing and disseminating the news to a mass audience. He said that the principles of news dissemination in print are the same in television and radio. News, according to him, is information that is perceived to have some value to an audience at a particular time. He introduced the WSJ Formula lead which I am going to use for my first news story. He ended the lecture by reminding us that our practicum here is for our future job search. We are taught of the things which we are capable of doing.

Thursday and Friday are holidays. I was given a break on Saturday and Sunday.

The real world outside is a challenge, indeed. My first exposure to MRT was way back 2000. Now, LRT is a ride to remember. And it certainly is a part of my world now. I am taught to ride a jeepney which only costs P7. The next ride is the LRT where I have to be astute of its next-stop destinations. It is just a 20-minute ride, sans traffic, sans hassle. After the LRT ride, I once again take another jeepney which heads to my exact destination. This is my world to Manila Times, everyday.

I do not fear the rides, I enjoy them. I do not fear the places, I admire them. I would get used to the fast-paced world here. I would continue to travel with people from all walks of life. I must learn these things with common sense and with the laws of life. These are not taught inside our air-conditioned room in school. I am just trained to face life with courage and will to think out of the box. I am here in Manila, and I admit it, I would get lost if I lose track of my goals.