Thomas Benjamin Roca
Students from Sacred Heart School (SHS) in Paranaque City are the
newest additions to an ever-growing list of budding writers to benefit from
UPJC’s Campus Journalism Workshop (CJW).
Around twenty-five staff writers, editors and photojournalists working
for Sacred Heart’s official student publication Reflections gathered on Saturday for a day-long series of workshops
on various aspects of campus journalism.
Former Vice President for Alumni Relations Enzo
Regondola facilitated the workshop for news writing. He emphasized the importance
of timeliness in reporting, adding in jest that stale news isn’t news at all
but “olds.”
The session on copyediting and headline writing was headed by
Melissa Luz Lopez, UPJC resident member and editor-in-chief of Tinig ng Plaridel (TNP),
the official student publication of the UP College of Mass Communication.
Workshops on feature and opinion writing were led by UPJC resident
members Sara Bangayan and Toby Roca, respectively. Meanwhile, the session on
publication design was conducted by TNP
layout editor Julius Ryan Umali. He also commented on the layout work on the
school paper Reflections, as well as
gave tips on how it can be further improved.
The distinguishing factor for UPJC’s Campus Journalism Workshop is
the inclusion of ethics, in keeping with the organization’s thrust for the
promotion of ethical and professional journalism. UPJC President Alex Austria
headed the session on basic ethical principles in journalism.
Jazel Balgas, editor-in-chief of The Reflections, SHS official
publication said “The UPJC has greatly helped us staffers. By supplying us with
tips and writing techniques, our facilitators has widened our insights of the
press – that it is an effective way of expressing oneself and delivering the
truth.”
The CJW at Sacred Heart School was capped off with an awarding
ceremony for participants whose workshop pieces stood out from those of their
peers. The school also received a certificate of appreciation for hosting UPJC
for the said event.
UPJC has been conducting CJWs in various elementary and secondary
schools in Metro Manila and across the country since the project’s inception in
September 1995. It is the organization’s flagship program, serving as an
effective way for members to practice UPJC’s mantra of Critical Thought and
Action, as well as impart the same to the participants.
