At 1pm on February 13, around 30 community collaborators representing various government offices and civil society organizations in Los Baños met with the faculty members of the Department of Development Journalism (DDJ) and some 12 student representatives of the UP Los Baños (UPLB) College of Development Communication (CDC) to identify topics for 2017’s first six issues of the Los Baños Times community newspaper at the Los Baños Municipal Hall.
Former LBTimes Adviser Sasa Francisco introduces Kabs Catapang as the new newspaper adviser to the Los Baños Times collaborators.
The editorial meeting with the LBTimes collaborators is held regularly to collaboratively design and plan for the succeeding issues of the community newspaper. This partnership between the Los Baños Times and the community collaborators was established through the UPLB action research on Engaging Local Government Agencies, Barangays, Schools, and Civil Society Organizations as Los Baños Times Collaborators, which was implemented in March 2014 with the release of the monthly Los Baños Times Libre!.
Kabs Catapang, the current LBTimes adviser and DDJ chair, facilitates the introduction of participants during the first community collaborators’ meeting.
The February 13 meeting was the first gathering for 2017. The LBTimes editorial meeting was attended by 12 BS Development Communication (BSDC) students representing eight laboratory sections currently taking DEVC 136. Multi-media Materials Production and Management. As part of the course, each DEVC 136 laboratory section will be producing one issue of the Los Baños Times Libre! in partnership with the community collaborators.
The activity served as a venue for introducing new representatives from the Los Baños LGU, DDJ faculty members, and the BSDC students who will be regularly coordinating with one another to produce this year’s issues of the Los Baños Times Libre!.
To date, the cooperation among the community collaborators, CDC faculty, and BSDC students has led to the production of 23 issues of Los Baños Times Libre!. DDJ produces 1,000 copies of each issue, which is distributed to the 14 barangays of Los Baños with the help of the community collaborators.
To know more about the Los Baños Times network of community collaborators, contact (049) 536-2511 local 410. The Los Baños Times editorial board welcomes organizations, schools, agencies, and/or units interested to become part of our network of community collaborators.