by John Carlo Halayahay and Patricia Orolfo
JOUR-KNOWS. LU campus journalists upgrade their skills in news and feature writing. (Photo by John Alojado Nitura)
On February 8, 2023, Laguna University’s Bachelor of Arts in Communication and Communication Circle administered a journalism workshop program entitled “Journ Knows: A Campus Journalism Seminar Workshop,” held at the Audio Visual Room inside the RLH building at the institution. The workshop seminar was attended by participants from different colleges, including the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS), Colleges of Health Sciences (CHS), College of Business Administration and Accountancy (CBAA), College of Engineering (COEng), College of Education (COED), and College of Computing Studies (CCS).
The resource speaker for the journalism seminar-workshop is Mr. Miguel Victor Durian. He is a University Extension Associate at the Department of Development Journalism of the College of Development Communication, UPLB. He is also the Associate Editor of Los Baños Times, a news platform supervised by the aforementioned department. Shortly after his introduction, Mr. Durian acknowledged the official student publication of the Bachelor of Arts in Communication, “The Communicator,” given its significance to the event.
In the first part of the program, Mr. Durian centered on expounding the well-established notions surrounding journalism, which are the principles and different branches that journalism is not just limited to print media, broadcasting, and mass media but also tackled the dignity and responsibilities it holds. He also emphasized that in the field of Journalism, a writer will be able to express their morality while still holding onto their integrity as they are determined to share the truth with the public. He includes the basic foundations of journalism and its underlying concepts. The topic consisted of Journalism Basics, News Reporting Basics, and an introduction to Hard news and Soft news writing. These topics enabled the participants to grasp the common concepts of journalism guiding them for the next activity of the program. A workshop was then conducted as an exercise for the participants to apply what they had learned from the discussion. The groups of participants were given writing tasks accordingly, which were later presented in front of the advisers. The presentation of the participants ended successfully, and Mr. Durian commended the participants for exhibiting their skills. Subsequently, Mr. Durian concluded his talk.
The seminar-workshop was also supported by various school officials starting with Dr. Olga Domingo, the Program Chair of the Bachelor of Arts in Communication. She acknowledged the different departments for participating in meaningful and enthusiastic events. Afterward, she proceeded to invite the Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences, Dr. Rosalie D. Buban, to deliver an inspiring message. In her speech, she opened the discussion on the importance of strengthening the desire of writers to create in line with their choices, passion, and determination, as well as encouraging student writers to keep their enthusiasm for journalism. After ending her remark, she called on the Director of the Office of Student Affairs and Services (OSAS), Ms. Emelyn U. Napiza, to give her inspirational message. Her sentiments emphasize the facets of being a good writer. “Good writers are not born, they are made,” insinuating that anyone with the perseverance to go beyond their creativity and exert even more effort in learning, can establish good writing skills.
Photo by John Alojado Nitura
The event concluded with the awarding of certificates for the resource speaker. Following the awarding of certificates, Communication Circle President, Mr. John Nitura, delivered his closing remarks. For Mr. Nitura, the success of the program is nowhere near attainable without the help of his fellow organizers and administrators. He attributed such an accomplishment to the Communication Circle officers, Technical team, and University Administrators. The program ended with a photo opportunity of the participants from different colleges, in full smiles. Hence, it goes without saying that the seminar-workshop ended, leaving students equipped and determined to fulfill their endeavors as campus journalists.
This article was originally published on The Communicator.
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