by Chelsea Saniano and Sandrine Militante

Aiming to foster a culture of volunteerism and community service, the Los Baños Times, a community news platform operated and managed by the Department of Development Journalism (DDJ), has revitalized its Volunteer Program through a Training-Workshop held on 13 October 2025 at the Graduate Room of the Nora C. Quebral Hall. It served as the official welcome for LB Times’ newest batch of young community journalists.

The new members of LB Times’ editorial board facilitated the event.

Editor-in-Chief, Asst. Prof. Miguel Victor T. Durian, delivered a brief discussion on the publication’s history and continuing growth, emphasizing how the community news platform evolved from a traditional broadsheet to a magazine during the height of the pandemic, and now to a dynamic space for multimedia and community journalism.

He also facilitated a workshop where the volunteers were given the opportunity to experience newsroom tasks within the publication through the production of multimedia content, such as infographics, reels, and straight news articles.

In her opening remarks, Dr. Pamela Joyce M. Eleazar, DDJ chair and Editorial Adviser, said that the program aims to expand the publication’s pool of student contributors, enrich their knowledge, and strengthen the volunteers’ skills in development writing and reporting.

Ms. Jeremy Marinella S. Ledesma, DDJ’s University Extension Associate and Associate Editor, served as emcee of the event.

Dean Edmund G. Centeno formally appointed the new editorial board members on 26 August 2025.

Meanwhile, former members, Asst. Prof. Jyasmin M. Calub-Bautista and Asst. Prof. Aletheia C. Araneta, were awarded with Certificates of Appreciation during the formal turnover held in the morning as a token of gratitude for their service to the publication. They served LB Times as Editor-in-Chief from 2018 to 2025 and Editorial Adviser from 2021 to 2025, respectively.

Originally published on the UPLB College of Development Communication Facebook page.