By Fernan Angeles
THE Philippine Press Institute hinted at a trend that would soon see newspaper print editions gone soon as an offshoot of the economic slump in view of the global pandemic.
According to PPI executive director Ariel Sabellino, the country’s print media is “struggling” and may be forced to impose measures if only to keep afloat.
To prove the adverse effect on the newspaper industry, Sabellino cited the closure of at least 12 prominent community newspapers. Aside from stoppage in operations, many newspaper publishing companies has decided to shelve the traditional print editions and shift to online web portals, which is costs so much less to maintain.
These incidents, to Sebellino, is not a welcome development for the Philippine media even as he emphasized the importance of independent and vetted news as the “public has to understand where the narratives are coming from.”
“Critical journalism, the public should understand, should be challenging status quo and pronouncements from government. We know any official statement coming from any government agency has to be challenged for misinformation…they have to be fact-checked,” he said.
Even major dailies in Metro Manila have taken cost cutting measures, which included down-sizing of the newspaper size and number of pages, retrenchment, an offer for an early retirement, among many other firsts in the industry.
“For a big papers to just do that I think it gives a strong signal to other news outfits…it has a chilling effect on any other news outfit in this country… it’s happening across the archipelago,” he said.
Sebellino said news organizations must think “of creative ways to sustain operations because things will never be the same again.”
“I think there must be other opportunities to reinforce the print platform. That means print and online edition will have to go hand in hand.”
“Big papers in the urban centers can probably help the little ones outside of the urban centers and we think about community engagement. We’re seeing dynamism in the economy that should start first locally.”