ABS-CBN takes media caravan to Cebu
CONTINUING to help educate the country’s future media practitioners, ABS- CBN sent the network’s top-notch media executives to Visayas to share their knowledge and insights on media work in the third leg of the ABS- CBN Pinoy Media Congress Caravan on November 8 at Cebu Normal University.
“Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo” head Rowena Paraan, who has gone all over the country to promote citizen journalism, taught the students how to detect fake news and emphasized the importance of news literacy.
“With technology evolving at a fast pace, the more we have to be discerning and critical of what we read, and the more that we need to be abreast about issues and other points of views. We, the ones that understand journalism, have to help in spreading news literacy,” she said.
ABS- CBN’s youngest business unit head Pete Dizon, who helms the hit noontime show “It’s Showtime,” pushed the young Cebuano communicators to pursue their passion and to not be discouraged by setbacks.
“Don’t be afraid to fail. If you fail, then start over,” he shared. He also emphasized how the youth has a freedom to change and to create their own name.
In his session, Mark Yambot, ABS-CBN head of print publishing and Ide8, stated that young Filipinos are reading more books today and explained how reading has become a social experience.
“Today, because primarily of digital, print is having a second life. People discover the books on Facebook, Instagram and Twitter. The communities get to discuss books that they like and recommend,” he shared.
As in previous legs, a session was also dedicated to the efforts of ABS- CBN Film Restoration, which do not only preserve and restore classic Filipino films but also make them appealing to the younger audiences. ABS- CBN Film Archives head, Julie Galino, discussed how creating new movie posters and trailers, and making the restored films accessible on digital platforms, have helped them spread awareness and create interest about their restoration projects and advocacies.
The students, who were mostly Mass Communication majors, were also encouraged to join the “Class Project” Intercollegiate Mini Documentary Competition by Knowledge Channel head Danie Sedilla- Cruz. They were also treated to a surprise performance by “Tawag ng Tanghalan” season 3 champion Elaine Duran who sang her version of “Nadarang” and “Basang Basa sa Ulan.”
Capping the fruitful day of learning were the free screening of digitally restored and remastered film “Kung Mangarap Ka’t Magising,” while some of the delegates attended the documentary- making workshop with ABS- CBN DocuCentral production unit head Carmina Reyes and the Bayan Mo, iPatrol Mo workshop with Rowena Paraan.
Launched 13 years ago, ABS- CBN and the Philippine Association of Communication Educators’ ( PACE) Pinoy Media Congress has served over 12,000 communication students with talks and free workshops on various fields and topics in media. To reach and inspire more students, ABS- CBN began to broadcast the annual conference via satellite to host schools in Visayas. This year, ABS- CBN goes even further by bringing the PMC experience to different campuses in the Philippines to promote media literacy and help shape the next generation of media and communication practitioners in the Philippines.