SUNSTAR’S 35TH.
At 35, SunStar remembers its first scoop, major coverage, technological milestones
At the SunStar party ( from left): Gina Atienza, Jayjay Neri, Michelle So, (a very enthusiastic) Nini Cabaero, board chairman Atty. Sonny Garcia, Isolde Amante, and Therese Mesina.
Compared to the older, more established players in the local print media then, SunStar Cebu braved the odds by delving into technology considered as unknown territory in 1982.
Cebu at that time was a more austere community, with no tall skyscrapers to block the sky view, and points of origin and destination were separated only by a matter of five minutes in travel time.
It was during this time that SunStar Cebu was born in 1982, with the aim of serving the Cebuano people as a community paper.
At the 35th anniversary party Saturday night, SunStar’s officers and editors shared the company’s milestones and innovations.
The community paper began its circulation using offset technology, while more established papers had started and continued their printing process with letterpress.
“At that time, other papers were using letterpress. Nobody thought SunStar would succeed because letterpress was cheaper, and offset was more expensive,” said lawyer Jesus “Sonny” Garcia, chairman of the SunStar Publishing Inc. board.
This gamble, though, did not go in vain. Less than a year after it began its operations, SunStar Cebu overtook the competition in terms of circulation.
“They were proven wrong in seven months when circulation increased. SunStar used technology to improve the quality of its community newspaper,” Atty. Garcia said.
The paper’s first banner story dwelt on a delay in the renovation of Unit 3 of Carbon market, a project that cost the Cebu City Government P2.78 million.
Its first news scoop, also in the paper’s very first issue, was about Cebu Archbishop Julio Rosales, who was gravely ill at that time.
Twelve years later, Garcia decided to push for a local-language tabloid. Superbalita first saw print on Oct. 23, 1994, which has grown steadily, eventually becoming the most widely circulated daily in Cebu.
A year later, starting with SunStar Davao, SunStar began working with partners outside of Cebu and established a network of community papers, which, combined, provide a fuller picture of the country.
On April 5, 1999, the SunStar Network Exchange (Sunnex) was established to facilitate the sharing of content across the SunStar network and to manage the SunStar website.
In 2001, the SunStar Media Group launched The Cebu Yearbook under the guidance and leadership of Gina Garcia-Atienza, now president of SunStar Management.
In January 2013, SunStar Publishing Inc. President Julius “Jayjay” Neri Jr. used a drone and a phone to cover the Sinulog seaborne procession, producing images and video that allowed readers to see something as familiar as the Sinulog from a new angle.
This led SunStar to become the country’s first community paper to regularly use remotely piloted aircraft (RPA), more popularly known as drones, in its photo and video journalism.
Common understanding
Some 35 years later, 12,000 banner stories, close to 300 awards, and hundreds of news scoops later, SunStar is still working passionately with technology that has helped change its operations.
“Before, we used to present only a quality paper. Today, we use technology to present quality news to enable the public to easily respond and contribute,” Garcia said.
“In all these instances, SunStar remains a community newspaper. Although the times when we started were different from the times now, our mission remains the same. We are a community paper. A community is one with common understanding, judgment and values,” he added.
As it celebrates its 35th year of serving the community, SunStar honored valued sources and partner advertisers to a dinner of thanksgiving and good music.
The Sky Hall of SM Seaside Cebu last Nov. 25 was enveloped in a nostalgic atmosphere as Garcia, Neri and editors-in-chief Isolde Amante (SunStar Cebu), Michelle So (Superbalita Cebu) and Nini Cabaero (Sunnex), walked down memory lane to share the often challenging, but fruitful journey of SunStar.
Former colleagues, too, were reunited in the dimly lit hall, their bright smiles illuminating the place as a testament that no matter how far the road had taken them, they will always find their way back home with the family they’ve found in SunStar.
In gratitude, SunStar also gave away plaques of appreciation to top partner-advertisers and raffled off some prizes.
Winners of the major prizes were Maria Carla Alconaba and Judge Gilbert Moises. Alconaba received a trip to South Korea, while Moises got a trip to his chosen European destination.
With still more years in which to serve the public, Garcia said the sources, advertisers and readers now take a more active role in the creation of SunStar.
“The newspaper is the symbol of our community. Many people surf different sites, but only for snapshots. But the newspaper is common and everybody can go more deeply. It is a symbol of membership and a badge of participation in the community,” he said. /
The newspaper is the symbol of our community. Many people surf different sites, but only for snapshots. But the newspaper is common and everybody can go more deeply. It is a symbol of membership and a badge of participation in the community ATTY. JESUS GARCIA SunStar Publishing chairman