Lourd in his own words
Kapatid Day,
Lourd de Veyra is a multi-awarded Filipino musician, emcee, poet, broadcast personality and activist. Born on Feb. 11, 1975 and educated at the University of Sto. Tomas, Lourd currently contributes to the lively delivery and discussion of the day’s latest news on TV5’s weekday early morning newscast Aksyon sa Umaga (where he also expresses his socio-political commentaries in his signature deadpan humor via his popular — and often viral — segment Word of the Lourd) and gives weather reports like no other in the flagship weeknight primetime newscast Aksyon.
He has also gained recognition as host of the eye-opening weekly docu program History with Lourd, where he sheds light on the “dark side” — the untold stories and political intrigues of Philippine history. He has won several accolades such as the PMPC Star Awards for TV’s Best Morning Show Host award, PMPC Star Awards for TV’s Best Documentary Program Host award, among others.
This is the Lourd who is well-known by the public. But unknown to many, behind the guy’s wit, inimitable charm and his “patois” that so many of his young listeners and followers try to imitate, there is a serious Lourd. The one-man crusader, whose shield and armor are words forged in the foundry of street-life and high science, engages his listeners and makes them think as one. In his own words: “I am the Kuya Kim of TV5.”
Take the presscon a few days ago that TV5 organized for Lourd, where he was a bundle of nerves. This was understandable as he is now the subject of the interview rather than the interviewer — as he used to be a member of the entertainment press before becoming an on-cam talent and a social media celebrity himself. Whereas before he would be the one asking the intimidating and thought-provoking questions, this time it was his turn to be asked by the same people whom he considers as friends:
How do you feel about opening a new type of journalism to young kids, especially college students who look up to you?
“Parang maganda na- master muna nila ‘yung basics, para ma- familiarize nila ang
sarili nila sa basic rules of journalism. Hopefully, we know the rules before we break them.”
You have very interesting posts on social media and on your blog. A lot of young people are copying your style of writing. What tips can you give them? What’s your reaction to being called the male version of Jessica Zafra? “Idol ko ‘yun (Jessica Zafra)! Tungkol sa pag-gaya nila sa style of writing ko, siguro mas maganda ‘yung may knowledge muna sila ng basics — kasi parang foundation of all human thought… lahat sana ganun. Feeling ko sa lahat ng larangan, hindi lang sa politics, news or in the arts; sana sa lahat. We study the ancients before we go modern.
Sabi nga ni T. S. Eliot, we know more than them. Dahil sa kanila, meron tayong ganitong
knowledge. Siguro, obligasyon natin na dalhin sa susunod na stage ang ganitong uri ng karunungan.”
Lourd is an Internet icon whose blog is shared and posted on several other blogs, whose Twitter posts get retweeted several hundred times and whose Facebook posts receive overwhelming “likes.” He says that he empathizes with kids of the new generation who have literally grown with comput- ers between their ears. “I understand them as well as those who position themselves as know-it-all on social media. These days, every information source is within reach. It is easy and you can just ‘ Google’ any topic when you want to research on anything. You do not have to go to Thomas Jefferson (the library erstwhile run by the US Embassy from the ‘60s to the ‘80s which used to hold the newest books at that time); now everything can be accessed by a single click.”
The problem though, according to Lourd, is that surfing the Internet does not necessarily teach good grammar. “What young people need to do is to really read books, the hard copy stuff. Maybe kids should spend more time not on pay- per- view but rather on paper view,” he quipped.
For the record, Lourd has won the country’s most prestigious literary awards, including the much-coveted Palanca award (he has four Palancas in teleplay and essays). Indeed, he has an eye for the wellturned phrase, which reflects his writing genius — be it on print, broadcast, online via his blog posts and social media expressions.
Lourd extends his wit and wisdom to radio via Radyo5 92.3 News FM through the radio program Chillax, where he gives his satiric but comical social commentary with a jazzy edge. He also continues to make waves in the online community through the special digital-only newscast Kontrabando, which is fast gaining popularity, especially among the youth for its truthful and inyour-face retelling of the news. Hosted by Lourd with Ramon Bautista, Jun “Bayaw” Sabayton and RA Rivera, Kontrabando can be accessed via the Word of the Lourd Facebook page. For someone like Lourd who embodies both the traditional and new media in a fresh and exciting amalgam that reaches out to a diverse range of audiences, the “nerd” as social activist and communicator has surely come a long way in gaining recognition and acceptance. Today, Lourd still gets to be irreverent; but his wisdom, wit and wealth of experience have certainly made him the rising star of our digital universe.