Journalists and Digital Media Skills
Media Practitioners upskill for online news reporting
HSF
What is the role of social media in news reporting? As the cybersphere continues to evolve, social media continues to influence the accessibility, creation and delivery of news, and the skills needed to gather information and deliver it to the public. Fifty journalists participate in “Basic Social Media Skill Set for Journalists, Media Practitioners,” to familiarize and equip themselves with the basics of social media management and help them better able to present news content and engage in activities in digital platforms and with their readers and audiences.
Advancements in technology has created more opportunities for journalists to produce and share their stories. This activity touched on the creation of social media title cards and infographics through the use of mobile applications, and the management of social media pages, such as in driving traffic, increasing engagement, and applying monetization strategies.
The workshop on livestream reporting and video production combined theory and practice. After being shown the basic tools and equipment in setting up a mini studio for processing livestream news reporting, participants worked in groups, applied what they learned, and presented video-recordings of mock live-news-reporting segments. The critiquing of the videos produced included various tips on presentation and recording, including the use of a smartphone as a lower-cost alternative as well as legislation relevant to news gathering and reporting.
HSF
According to “Digital 2022: The Philippines,” in January 2022, when Internet penetration rate stood at 68.0 percent of the country’s population of 111.8 million, 76.01 million were internet users and 92.05 million were social media users. Amongst these social media, Facebook had 83.85 million users; YouTube, 56.50 million users; and Twitter, 10.50 million users. Meanwhile, the Digital News Report 2021 observed that in the Philippines, “dependence on smartphones to access online news, including on social media,” grew during the lockdowns due to the pandemic. Its surveys also showed Facebook as the key platform for news in the Philippines. Therefore, media practitioners who keep abreast of the latest trends and corresponding technologies and know-how gain a competitive advantage.
Participants acknowledged having increased familiarity with the basics of managing their social media accounts and pages, and more knowledge about the new applications software that facilitate content creation, such as for livestreaming and publishing posts. They welcomed the activity and reiterated the need for continued information and training activities for media persons so as to keep them up-to-date with the developments and with innovations in the media landscape, especially as the media has expanded into the cybersphere. They also expressed appreciation for the opportunity to benefit from gain more knowledge and better understanding of laws and regulations relevant to them and to their work.
HSF
This seminar-workshop is the fourth one resulting from a collaboration between the Cagayan de Oro Press Club, Inc. and the Hanns Seidel Foundation since 2020. Held in-person, it is the second project of the COPC Journalism Institute, which was formed on 12 February 2022 and will handle the press club’s training activities. Future activities for media practitioners focused on further capacitating media persons and keeping them informed of developments are in the pipeline. This activity was organised by the COPC through the COPC Journalism Institute, with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF) as part of a project cooperation on civic journalism.
Digital 2022: The Philippines