Author: Devcom

As part of its annual seminar series, the Department of Development Journalism (DDJ) held “Mga Kwentong Luntian: Reporting on Agriculture and the Environment” on 6 November 2023 in the College of Development Communication (CDC) Lecture Room 1 and via Zoom.

Two media practitioners served as guest speakers, namely Mr. Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas (Agriculture and Commodities Reporter, BusinessMirror) and Ms. Gaea Katrina Y. Cabico (Environment and Climate Journalist, PhilStar.com).

Mr. Arcalas started his talk by sharing about his journey towards becoming an agricultural journalist, which he said is one of the “least sexy” beats, despite it playing a crucial role in informing the public about the nation’s food system. He discussed challenges in agriculture reporting, such as understanding highly technical agricultural concepts and humanizing these so that the public will realize their value in their everyday lives. He motivated the participants to craft big stories out of these seemingly small, taken-for-granted issues. He also previously served as a resource speaker during DDJ’s last seminar on science journalism in 2022.

On the other hand, Ms. Cabico, reflected on how she might have been destined to become an environmental journalist, being named after Gaea, the Greek Earth goddess. She discussed the challenges of environmental reporting in the Philippines, which has been ranked for 10 years in a row as one of the most dangerous countries for environmental defenders, according to Global Witness. She emphasized that her field called for in-depth, investigative stories that go beyond events coverage to truly give the public informed decisions about environmental issues.

The event was held in partnership with the DEVC 125 (Writing and Reporting for Development) class of Asst. Prof. Jyasmin M. Calub-Bautista.

The topics covered also supplemented two specialized reporting courses, namely DEVC 127 (Data Journalism for Development) and DEVC 128 (Science Journalism for Development).

The event is also one of DDJ’s activities for the 25th anniversary of CDC. (Miguel Victor Durian)

Through the collaborative effort of its four academic departments and partner schools, the College of Development Communication (CDC) staged the Bantay Halalan Barangay and Sangguniang Kabataan (SK) Election Coverage on 30 October 2023.

The program provided hourly webcasts mainly via the Bantay Halalan Laguna Facebook page and through news article reportage via lbtimes.ph.

The Laguna University (LU) and the University of Perpetual Help – Calamba were CDC’s partner schools, whose students and faculty members served as field reporters in their respective communities. CDC undergraduate students also served as volunteers.

The coverage was also simulcast on the Facebook pages of UPLB Devcom, Radyo DZLB ang Tinig ng Kaunlaran, and LB Times. (Miguel Victor Durian)

The UP Community Broadcasters’s Society (ComBroadSoc) of the College of Development Communication (CDC) showcased two of its flagship development-oriented communication programs at the 1st Philippine Association of Communication Educators (PACE) of the Future Student Camp (PFSC) 2023 held on October 20-21 at the Lyceum of the Philippines University – Cavite. The event was held alongside PACE’s Communication and Media Studies Conference (CMSC) 2023 with the theme “Communication and Media Education in the Time of AI: Values, Ethics and Practices.”

First, Evangeline Lucille Ortiz, former Creative Productions Director of ComBroadSoc, talked about the Gandingan Awards, in which she served as Production Head during its 17th year. 

In her presentation, she emphasized that, aside from being an award giving body, Gandingan also engages in public service activities, such as organizing trade fairs for local businesses in Los Baños and having different partner communities annually. She also underscored Gandingan as her organization’s contribution to promote the field of development communication to the mass media and general public and to uphold a free and safe press.

Second, Servillano S. Morales Jr., the current Public Service Head of the UP ComBroadSoc, presented the youth-oriented educational magazine program Leader Ka K! (LKK), which the society manages in partnership with the Department of Development Broadcasting and Telecommunication (DDBT) of CDC and the Youth Development Affairs Office of Laguna. Morales currently serves as LKK’s Assistant Director.

In his presentation, Morales showcased the importance of LKK as an avenue for the youth in Laguna to share their stories and inspire other young people. He added that the program also serves as an avenue to enhance their potential in community broadcasting through training-workshops that it organizes for students and through its acceptance of volunteers and interns.

Meanwhile, in his welcome message during the opening program of CMSC, Asst. Prof. Mark Lester M. Chico, President of PACE and faculty member at DDBT, explained the role of AI in  research and development and the education sector, which was what the theme of CMSC was about.

“While challenges in upholding academic integrity in AI remain in conversations, we promote the use of AI for a learner-centered pedagogy, human capital development and capacity building, the improvement of efficiency of the education administration and AI as an avenue for collaboration,” said Chico.

He was also re-elected for a second term as president of PACE for 2023-2025.

Also present at the camp as UP ComBroadSoc’s representatives were Chief Anchor Roberto Jr. Antonio, Partnerships and Linkages Manager Jian Martin Tenorio, Creative Productions Director Dan Alexander Abas, former Public Service Head Margareth Callo, and Community Broadcaster Marius Cristan Pader.

Finally, Dr. Crispin C. Maslog, retired faculty member of CDC, also showcased one of his new books entitled “PACE: Turning 50: A History of the Philippine Association of Communication Educators.” 
Launched for the first time, the PFSC aimed to provide a platform for communication students and organizations nationwide to present their communication initiatives and bring opportunities to socialize and collaborate with each other. (Servillano S. Morales Jr.; Photo credits: Dan Alexander Abas; Mark Lester Chico)

This article was originally published on the UPLB website.

Bonz Magsambol, Rappler multimedia reporter and Department of Development Journalism (DDJ) lecturer, was one of the panelists of the Jaime V. Ongpin Journalism Seminar (JVOJS) 2023 spearheaded by the Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility (CMFR) at the Asian Institute of Management (AIM) Conference Center in Makati City on 19 October 2023.

He and four other Filipino journalists were recognized at the event. He was able to share practical field wisdom covering the Senate, as well as the education and health sectors. Some of his recent achievements include being one of the fellows of the Fellowships at Auschwitz for the Study of Professional Ethics (FASPE) Journalism Program last June and being recognized by the Department of Health (DOH) for his public health reportage during the COVID-19 pandemic. He is also a CDC alumnus.

The panel discussion centered on the ways on how mainstream media could remain relevant amidst the fast-paced, continually changing landscape of Philippine society. Some of the timely matters tackled were Generative AI, short-form journalism, and the political economy of media.

Through DDJ, CDC also supported the event through the participation of its students from the DEVC 126 (Participatory Development Journalism) and DEVC 127 (Data Journalism for Development) classes, accompanied by Mr. Miguel Victor T. Durian, DDJ University Extension Associate II.

The four other panelists were Katrina Domingo (ABS-CBn News), Christina Chi (Philstar.con), Jodesz Gavilan (Rappler), and Mike Navallo (ABS-CBN News). The latter two were hailed as the 2023 Marshall McLuhan Fellow and CMFR Distinction Awardee, respectively. 

Led by Executive Director Melinda Quintos-de Jesus, CMFR is a media monitoring non-profit that upholds press freedom and ethical journalism. JVOJS is its an annual event dedicated to uphold the practice of investigative and explanatory reporting. This year marks its on-site return after three years of being held online due to the pandemic. (Jan Carlo Basilio; Photo credits: Blessy Lyn Espenilla)

Scientists should use social media to fight misinformation on modern agricultural biotechnology.

This was one of the salient recommendations of a study conducted by the College of Development Communication (CDC) of UPLB and the International Service for the Acquisition of Agri-biotech Applications, Inc. (ISAAA) among 1,180 respondents from various stakeholder groups in the Philippines. 

The research report was launched at the Acacia Hotel Manila in Muntinlupa City on September 22 and was attended by government, non-government, private, media organizations, and other stakeholders. It was also live-streamed on the ISAAA.org Facebook page.

Dr. Cleofe S. Torres, principal investigator and adjunct professor at CDC, presented the highlights of the study, “Revisiting Public Perception of Agri-biotechnology: 16 Years After the Public Debates on GM Crops.”

It found that the social media sites Facebook and YouTube were the most frequently used platforms by their respondents, while scientists were the most trusted sources of agri-biotech information. Hence, they called on scientists to actively reach out to the public by maximizing the use of social media to bring credible information and to bust agri-biotechnology myths.

During the open forum, the salient matters discussed were the potential of social media in the public understanding of agri-biotech and various communication strategies that could be used in educating the public, such as partnering with influencers or producing engaging short-form videos.

The findings of the study were initially presented at a forum held at the UPLB REDREC Auditorium on March 30, 2023, which showed that nine stakeholder groups from ten regions in the country were pro-agri-biotechnology despite negative assessment of it in the past years.

The study was funded by the Philippine Agriculture and Fisheries Biotechnology Program of the Department of Agriculture (DA) and is part of the “Know the Science Project” of ISAAA, the Southeast Asian Regional Center for Graduate Study and Research in Agriculture (SEARCA), and CDC. 

Attending the event from CDC were Dr. Maria Stella C. Tirol (Dean, CDC), Dr. Elaine DC. Llarena (Chair, Department of Science Communication), Asst. Prof. Mark Lester M. Chico (Director, Office of Public Relations, as well as Dr. Ma. Teresita B. Osalla and Ms. Juvy Leonarda N. Gopela, who are part of the research project. (Miguel Victor Durian)

This article was originally published on the UPLB website.

Photos from Mark Lester M. Chico.

Dr. Liza A. Cabrera, assistant professor at the Department of Educational Communication (DEC), is a recipient of the 2023 UP Center for Women’s and Gender Studies (UPCWGS) Research Grant.

The P125,000 grant aims to fund pioneering and innovative research on gender and women’s issues in the Philippines. The official signing of the Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) for the grant was held on 8 August 2023 at the College of Social Work and Community Development (CSWCD) of UP Diliman.

Her research proposal was titled The Face of Menopause: Portraits of Menopausal Filipino Women, which aims to examine the experiences of menopausal women through visual art practice. The research intends not only to contribute to academic literature, but also to exhibit artwork in public spaces to draw awareness about menopause from the experiences of Filipino women. 

Dr. Cabrera’s research specialization is on visual communication and development issues concerning women. At the 2nd International Conference of ADCEP Philippines, Dr. Cabrera presented her paper titled Representations of women in reproductive health communication materials, which was part of her PhD dissertation. (Elijah Jesse M. Pine)

The Department of Educational Communication (DEC) held a two-day research writeshop on remote teaching and learning during the COVID-19 pandemic at the UPLB Baguio Satellite Station in Pacdal, Baguio City on 8-10 September 2023. 

The writeshop is part of the DEC research project titled Documenting Remote Teaching-Learning Experiences in Development Communication: Challenges, Opportunities, and Best Practices. Led by its project leader Asst. Prof. John Mervin Embate, the project covers two studies on remote Devcom education during the COVID-19 pandemic on the experiences of teachers and students. 

DEC aims to publish two research monographs after the completion of the research project.

During the writeshop, project staff of the first study made revisions on the research manuscript based on external reviews and drafted the initial design and layout of the monograph. Meanwhile, project staff of the second study wrote the research results from their data analysis.

Data for both studies were obtained from two previous DEC-led virtual events. First, DEC and the Association of Development Communication Educators and Practitioners (ADCEP) Philippines, Inc. conducted Remote Learning Conversations in 2021, a virtual forum that aimed to gather Devcom educators from across the Philippines to share their experiences and challenges as educators during the pandemic. Second, DEC organized Usapang Remote Learning (#URL) in 2022, an event that convened Devcom undergraduates from 19 universities to share experiences in remote learning.

This research project is part of DEC’s commitment to contribute to academic literature on distance learning and further intellectualize Educational Communication as a domain of Devcom. 

In June 2023, DEC first launched EDCOM Talks, where the department shared the results of its research titled Towards an Emerging Definition of Educational Communication. At the 2nd International ADCEP Conference held last September 14-16, DEC academic staff also presented the initial findings of their research entitled Reimagining Educational Communication as a Domain of Development Communication: A Synthesis of Working Papers. (Reeve Jairo delos Santos)