NOTEBOOK: Philippine Reporter, almost 20

NOTEBOOK: Philippine Reporter, almost 20

It was in 1989, 19 year s ago, when the first issue of The Philippine Reporter was published. March 10 to be exact. We’ve done 19 years of continuous publication. A year short of 20.

So what’s new with this paper? When we started 19 years ago,we vowed to be objective and fair in our practice of journalism, first and foremost. We haven’t changed that commitment. Only the context has changed. Let me explain.

Not a few have observed that this paper has become too political, too serious, or too involved with Philippine issues.

It was in the mid 60s when Bob Dylan popularized the song “The Times, They Are A’changin”. It became the anthem of the youth protesting the archaic establishment’s resistance to change. That’s four decades ago.

The times are really changin. Again.The world, including the Philippines, is again in turmoil. The Middle East, Africa, Eastern Europe, Latin America, South Asia, even north America, are seeing a proliferation of hot spots of crisis after crisis.

The question really is relevance. If you don’t deal with this turmoil, these changing times, you are irrelevant. People want to know what’s going on. If a paper won’t try to deal with the burning issues of the day or consciously ignore them, it fails to play its basic role of informing the public and shedding light on the truth.
We’re happy to know that we’re a favorite read of a large section of the community. That encourages us and reminds us that we’re on the right track. That also means our community is maturing. And we mature with it.

But we’re not all political or hard news. We have sections on entertainment, health, environment, community news, humor, among others.

We’re also making use of the Internet. Check our website, www.philreporter.com and you’ll see a wealth of stories and photos, including back issues, you will want to read. We also have links to some Philippine-related stories and opinion pieces. That’s also the reason why we average 60,000 hits a month. We have good content.

To make this piece short and sweet, here are my favorite lines from Bob Dylan’s song:

‘Come senators, congressmen
Please heed the call
Don’t stand in the doorway
Don’t block up the hall
For he that gets hurt
Will be he who has stalled
There’s a battle outside
And it is ragin’.
It’ll soon shake your windows
And rattle your walls
For the times they are a-changin’.

To those who’re now nostalgic of those times, go to youtube.com and search for Bob Dylan, Joan Baez and watch them perform, circa 1960s in black and white. You’ll enjoy it.