Championing the Cebuano

The editors of The FREEMAN had recently met with our Chairman, Dr. Jose R. Gullas – our dear Sir Dodong. The ideas Sir Dodong shared in that meeting were of special interest to the Lifestyle and Entertainment sections. Everybody was receptive, like little children eager of the counsel of their highly esteemed parent.

Various matters were discussed. There was something for the attention of each editorial department and section. But the central point of it all was the overall direction – or mission – of The FREEMAN.

Sir Dodong is a true-blooded Cebuano. And he is a leading exponent for the Cebuano identity. He has, in fact, taken monumental efforts to promote Cebuano arts and culture. Now he asks his people at The FREEMAN to also consider such cause.

Sir Dodong's call should not be anything new to us working in the paper. In my opinion, The FREEMAN being a Cebuano publication is supposed, primarily, to share out the Cebuano experience - how life goes on in our part of the world. Presumably, we all know that.

But the thing is, as we go through our day-to-day grinds, we sometimes tend to lose sight of our "Cebuano" mission. I am speaking from personal experience. When faced with a close deadline, I often cram the page with just anything; anything sensible at least, I hope.

It's true that the big stories that land on the front page of The FREEMAN cannot be all Cebuano. There are also the general journalistic criteria to observe. I am sure Sir Dodong, being a seasoned journalist himself, understands that.

I think what Sir Dodong means is that we must try as much as we can to have a Cebuano angle to our stories, to point out how events – whether from around our immediate neighborhoods or from elsewhere in the world – affect Cebuano life. And to uphold the Cebuano spirit as much as possible.

That makes sense to me. Local readers want to read stories about themselves. And Cebuanos in other places want to know what's going on back home.

Extraordinary feats by ordinary people in the community are an interesting read. Readers apparently like to read about familiar people: neighbours, friends, relatives. The same is true with events.

The FREEMAN's front page always headlines local news. Well, almost always; except when the only local news around is that somebody's cat steals somebody's tinap-anan (smoked fish). Unless, of course, if the cat story is about a neighbor's cat eloping with another neighbor's dog; now, that's really news!

Sir Dodong is right, again. The FREEMAN has many pages. In times when there's really nothing Cebuano to put on the front page (which is rare, I think), the other sections are there to make sure there is a strong Cebuano identity to every issue. The Lifestyle section, for instance.

The Lifestyle section is a good ground to highlight the Cebuano experience. Our Lifestyle executive editor always reminds us to go for local happenings, local personalities, local fashion, local cuisine, local tourist destinations, etc. We writers need to be reminded often.

It's a good thing that Sir Dodong himself steps in to reiterate the point. Even the editors themselves can sometimes go wayward amid the day-to-day journalistic tedium. They're just ordinary mortals, too; I have yet to see one with a halo over his or her head.

I take heed of Sir Dodong's journalistic counsel. This man's wisdom and subtle ways amaze me. And he leads by his example.

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