From typewriters to computers

MANILA, Philippines - Being a reporter, writer or editor for a newspaper sounds like a very stressful job. Especially since a regular day means getting articles done, estimating the editorial versus ad space and making sure that all the information are facts. As you work your way up, you get bigger responsibilities and you need great managing skills. A perfect example of someone who has worked his way up is Roman Floresca, The Philippine STAR’s Business section assistant editor.

Roman Floresca was studying Engineering in the University of the East when he decided to take an elective on English expository writing. His English teacher was so impressed with his writing skills that he encouraged Floresca to write for the school newspaper. Floresca, surprised by the compliment of his teacher, gave the school newspaper a shot and after a few years became the editor-in-chief. He took the school paper seriously and worked there with all his heart that he neglected his engineering studies.

The STAR’s recruitment officer at that time was the late Art Borjal who knew a lot of guys in the industry as he was a practicing journalist himself. Through a friend of a friend who knew Borjal, Floresca got his job at The Philippine STAR.

Floresca’s task was to write for the Agricultural beat for the paper. He even remembers having a story published in the first ever issue of The Philippine STAR. He remembers the headline for that issue, “Wear Yellow and Die”, and although he doesn’t recall what the title of his article was, he’s sure that it’s something about agriculture. He also shares a time he was making headlines when he used to cover the peace talks between the government and the National Democratic Front back in the late 80s.

According to Floresca, covering news can somehow get frustrating. He narrates, “We had such goodwill that some people are saying that we could have asked anything from anybody and they would’ve given it to us”. He continues, “This is just an indication of how high people all over the world regarded the Philippines during that time.” What’s more painful is, “even during the late 80s, we were already battling with corruption which was only starting to be prevalent during that time but it seems that up to now, corruption hasn’t been eradicated but has actually become worse.”

Floresca also discusses the different changes that he’s been through by being a writer in STAR. “Before, when I was still a reporter, we had to go to the office everyday so we can use the typewriters and punch in our stories. The whole office would be buzzing with the click-clack of typewriters.” As for the writing style, he said that before, the editor would scold the writers with something like “Sinong English teacher mo? Sabihin mo sa kanya mag resign na siya! Hindi siya marunong magsulat at magturo!” Floresca laughs at the memory and explains that this was the reason why he always made sure that his articles were flawless. First thing he does in the morning is to read the paper, search for his article and since he’s memorized the article he’s submitted verbatim, he’d know if there was something that was edited and analyze what was his mistake, so that he wouldn’t commit the mistake again.

Despite the ups and downs of the job, Floresca stays passionate about being in The STAR. He says that if he pursued a career in engineering, he probably wouldn’t feel as fulfilled as he does now with The STAR. He says that by being a writer, he feels like somehow he contributes something to the society and that he makes a difference. And by working at a daily newspaper, a lot of opportunities have opened up for him. Although bigger corporations offer more pay, you can’t place a price on excitement and other experiences you can get when working in STAR.

As for the lessons that Floresca has learned in The STAR, it’s “giving value to hard work by always looking out for ways of improving yourself.”