EDITORIAL - 100 years and counting…

Many may ask what is this grand event that The FREEMAN is marking today. For this paper’s avid readers, loyal advertisers and longtime partners, there’s something very important worth celebrating today as it continues embarking on its journey.

In case many have wondered, it is still five months to The FREEMAN’s usual anniversary celebration. July 18, to be exact, has long been the date the men and women behind this paper and its stakeholders are holding sacred.

But today is equally important as the anniversary day. For today marks the opening salvo of The FREEMAN’s celebration of its 100 years of existence, a feat many, if not all, existing newspapers will surely find hard to duplicate.

Except for a handful of national newspapers, it’s highly doubtful if there’s any paper across the country that can follow The FREEMAN’s path to longevity, especially in this era when technology is unrelentingly pushing one foot of the print media into the grave.

Yes, the print media is facing a serious challenge as it is running on a road that is becoming rough in this time when people can just easily access news and information through their smartphones and other gadgets.

But The FREEMAN and its physical copy are here to stay despite the advent of the digital age. Of course, we have long anticipated the challenge and have adopted steps boosting not only our digital presence but our social media platform and other online operations as well.

However, today’s grand event is not just about longevity and success of an icon of Philippine journalism. It is also about celebrating the paper’s crucial and unparalleled contribution to Cebu and its inhabitants.

Chronicling Cebu for the past 100 years has never been an easy mission for The FREEMAN. There were ups and downs that the paper had to encounter, especially during difficult times such as World War II and the martial law years.

Since its humble beginnings in 1919, the paper has painstakingly recorded Cebu’s march towards unprecedented development, from an ordinary urban area to being the hub of everything outside Metro Manila.

The FREEMAN is proud of the fact that for the past 100 years, it became an inseparable part of Cebuanos’ everyday life, holding a distinction as a credible source of information. And yes, it will continue serving Cebuanos in any available platform.

As the paper begins taking its first steps towards another 100 years, we take this opportunity to thank all those who have been with us through the years. Your support had been a valuable tool that keeps the wheels of The FREEMAN running.