“We are wearing blinders. This lack of representation also leads to a mis-representation,” shares Camille Diola, Editor-in-Chief of Philstar.com and Interaksyon. “We only hear about Marawi when it’s already destroyed. Manila is not the only national-level content that we should have.”

Camille was joined by Tarra Quismundo (Deputy Editor, ABS-CBN News Online), Jane Villa (Business Unit Head, EON Public Relations), and Ryan Macasero (Multimedia Reporter, Rappler) for Telum Media’s Philippines webinar about regional journalism on 11^th November 2020.

“We need more representation in the Manila newsroom from the provinces. So they can play the role of advocates for their communities.” Tarra explains. Jane adds that increasing social media presence is beneficial to media: “The barrier of limited airtime is now a thing of the past. This can only be beneficial to viewers in the regions.”

While regional representation in newsrooms can be increased, Ryan mentions that communities should be encouraged to speak up. “To borrow something Miss Cavite (Billie Hakenson) said, we’re not just here to be voices, but to amplify voices. There is no such thing as a voiceless community. The voices are there. I think it’s important to empower these communities to tell their stories.”

The live webinar was attended by over 150 journalists and PR professionals. Viewers were free to send in questions during the hour-long session. The chat was moderated by Anika Nale from Telum Media’s Philippines team.