In The Near Future..

I will set up an online news outfit. Kim and I already talked about it. We will involve all our Journalism classmates. We will generate our own news content and do investigative reports on the side. Maybe we’ll be like a new PCIJ. Maybe we will let students post the news they make. Maybe we will get syndicated. Maybe we will appear in a “30 Under 30” list, or in TIME’s 100 Most Influential list. Maybe.

In the near future, indeed, many things could happen, like the government could ramp up its online presence, set up Twitter accounts, get Facebook and get  a blog – OH, WAIT! THEY ALREADY DID!

If you try to visit http://www.gov.ph, you will see The Official Gazette of the Republic of the Philippines. The full name is important because there are a lot of Official Gazettes, mainly from the United States because Americans like gazettes, a something they got from the British.

The homepage looks classy and screams “We mean business.” The use of white and gray makes it look stiff but commanding. Given the nature of the site, operated by the Office of the President, it is only right to give it a commanding  vibe.

The site is very useful when doing stories about the president. The site posts recent legislations, memorandums, executive orders and even rationale for appointments. It also posts speeches, letters and other pertinent messages by the president.

This is a gold mine for Malacañang/presidential beat reporters! But more than that, this is good public service. It is good the know that the current administration finds a way to reach out to more people. The site indicates that the site exists under Commonwealth Act No. 638. The act was obviously written at a time when there was still no computers and the idea of blogging and reaching millions at one click is incomprehensible. Extending the publication from a sheet of paper to online publication is great leap. And a smart one at that. Publishing on paper will obviously cost millions to reach every Filipino from Batanes to Tawi-tawi.

Of course, of course, any government site is a tool for propaganda and as Filipinos, who have had our fair share of lies and deception from the very people we voted in the office, to trust is hard. But I can’t help myself but praise the people behind this site; this small step of reaching out and establishing presence to normal tech-savvy Filipino citizens is monumental.

Modifying what Armstrong said about his moon landing, this is a small step by The Office of the President, and a huge leap for the Filipinos.

Salutations

Hello, my name is Jacques I. Jimeno. I am a senior journalism student from the University of the Philippines. I put up this blog to post my written works, may it be news articles or the fiction that I scribble in my notebook. I also want to post the thought process that lead to the creation of my written works.

This is going to be a wonderful writing experience.

The past few months have been really great for my writing “career”. On April 6th this year, Franz and mine’s investigative piece ‘Government says yield is up, but “where’s the rice?”‘ got printed on the front page of The Philippine Daily Inquirer, the number one broadsheet in the country. It’s one of the proudest moments. And I’d like to thank Franz for sharing the experience with me.

Shortly after that, I met one of the most trusted personalities on TV, Howie Severino, who took me on board GMANews.tv. And I’ve been on the roll helping the site prepare for what’s dubbed as the most important Philippine elections.

I was part of the team that tracked the campaign trail of the presidentiables, mapped who went where and when. I also wrote some serious news. I got my first GMANews.tv byline. My second, which I share with Kuya Marc, a UP alumnus. And my third, probably the sweetest because it’s from my favorite editor.

Three bylines and a bunch of other stories published. This summer internship was made of awesome.

Covering the elections is one of the most amazing times of my life, I like the feeling of doing something very important for the country. I think this photo sums it up:

I was at the front lines, indeed. It a really wonderful feeling. And surely, I will treasure the memory.