Editors and layout artists of some twenty community newspapers from the different parts of the country completed the three-day Seminar-Workshop on Newspaper Design and Layout spearheaded by the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) in partnership with the German-based Hanns Seidel Foundation (HSF).
The training was aimed at providing avenues for community papers to improve their respective design and layout to allow them to cope up with the needs of their readers amidst the emergence of the various social media platforms.
The training was the first time that editors and layout artists were required to attend for them to collectively work out the appropriate improvements on the design and layout of their papers that will provide a needed new look for their community papers and thus entice the varying interests and requirements of readers in this technology-based generation.
Chong Ardivilla of Texas Tech. University lectured the participants on keeping up with the changing times and why there is a need to innovate the layout and design of community newspapers.
On the other hand, Chin Wong, lecturer in Journalism at the Ateneo de Manila University and Associate Editor of the Manila Standard, provided the participants with the contemporary newspaper design.
Further, Jimmy Domingo, senior lecture at the University of the Philippines–Diliman, lectured the participants on photos and caption writing. The participants were also allowed to go on field to take photos which were subsequently critiqued by the lecturer who provided them with tips on how to take good photos that will be loved by their readers.
Wong critiqued the existing design and layout of the participating newspapers and provided suggestions and recommendations on how to improve these.
Participants working in tandem were required to execute a fresh design for the various sections of their newspapers which were also presented and critiqued by the lecturer with some publications achieving outstanding results during the workshop.
Palawan News was adjudged with the best mock up followed by Eastern Visayas Mail while tied in third place were Mindanao Observer and Baguio-based Herald Express.
Earlier, some 30 journalists from the different community newspapers in the country also actively participated in a 3-day Seminar-Workshop on Numeracy last July 28-30, 2023 at the Orchid Garden Suites in Malate, Manila. The said venue also served as the site for the Seminar-Workshop on Newspaper Design and Layout conducted last September 18-20, 2023.
Hanns Seidel Foundation has been a partner of the PPI, the national association of newspapers in the country, since 2019 for the conduct of numerous trainings for community journalists to be able to cope up with the heavy impact inflicted by the COVID-19 pandemic and how to survive the post-pandemic era considering the need for the traditional media to evolve amidst the challenge posed by the emergence of the social media that tend to directly compete with the practice of the media profession as a whole.
