Herald Express, the newest news organization to be established in the Cordillera over four years ago, has entered its fifth year of operation. It continues to bank on its current print and social media platforms, maximizing every available mechanism within its existing operations to help in informing people on the current events in the different parts of the Cordillera region. It plays on its limited resources to spread important events and activities that should be known by those who patronize our existing platforms.
We started our operations sailing on rough seas holding on all available means just to hurdle the most difficult part of operating a news organization in its first year of existence. It was purely our passion for public service through our news items that we capitalized on to allow us to work through the rigors of the publication despite the challenge posed by social media to traditional media. Management collectively decided to incorporate the social media aspect of presenting the news to the public as part of the service amidst the presence of existing well-established publications and news organizations that have already made their mark with the public.
Some friends admonished us for establishing a virtually losing business in the midst of the highly competitive market. Others provided us with inspiring words of encouragement while some people remained fence sitters. As media practitioners, we listened to all positive and negative comments given us, sat down and weeded out those that are not useful and banked on those useful inputs to allow us to continue because of our childhood dream to be one of those in the profession. We had partly achieved this dream that we never expected to be fulfilled. Our second year of operation was characterized like a child who has been fully breast fed but have to be exposed to all kinds of available food. We seized the opportunity to enhance our all-out campaign in the rural areas as an alternate to the popular media outfits people have been used to. Sailing on rough seas continued but the waves started to be our friends that guided us to be out of the danger zones.
Herald Express entered its third year full of expectations amidst the stiff competition in the market fueled by the social media which started to become visible in all avenues. We stood our ground for a while and continued to utilize our existing platforms to expand our readership and viewership. Despite our limited knowledge on social media marketing, we continued to maximize the social media presence of our advertisers to more patrons of our social media platform. This will continue to be our target for our fifth year of operations. We continue to survive the battles that continue to confront us and we remain optimistic but we only aim to keep bringing you the news.
Our passion as messengers is strengthened by the inspiration we continue to draw from people who bestow their trust and confidence in us. Our special thanks go to our individual and institutional advertisers who remained with us right from the start never abandoning us. We would also thank our distributors who make print Herald available to you. We welcomed earlier comments of us being fly-by-night or that we can only survive for six months. We take these as oil for our light. Our vision is to become effective and efficient channels of communication for the public to be informed of what is happening around them, no more, no less.
Herald Express does not enjoy the backing of any influential politician or businessman although some individuals continue to link us with people who are in power. If it is news, we bring it to you even without their backing. We have relied and continue to rely on our hard earned money, sweat and blood, not only of the people managing the publication, but also the members of our families who support our desire to bring you the news, make our business grow and become a job generator in the years to come.
We continue to adhere to our simple slogan that we deliver balanced news that matters because it is the call of the times. The social media platform remains as our solid medium in effectively and efficiently delivering true, factual and accurate information to you, the public. The discourse generated by providing our people with accurate information serves as a gauge of being an informed public, our mission. We share the joy of our accomplishments through the years and we look forward to continue delivering balanced news. MAY THE SPIRIT OF THE CHRIST’S BIRTH BE INSTILLED IN US ALL AS WE WELCOME MOVE TO THE NEXT YEAR TO SERVE YOU! Maraming salamat!
