BIBLIOGRAPHY OPLAS, MERVALYN G. ...
BIBLIOGRAPHY
OPLAS, MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012: The Landscape of Three La Trinidad-
based Community Newspapers. Benguet State University, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Adviser: Gretchen Shagami C. Mangahas, MDC
ABSTRACT
Community newspapers play a vital role in the society. The choice of stories they
publish and their presentation of such are essential things to be considered so that they may
be able to create an impact and address the needs and problems in the community. Thus,
this study was conducted.
The study was conducted to analyze the development stories published by three, out of the
four, La Trinidad-based community newspapers; these are the Cordillera Today, Mountain
Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas. All issues (31) published by each community
newspaper from January to July 2012 were subjected to content analysis. Furthermore, the
general profile, editorial and production flow and the business profile of each community
newspaper were narrated.
Findings of the study indicate that the three community newspapers are published weekly.
They are all tabloid size with eight pages and with circulation of 2,000 copies.
The newspapers were put up mainly for business and their years of operation ranged
from three to eleven years old. The latest to be established was the Mountain Beat News
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and the oldest was the Cordillera Today. They are all privately and individually owned.
Meanwhile, all three community newspapers mainly use English in article writing.
Furthermore, their selling price ranges from 6 Php to 10 Php and their advertising
rate is 180 Php per column inch except that Cordillera Today’s advertising rate for its La
Trinidad advertisers is 160 Php per column inch. They are all distributed to newsstands
except that Cordillera Today also sells through subscription.
All community newspapers publish development stories with topics on agriculture,
education, economics, environment, health and nutrition, science and technology and social
services. Moreover, all community newspapers gave importance to stories on environment
which was the most controversial topic during the dates of publication.
The stories were frequently treated as straight news and are oftentimes published in
the inside pages whether in the upper part or lower part of the pages. Other treatments such
as opinion, news feature and feature were least used.
Written mostly by contributors, except for Cordillera Today where most of the
published development stories were written by the staff, most of the news came from
traditional sources which are government officials and offices.
Mountain Beat News published the most number of development articles while
Perlas ng Pilipinas published the least number of development articles. On the other hand,
Cordillera Today ranked first in terms of space allocation, followed by Mountain Beat
News then Perlas ng Pilipinas.
Based on the abovementioned findings, the researcher concluded that the three
community newspapers are individually owned as most community newspapers in the
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country and are established mainly for business purposes; all three community newspapers
follow the beat because of the fact that they gave importance to issues on environment
which was the controversial concern during the time of publication; there was enough space
allocated for development stories in the community newspapers; most development articles
were treated as straight news and least were treated as opinion, feature and news feature
and most writers of the community newspapers still rely on traditional sources in writing
development articles.
It was further recommended that other fields of development such as agriculture, as it
is the main source of livelihood in the locality, be reported by the community newspapers;
writers may consider other treatments like news feature and feature in writing development
stories to probe more on the details that matter but are oftentimes overlooked; publications
may consider adding pages to their community newspapers to give space for longer and in-
depth stories such as news feature and feature articles; writers may also consider other news
sources such as farmers, laborers, and cause-oriented groups when seeking for facts for
their articles; and, lastly, a study on the challenges faced by Baguio and La Trinidad media
men on writing development stories may be made to assess the factors that affect their
willingness or reluctance in writing development stories.
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INTRODUCTION
Rationale
The Cordillera, as one of the identified underdeveloped regions in the Philippines,
needs an efficient tool to bring about development.
The University of the Philippines-Los Baños Development study team (1991)
declared that poverty incidence, defined as the percentage of households below poverty
threshold, has been consistently higher in rural areas.
The municipality of La Trinidad, being a rurban area, (a mainly residential area but
some farming is carried on) needs to be developed in many aspects. Despite being the
capital town of Benguet because of its advancement in development (which is attributed to
its proximity to the City of Baguio), there still are places in La Trinidad that need attention
when it comes to development.
Barangays Balili, Betag and Pico which are located at the very center of the
municipality have problems on cleanliness such as waste disposal, clogged canals and
odorous urine and feces in the canals. Other barangays such as parts of Shilan, parts of
Wangal, parts of Beckel, Lubas, Bineng, Puguis, Bahong, Alno and Alapang are
experiencing difficulty in terms of transportation, some in communication facilities and
health facilities.
It can be construed therefore that even the commercial center of the municipality
may be seen as developed in terms of industries, there are other aspects that need to be
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given attention such as sanitation. On the other hand, the rural areas still need the attention
of development-oriented institutes.
There may be a number of ways to do this and media is seen as one of the most
effective tools to attain development.
The newspaper has an important role for development. Through the years, despite
advances in technology, newspapers still exist to date because of the fact that they are the
most processed source of information, thus, making them reliable to the information
conscious public.
Community press provides the (information) bridge among rural communities
where seventy (70) percent of the population dwells (Ramirez, 1989). In this context,
community newspapers have a vital role in community development. This role is not
merely to inform the public about development programs and other related issues, but most
importantly to persuade and mobilize the populace to long and act for the achievement of
development in all aspects.
According to the Philippine Information Agency- CAR, there are fifteen (15)
community newspapers existing in Baguio and Benguet. These are the Baguio Midland
Courier, Baguio Sunstar Daily, Baguio Reporter, Zigzag Weekly, Cordillera Today,
Northern Philippine Times, Pulso ng Bayan, Northern Dispatch (Nordis), High Plains
Journal, The Junction, Perlas ng Pilipinas, Upnorth Tribune, Baguio Chronicle and
Mountain Beat News.
Four of these are based in La Trinidad, the only town in Benguet where community
newspaper editorial offices are found. These are the Northern Philippine Times, Cordillera
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Today, Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas. The Northern Philippine Times is
circulated in the Cordillera Region, Ilocos Province and in Baguio City. On the other hand,
Cordillera Today is circulated Cordillera-wide while Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng
Pilipinas are circulated in Baguio and Benguet.
A content analysis of these newspapers will provide an overview of the extent of
the La Trinidad-based community newspapers’ coverage of development stories and will
identify the developmental concerns that are prioritized.
Moreover, a documentation of the landscape of these publications was generated
from the study.These community newspapers can make an impact in the municipality if
their content and the presentation of such address the needs, interests and problems of
people in the area.
Statement of the Problem
The study aimed to come up with an analysis of the development stories published
by three La Trinidad-based community newspapers.
Specifically, it aimed to answer the following questions:
1. What is the landscape of each community newspaper?
2. What development stories are most frequently reported on?
3. How much space is allotted for development stories?
4. What are the most frequent treatment and placement given to these stories?
5. What are the sources of news in the articles?
6. What are the similarities and differences of the La Trinidad-based community
newspapers in terms of development stories published?
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Objectives of the Study
Generally, the study aimed to analyze the development stories published by three
community newspapers based in La Trinidad.
Specifically, it aimed to:
1. chronicle the landscape of the three La Trinidad-based community newspapers;
2. identify the field of development most frequently covered by the stories;
3. determine how much space is allocated for development stories;
4. determine the most frequent treatment and placement given to development stories;
5. identify the frequent sources of news in the articles; and,
6. compare the content of these community newspapers in terms of development
stories they publish.
Importance of the Study
The results of this study may serve as reference for La Trinidad-based community
newspaper staff, and any other interested publications, in incorporating development
stories in the sections of their publication.
This study may also provide awareness for print journalists or publications about
the frequency of development stories included in their publications. In effect, it will give a
better perspective on how community newspapers should present and treat development
stories.
Further, it also aimed to serve as reference for Development Journalism students or
other students who will be doing researches of similar topics.
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Scope and Limitation of the Study
The study probed on the development stories published on January to July, 2012 by
three community newspapers based in La Trinidad.
The study focused on the landscape of these community newspapers and the
analysis of the frequency of published development stories; their treatment, placement,
space allocation and sources of news.
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REVIEW OF LITERATURE
Community Newspaper
Community newspapers boomed in the Philippines because it was seen as a
significant component in the total communication system, along with other media systems
that may be found in the country (Asian Institute of Journalism, 1983). AIJ discussed that
community newspapers started when some journalists noticed the urbanrural bias in
information dissemination. It (AIJ) argued that the urban population is exposed to more
information carried by more developed communication systems while the country side is
deprived of valuable information due to limited media structure. It further emphasized that
though small communities or rural sectors are reached by the “big media”, a closer look
tells that the impact is hardly felt because the contents of the “big media” do not totally
reflect rural needs, interests and problems.
AIJ accepts the fact that a newspaper cannot take the place of an extension agent or
a community development manager, but it can motivate people to take action.
Currently, a typical Philippine community newspaper is an eight page weekly, in
tabloid format, with a circulation of 2, 500 and printed in newsprint by offset (Maslog,
1993). Maslog elaborated that the dominant language used by today’s community
newspapers is English, although some are combining it with their local languages such as
Tagalog, Ilocano, Cebuano Visayan or Hiligaynon.
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Content Analysis
The fundamental requirement of a good newspaper is quality of content (Ramirez,
1989). Content analysis of newspapers has been done time and again. These studies tried
to investigate on the same aspects as article and content treatments, placement, space
allocation and information or news sources.
Content analysis is a research method aimed at recording the salient features of
texts using a uniform system of categories (Franklin, et al., 2005). These authors
expounded that content analysts design and employ categories which are directed towards
producing (usually quantitative) data in response to specific research questions or
hypotheses. These data, according to them, are then used to summarize and describe any
patterns in the texts.
Berelson (1952) outlined four requirements of content analysis: “Objectivity. It
stipulates that the categories of analysis should be defined so precisely that different
analysts could apply them to the same body of content and secure the same results.
System. It contains two different meanings. In the first place, it states that all of the
relevant content is to be analyzed in terms of all the relevant categories…The second
meaning of system is that analysis must be designed to secure data relevant to a scientific
problem or hypothesis.
Quantification. It is the single characteristic on which all the definitions agree...of
primary importance in content analysis is the extent to which categories appear in the
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content...In most applications of content analysis, numerical frequencies have been
assigned to the occurrence of analytic categories.
Actual Content. It should be the object of the objective and systematic
quantification. Content analysis is ordinarily limited to the manifest content of the
communication and is not normally done directly in terms of the latent intentions which
the content may express nor the latent responses which it may elicit. Strictly speaking,
content analysis proceeds in terms of what-is said, and not in terms of why-the content is
like that.”
Franklin, et al. (2005) explains that the methodology underpinning this research
method makes several assumptions. These are the assumptions that: 1) there is a
relationship between communicative intent and content. The motivations of the
communicators are reflected in their outputs; 2) the analyst’s record of the ‘manifest
content’ of the selected texts is valid or the content which the analyst is counting (or
recording) is the content which all other readers recognize; 3) the counting of content
should be meaningful. The frequency of appearance is an important aspect in
communication, or that it matters that certain themes or actors or words are present in
reporting more frequently than others.
Development
Seers (1969) as cited by the Asian Institute of Journalism (1983) said that the word
development is mainly associated to raising the quality of life of the masses in developing
countries and reducing the incidence of poverty, low literacy, unemployment and social
inequality. Cruz (2010) enumerated specific issues and concerns that a development
communicator has to write about. He presented the issues specified by the Press
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Foundation of Asia (PFA) which are: 1) Agriculture; 2) Aviation; 3) The City; 4)Crime;
5) Defense; 6) Energy; 7) Government plans, budgets, housing, 8) Industry; 9) Manpower;
10) Multinational Organizations; 10) Public Health; 11) Shipping; 12) Weather; 13) Aid,
trade and foreign investments.
Furthermore, the UPLB Development Study Team (1991) specified areas that need
to be developed in rural communities in the Philippines. These are agriculture, economy,
education, health and nutrition, science and technology, environment and social services
given by the government and non-government organizations.
With these specified areas in need of development, it was noted in the study
“Development Reporting by Five Community Newspapers” that the community
newspapers studied are not much concerned on issues on agriculture and science and
technology that are most needed in the locality (Colting, 2001).
Development Writing
Quebral (1971) defined development writing as a kind of writing useful to the
people’s development effort. She added that development writing is “factual and timely;
interesting to attract people’s attention; and useful to promoting development.”
Development writing has a mission-oriented stand for the less privileged members of the
society (Asian Institute of Journalism, 1983).
Jamias (1991) expounded on the concept of development writing and its
characteristics. He explained that development writing is “purposive communication.” He
clarified that it is “purposeful sharing of information to bring about desirable change” in
the social, economic, political and cultural aspects.
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He presented the characteristics of development writing. These are: 1) it is not a
pure presentation of information. It devises a way to make the information useful in
enhancing the well-being of an individual as well as the community, nation and other
collectivity; 2) it is written in a way understandable to the masses; 3) it is honest writing;
4) it inquires into, analyzes and reports on the problems of the people and society and to
promote solutions; and 5) Presenting “information with a consequence to development”.
Lachica (1973), as cited by Jamias (1991) said “The story of the decade, perhaps
of the century, is not getting the exposure it deserves.” This, explains Jamias, is why
development journalism (or writing specifically) puts emphasis on those topics or subject
matters relevant to national development which the conventional press used to ignore.
Development reporting is interested not only in the news content (messages on
nutrition, agriculture, energy, ecology) but also on the process of gathering, processing,
presenting and disseminating the news (Asian Institute of Journalism, 1983).
There are four parts of gathering, processing, presenting and disseminating
information, namely, article treatment, news sources, article placement and space
allotment.
Article treatment. As used by previous researchers, article treatment is how the
story was written either as: straight news (event-centered), news feature (processcentered),
opinion, editorial and feature.
According to Malinao (2005), straight news reporting is event-centered. It is usually
about a recent happening, which is generally unrelated to other situations. He added that
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interpretative reporting, on the other hand, is process-centered, being a presentation of
conditions or situations in society that are related in broad context over time.
Using different terms, Anderson and Itule (1987) discussed hard news (straight
news) and soft news (news feature). They explained that hard news events such as killings,
city council meetings, speeches by leading government officials, are timely and reported
almost automatically by most newspapers, radio stations and television outlets.
Conversely, soft news such as luncheon to honor a retiring school custodian or a car wash
by fourth-graders to raise money for a classmate with a cancer, usually are not considered
immediately important or timely to a wide audience.
Process-reporting (process-centered) follows the cause and effect formula (Asia
Institute of Journalism, 1983). AIJ explained that a process-oriented reporter should be
conscious of how events have been shaped and how these events affect the other aspects
of social, economic and political life.
News sources. In development writing, information and news are different. Jamias
(1991) equated news to facts- the x’s in the mass communication model of Westley and
Mclean. He explained that these are the persons, objects and events perceived by the
reporter through seeing, hearing, smelling, tasting and touching. On the other hand, he
explained that information is transformed data and knowledge which have meaning for
decision-making or problem-solving. He added that information is the communicable form
of knowledge that has some significance for meeting a purpose.
Malinao (2005) identified two types of news sources: the traditional and
nontraditional. According to him, traditional news sources are the public officials: the
President, the department secretaries; members of Congress; members of the judiciary from
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the Supreme Court to the lower courts and other government officials. The other news
sources (non-traditional) according to Malinao are: private groups and financial
institutions, cause-oriented groups and university officials.
In a content analysis on tourism articles done by Bulalin (2006), it was revealed
that traditional sources are preferred by these Baguio-based community newspapers over
non-traditional sources. The same result was deduced in the study of Olod (2010) which is
“Content Analysis on Regional Autonomy Articles Published in Baguio Midland Courier.”
Ward (2002) enumerated six (6) sources of news. These are the following:
“Eyes and ears. Journalists must be both observant and curious. They should find
it impossible to walk past a hole in the road without looking to see what is in it. They can
also rely on the eyes and ears of the others to provide tipoffs to potential news.
Individual sources. These are people who know what the journalist wants to know.
They have information expertise and contacts opinions that can be quoted.
Press releases. They should be approached with extreme caution, but not complete
cynicism.
“Other media”. Journalists may scour competing media for ideas, nuggets of
information, even complete stories, which they can investigate further. “Other media” is
probably the biggest source of news for journalists to develop, which is okay as long as it
does not become their only source of news.
Newsroom diary. This is a list of forthcoming events, follow-ups, anniversaries and
other events that may be covered.”
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Burns (2002) discussed the need to evaluate news sources. She said that journalists
rely heavily on human sources (people) for information and quotes, however, they are often
less rigorous when assessing physical sources (secondary sources such as books and other
printed materials) than they are in assessing human ones. She mentioned that a journalist
conducting an interview is always aware that a news source may be actively manipulating
the information presented.
She then gave tips on how to evaluate physical sources. She said that an evaluator
needs to be satisfied that the source is accurate because information contained in a book,
for example, is not necessarily accurate. According to her, any other influences on sources
must be identified and be considered and journalists should always consider the date of
publication in assessing the currency of information.
Article placement. The main purpose of a publication design is to communicate, to
help move readers easily and efficiently through the page (Evans, 1973). He elaborated
that editors who design and lay-out pages are responsible for telling readers which stories
are most important.
Kovach and Rosenstiel (2001) wrote that there are three aims of a page design.
These are: 1) to attract the eye of a potential reader, 2) to signpost various items and signal
their relevant importance and, 3) to give a newspaper a recognizable visual character.
Giles and Hodgson (1996) explained that the biggest headline (lead story) on a page is
found at the top and its size and prominence indicate that this is the most important. The
second biggest (half lead), or second most prominent, they explain, indicates the second
most important story. The remaining stories with headlines at the top of the page are called
‘tops’. The lead story, the half lead and the various tops (stories at the top) fill the main
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area of the page. There will still be left a few small places to fill, mostly in the bottom half.
Here, the stories of least importance are placed.
The relative importance of the items to be included in a newspaper page must come
from the person primarily responsible for the message, whether the author of a book or a
play, the editor or his appointed deputy (Borden & Bowles, 2000).
Space allotment. There should be a relationship between the length of text and the
newspaper’s judgment on the importance of the news (Evans, 1973). He further explained
that the biggest headline at the top of the page and the longest text should signal to the
reader the most important report. There may be exceptions to this rule according to him.
He specified that there are instances an important lead is submitted late and is rushed in
with only a few paragraphs. However, he emphasized that the general rule is that the longer
the text, the bigger the headline, so that a “journalistic judgment”(length of text) marches
harmoniously with a “design projection” (weight and position of headline).
Anderson and Itule (1987) expounded that the number of column inches available
for news (news hole) varies in different publications from day to day. There are days when
the pages are “wide-open”(where there are comparatively few advertisements and scores
column inches available for news) and days when the pages are “tight”(if comparatively
little space is available for news). When pages are wide open, stories of borderline
importance might be published. When pages are tight, stories that would be published on
a day when even average space is available simply cannot be worked into the news hole.
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Operational Definition of Terms
Health and/or nutrition. The health and/or nutrition advisories, health and/or
nutrition tips and health and/or nutrition-related information.
Economy. Employment opportunities, issues on financial alleviation of the
community.
Culture. Indigenous knowledge, systems and practices, traditions, festivities,
cultural history, beliefs, arts and ethnic conflicts.
Education. Education facilities, programs, tuition issues and other education-
related issues.
Agriculture. Issues on arable land, crop and animal production, crop and animal
protection, farming systems, issues on food sufficiency and other related topics.
Science and Technology. New inventions and discoveries, newly acquired
technology and newly discovered knowledge.
Environment. Environmental degradation, movements and programs on the
protection of environment, environmental disasters and other environmentally-related
issues.
Social Services. The social services provided by government and non-government
organizations such as social security, housing, livelihood programs and other programs
addressing poverty.
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METHODOLOGY
Locale and Time of the Study
The study was conducted in La Trinidad, the capital town of the province of
Benguet (Fig.1). It is relatively the most developed municipality because it is near the city
of Baguio.
La Trinidad is located 256 kilometers north of Metro Manila. It is bounded on the
north by the municipality of Tublay, on the south by the city of Baguio, on the west by the
municipalities of Sablan and Tuba, Benguet.
Furthermore, it is the only municipality in Benguet where editorial offices of
community newspapers are based. Issues published by three of the La Trinidad-based
community newspapers from January to July 2012 were analyzed.
Respondents of the Study
The key informants of the study were publishers and/or editors/staff of the three La
Trinidad-based community newspapers.
Subjects of the Study
There had been five community newspapers in 2011. These were the Northlandia
Midweek News, Cordillera Today, Northern Philippine Times, Perlas ng Pilipinas and
Mountain Beat News. However, Northlandia Midweek News ceased its operation in 2011.
The rest continued their operation to date. Out of these four La Trinidad-based community
newspapers, three were subjected to content analysis on their development
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Figure 1. Map of the Area of Study
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stories. These are the Mountain Beat News, Cordillera Today and Perlas ng Pilipinas. The
researcher wanted to include Northern Philippine Times, however, the Editor-in-Chief of
the paper did not allow any kind of study to be done on the newspaper mentioned.
Data Collection Methods
The researcher conducted an interview with the publishers and/or editors/staff of
the three community newspapers to get their profiles.
On the other hand, thirty-one issues (all issues published from January to July) from
each newspaper were content analyzed.
To come up with the analysis, the frequency of the development stories published,
their treatment, placement, space allocation, sources of news and writers were counted and
tabulated using coding sheets.
Also, photos of the editorial offices- their signages or banners are taken for
documentation.
Data Gathered
The data gathered from the newspaper publishers and/or editors and staff were the
landscape of the community newspapers. Under this were the general profile, editorial and
production flow and the business profile.
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Other data gathered from the published community newspapers were dominant
sources of news, frequency of development stories published according to the field of
development reported on, the article treatment and their placement and space allocation.
Data Analysis
The profile of each of the community newspapers was narrated.
On the other hand, the development stories contained in the 31 issues (January- July, 2012)
of the selected community newspapers were tabulated and analyzed using frequency counts
and percentages with the aid of coding sheets.
The development stories were analyzed basing on categories presented by different
authors. Article treatment was based on Malinao’s (2005) straight news and news feature
and Anderson and Itule’s (1987) hard news and soft news. The editorial, opinion and
feature treatment were based on Olod’s (2010) study “Content Analysis on Regional
Autonomy Articles Published in Baguio Midland Courier”.
Moreover, the News Sources were based on Malinao’s (2005) traditional and
nontraditional news sources. On the other hand, the Space Allotment was analyzed by
computing the number of column inches as Evans (1973) and Anderson and Itule (1987)
explained. Furthermore, the importance of a story as judged by its placement was based on
Evans (1973) and Giles and Hodgson’s (1996) justification.
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RESULTS AND DISCUSSIONS
Profile of the Community Newspapers
Cordillera Today
General profile. The Cordillera Today is a 12 x 18-inch community newspaper that
has been circulating for 11 years since its establishment in 2001 with its editorial office
located in Aspulan Compound, Km.3, La Trinidad, Benguet.
It is individually owned by Attorney Raul M. Molintas is published by Chabron
Enterprises, a printing press not owned by the newspaper. It has been put up mainly for
business.
Its published articles are mainly written in English.
Editorial and production management flow. The paper’s Editor-in-Chief is
Attorney Raul Molintas, former Governor of Benguet. The Associate Editor and lay-out
artist is Pigeon M. Lobien. Aside from the Editor-in-Chief and Associate Editor, there are
Figure 2. Office of Cordillera Today at Aspulan Compound, Km3 La Trinidad, Benguet
five staff writers of the publication. They are Ace Alegre, Karlo Marko Altomonte, Lyn
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Ramo, Malou Guieb and Bani Asbucan. Jerry Collado and Arthur Bayas, members of the
circulation and support group, are responsible for the circulation of the newspaper.
The staff and contributing writers submit their articles to the Associate Editor
during Fridays through e-mail. This is because the staff members are not working in their
office and the Associate Editor works in his own office. Their office at Aspulan Compound
only serves as a place where unsold newspapers are stored. The associate editor edits, re-
angles and changes headlines when needed. After which, the editor-inchief does the final
editing. The lay-out is done by the associate editor.
The softcopy of the paper is then brought to Chabron Enterprises for printing which
is expected to be done on Sunday Morning. The circulation manager and support group
distribute the newspapers to newsstands and subscribers.
The only policy it follows is that articles should strive to avoid biases.
Business profile. Cordillera Today circulates 2,000 copies every week. The copies
are distributed in newsstands and through subscription. Each copy is sold at P10.00.
It accepts advertisements from business establishments, business men, government
agencies, non-government organizations. It also publishes legal notices. Advertisements
and legal notices are paid at P 160 per column inch for individuals and institutions from La
Trinidad, while P180.00 is collected from advertisers in Baguio City.
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The Mountain Beat News
Figure 3.Office of the Mountain Beat News in Eastern, Buyagan
General profile. The Mountain Beat News is an eight-page, 12 x 16 community
newspaper. It is a 3 year-old publication that started its operation in 2009 making it the
youngest circulating newspaper in Baguio and Benguet, together with the Baguio
Chronicle.
It is individually owned by Imelda C. Zambrano. Moreover, the editorial office is
located at Eastern Buyagan, La Trinidad, Benguet.
Its articles are mainly written in English. The publisher owns the Manila-based
printing press it uses.
The Landscape of Three La Trinidad-based Community Newspapers.| OPLAS,
MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
Editorial and production management flow. Mountain Beat has three staff
members. They are Imelda Col-coli Zambrano, Editor-in-Chief and Publisher, Crisbeth L.
Zambrano, Account Executive and Annie Lorie Col-coli, Circulation Manager. The
publication does not have staff writers, thus, the articles they publish are those which PIA,
PIO and freelancers submit.
The Editor-in-Chief, Imelda C. Zambrano chooses articles to be published from
what the Philippine Information Agency, Public Information Officers and contributors
submit through e-mail. The articles are chosen based on their novelty but, according to
Zambrano, they should not be prone to libel. She revises the headlines to make them
different from other publications where the same articles were submitted. The articles are
then given to a Unique Printing Press’ staff for lay-outing. The softcopy is sent to Manila
(by bus) on Saturdays for printing. The printed copies are then shipped to La Trinidad early
Sunday mornings for distribution by the circulation manager to newsstands.
The newspaper follows a policy that the stories published should not be
controversial and prone to libel.
Business profile. The Mountain Beat News circulates 2,000 copies every week
through distribution in newsstands. Copies are sold at P7.00 each.
It accepts advertisements and legal notices from business establishments,
government agencies, non-government organizations and individuals.
Advertisements and legal notices are charged at P 180 per column inch.
The Landscape of Three La Trinidad-based Community Newspapers.| OPLAS,
MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
Perlas ng Pilipinas
Figure 4 . Office of Perlas ng Pilipinas at t
he D & L Bldg. Km6, La Trinidad
General profile. Perlas ng Pilipinas is an eight-page, 12 x 14 community newspaper
circulated around Baguio and Benguet. Furthermore, it has been operating for four years
(2008-2013).
It is owned by Imelda C. Zambrano, the Publisher and Editor-in-Chief of
Mountain Beat News, and is managed by Marites B. Lopez.
Its receiving office is located at the D & L building, Km 6 La Trinidad but its editorial
office is the same with the Mountain Beat News’ editorial office in Eastern
Buyagan.
Its articles are written mainly in English. Editorial and production management
flow. Perlas ng Pilipinas has four staff members. They are Marites B. Lopez, Managing
Editor, Olivia A. Balancia, Executive Assistant to the Publisher, Aloha P. Ducusin and Jun
P. Torres, staff members.
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Having the same publisher as Mountain Beat News, the editorial and production
flow of Perlas ng Pilipinas is the same with Mountain Beat News. The difference is that
the managing editor, Marites Lopez, chooses and revises headlines of stories from
contributors, PIA and PIO. The executive assistant to the publisher and two staff members
do not write. Their work is on the production of the publication, advertisements and legal
notices.
Business profile. Perlas ng Pilipinas circulates 2,000 copies every week through
distribution to newsstands. Each copy is sold at P 6.00.
Advertisements and legal notices are accepted from individuals, business
establishments, government offices and non-government organizations. Advertisers are
charged P 180.00 per column inch.
General Landscape of the Community Newspapers
Table 1 indicates that the three community newspapers are published weekly.
They are all tabloid size with eight pages. This proves that Maslog’s statement (1993), that
a typical Philippine community newspaper is an eight page weekly and tabloid size, is true
to La Trinidad-based community newspapers.
Furthermore, the newspapers were put up mainly for business. Their years of
operation ranged from three to eleven years old. Mountain Beat News was the latest to
operate. It started its operation in 2009. Perlas ng Pilipinas started its operation in 2008,
and Cordillera Today has been operating since 2001 making it the oldest running
newspaper among the three.
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Moreover, all of the community newspapers are privately and individually owned
like most community newspapers in the country (Maslog, 1993). Meanwhile, all
newspapers use English as the main language in writing their articles.
Baguio City, Benguet Province, Kalinga and Ifugao were constantly covered in the
stories published by the newspapers. Though Kalinga and Ifugao are covered, the
newspapers are circulated only in Baguio City and La Trinidad; except for Cordillera
Today which is circulated Cordillera-wide.
Table 1. General profile of the three La Trinidad-based community newspapers
Mountain Beat
Cordillera Today
Perlas ng Pilipinas
News
Year of
2009
2001
2008
establishment
Reasons of putting
business
business
business
up the publication
Size
tabloid (12x16)
tabloid (12x18)
tabloid (12x14)
Type of ownership
Private (sole
Private (sole
Private (sole
ownership)
ownership)
ownership)
Number of pages
8 pages
8 pages
8 pages
Frequency of
weekly
weekly
weekly
circulation
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MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
Printing press used
Owned
not owned
Owned
Main language used English
English
English
Editorial Board
Editor-in-Chief:
Editor-in-Chief:
Managing Editor:
Imelda C. Zambrano Raul Mencio
Marites B. Lopez
Molintas
Table 1
… continued
Account Executive: Associate Editor:
Executive Assistant
Crisbeth L.
Pigeon M. Lobien
to the Publisher:
Zambrano
Correspondents and Olivia A. Balancia
Circulation
contributing writers: Staff: Aloha P.
Manager: Annie
Ace Alegre, Karlo
Ducusin, Jun P.
Lorie Col-coli
Marko Altomonte,
Torres
Lyn Ramo, Malou
Guieb, Bani
Asbucan
Circulation and
support group:
Gerry Collado and
Arthur Bayas
Publisher
Imelda C. Zambrano Chabron Enterprises Imelda C. Zambrano
Contact Number
09285053018
09167044498
09165759956
Office address
AC-121 Eastern,
Aspulan Compound, 2nd floor, D & L
Buyagan, Poblacion, Km.3 La Trinidad
Building, Km.6
La Trinidad
La Trinidad
Table 2 shows that all three community newspapers have a circulation of 2,000 copies.
Their selling price ranges from 6 Php to 10 Php and are all distributed to newsstands except
that Cordillera Today also sell through subscription. Furthermore, their advertising rate is
The Landscape of Three La Trinidad-based Community Newspapers.| OPLAS,
MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
180 Php per column inch except that Cordillera Today’s advertising rate for its La Trinidad
advertisers is 160 Php per column inch.
Content Analysis of the Community Newspapers
As shown in Table 3, there was a total of 515 development stories gathered from the three
community newspapers. Mountain Beat News had the most development stories (37.48%)
followed by Cordillera Today (34.17%). Perlas ng Pilipinas had the least number (28.35%)
of development stories.
Table 2. Business Profile of the three La Trinidad-based community newspapers
Mountain Beat
Cordillera Today
Perlas ng Pilipinas
News
Circulation
2,000
2,000
2,000
Strategies employed in Distribution to
Distribution to
Distribution to
selling
newsstands
newsstands
newsstands
Subscription
6 Php
Selling price/copy
7 Php
10 Php
Advertisers
business
business
business
establishments,
establishments,
establishments,
government
business men,
government
agencies,
government
agencies,
nongovernment
organizations and
agencies,
nongovernment
individuals
nongovernment
organizations and
organizations
individuals
Advertising rate
180 Php/ col.inch
160 Php/col.inch-La 180/col.inch
Trinidad advertisers
180
Php/col.inchBaguio
City advertisers
Table 3. Number of Development Stories Published per Community Newspaper in La
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Trinidad (January to July 2012)
Name of newspaper
Number of stories
%
Rank
193
37.48
1
Mountain Beat News
Cordillera Today
176
34.17
2
Perlas ng Pilipinas
146
28.35
3
TOTAL
515
100
Type of Development Stories and
Space Allocation
Cordillera Today. As shown in Table 4, Cordillera Today published 176
development stories. One-hundred stories (56.82%) were written on environment, followed
by health and nutrition with nineteen stories (10.8%), seventeen (9.66%) on culture, sixteen
(9.09%) on education, eight (4.55%) on economics, six (3.41%) on both science and
technology and social services and four (2.27%) stories were written on agriculture.
Similarly, environment ranked first (61.49%) in terms of space allocation, followed
by health and nutrition (13.56%). However, education was given more space allocation
(7.74%), though it has lower number of stories compared to culture (7.06%). They are
followed by economics (3.36%), science and technology (3.17%) and social services
(2.14%). The least space was allocated to agriculture stories (1.49%).
Among the seven areas that need development in the Philippine communities as
UPLB Development Team (1991) identified, the publication gave much importance to
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MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
environment. Environmental stories outnumbered all the other development stories joined
together and it took more than half of the space allocated for development stories.
The possible factor, aside from the numerous environmental disasters and
environmental issues that sprang in January to July 2012, is that the regular columnists
Karlo Marko Altomonte and March Fianza are environmental activists.
Mountain Beat News. It can be seen in Table 5 that three out of ten (29.02%) of the
development stories in Mountain Beat News were on environment followed by social
services (19.17%) and economics (10.89%). Fewer stories were published on education
Table 4. Type and Space Allocation of Development Stories in Cordillera Today (January
to July 2012)
Story
No. of
%
Rank Space allocation %
Rank
Stories
(cm2)
Environment
100
56.82 1
242, 430.5 61.49 1
H & N
19
10.8 2
53, 445.2 13.56 2
Culture
17
9.66 3
27, 837.8 7.06 4
Education
16
9.09 4
30, 513.3 7.74 3
Economics
8
4.55 5
13, 241.8
3.36
5
S & T
6
3.41 6.5 12, 505.3
3.17
6
Social Services
6
3.41 6.5 8,427.3
2.14
7
Agriculture
4
2.27 8
5, 878.6
1.49
8
TOTAL
176
100
394, 279.8 100
(9.84%), agriculture (9.84%), health and nutrition (8.81%), and culture (7.77%). Only 9
stories (4.67%) were published on science and technology.Environment ranked first in
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MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
terms of space allocation (30.7%) followed by social services (16.78%). Lesser space was
allotted to economics (11.37%), agriculture (9.97%), health and nutrition (9.6%), culture
(8.95%) and education (8.45%). Science and technology had the least allotted space
(4.18%).
Evidently, environment was given more importance based on its number and space
allocation. The articles were noticed to be issues on garbage and SM’s issue on earthballing
of 182 trees in Luneta Hill which were controversial issues during the time of publication
of the issues studied.
It was further noticed that social services was the second highest most written type
of development story because many of the articles published were press releases from
government offices.
Table 5. Type of Development Stories and Space Allocation in Mountain Beat News
(January to July 2012)
Story
No. of
%
Rank Space allocation %
Rank
Stories
(cm2)
Environment
56
29.02 1
120, 123 30.7 1
Social Services
37
19.17 2
65,664.5 16.78 2
Economics
21
10.89 3
44, 506.5 11.37 3
Agriculture
19
9.84 4.5 38, 993.5 9.97 4
Education
19
9.84 4.5 33, 066
8.45 7
H & N
17
8.81 6
37, 553
9.6
5
Culture
15
7.77 7
35, 014.5
8.95 7
S & T
9
4.67 8
16, 366
4.18 8
TOTAL
193
100
391, 287
100
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Perlas ng Pilipinas. As shown in Table 6, three out of ten (30. 82%) stories were
written on environment followed by social services (23.97%). Fewer stories were written
on education (13.70%), economics (10.96%), culture (8.22), health and nutrition (7.53%)
and science and technology (2.74%). Only three stories (2.05%) were written on
agriculture.
Similarly, environment ranked first in terms of space allocation (31.24%) followed
by social services (21.13%). Education ranked third (12.49%) followed by economics
(10.8%). Culture which was fifth in number ranked sixth in space (10.286%), contrary to
health and nutrition which ranked fifth in space (10.287%) though it ranked sixth in
number. The least space allocation was on S & T and agriculture, with 2.34% and 1.43%
written stories, respectively.
Table 6. Type of Development Stories and Space Allocation in Perlas ng Pilipinas
(January to July 2012)
Story
No. of
%
Rank Space allocation % Rank
Stories
(cm2)
Environment
45
30.82 1
98,940
31.24 1
Social Services
35
23.97 2
66, 914.5
21.13 2
Education
20
13.70 3
39, 563.5 12.49 3
Economics
16
10.96 4
34,194
10.8 4
H & N
11
7.53 6
32, 579.5
10.287 5
Culture
12
8.22 5
32, 577.5
10.286 6
S & T
4
2.74 7
7, 401
2.34 7
Agriculture
3
2.05 8
4,527
1.43 8
TOTAL
146
100
316, 697
100
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Treatment
Cordillera Today. It can be seen in Table 7 that almost half of the development
stories (43.18%) were written in straight news, followed by opinion (30.68%). Thirtyseven
(21.02%) were written in news feature form, seven stories (3.98%) were written as editorial
while the least were written in feature form (1.14%). Thirty-eight of the stories written as
straight news were on environment. Also, the highest number of stories written by opinion
writers, with a number of 36, is on environment.
Anderson and Itule (1987) states that straight news (hard news) are considered
immediately important compared to soft news (news feature). This is reflected in the
newspaper with its higher number of straight news compared to news feature.
Mountain Beat News. As shown in Table 8, nine out of ten stories (90.67%) were
treated as straight news. The rest were treated as news feature (4.15%), editorial (3.63%)
Table 7. Treatment of Development Stories in Cordillera Today (January to July 2012)
Story
Straight Opinion News Editorial Feature
Total
News
F eature
Environment
38
36
21
5
0
100
Health and nutrition 1
16
1
1
0
19
Culture
11
1
4
0
1
17
Education
8
1
6
0
1
16
Economics
6
0
1
1
0
8
Social Services
4
0
2
0
0
6
S and T
4
0
2
0
0
6
Agriculture
4
0
0
0
0
4
TOTAL
76
54
37 7
2
176
%
43.18 30.68
21.02
3.98 1.14
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
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and opinion (1.55%). Fifty two of the stories written as straight news were on
environment and thirty five were on social services. It was noticed that almost all of the
stories were written as straight news. The probable cause was because the writers of PIA,
PIO and contributors had to make adjustments for their articles to be published taking
into account the fact that newspapers value space.
Perlas ng Pilipinas. It can be seen in Table 9 that most (91.1%) of the
development stories were written as straight news. The rest were written as editorial
(4.79%), opinion (2.74%) and news feature (1.37%).
Table 8. Treatment of Development Stories in Mountain Beat News (January to July
2012)
Story
Straight
News
Editorial Opinion
Total
News
Feature
Environment
52
1
1
2
56
Social Services
35
0
1
1
37
Economics
19
1
1
0
21
Agriculture
17
2
0
0
19
Education
18
1
0
0
19
Health and Nutrition 13
1
3
0
17
Culture
12
2
1
0
15
S & T
9
0
0
0
9
TOTAL
175
8
7
3
193
%
90.67
4.15 3.63
1.55 100
Rank
1
2
3
4
Forty-four environmental stories were written as straight news followed by social services
with thirty. Agriculture and science and technology had only four and three stories,
respectively. Each of the environment, health and nutrition, culture and social services had
The Landscape of Three La Trinidad-based Community Newspapers.| OPLAS,
MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
one story written as opinion. Three stories on social services were written as editorial. One
each in economic and social services was written as news feature.
Sources of Development Stories
Cordillera Today. As shown in Table 10, the staff members of Cordillera Today
wrote ninety-four (53.41%) of the development stories. Sixty of these were on
environment. Thirty-nine (22.16%) of the stories were written by contributors. The rest
were from the Public Information Office (14.77%) and Philippine Information Agency
(9.66%).
Table 9. Treatment of Development Stories in Perlas ng Pilipinas (January to July 2012)
Story
Straight
Editorial Opinion News
Total
News feature
Environment
44
0
1
0
45
Social Services
30
3
1
1
35
Education
19
1
0
0
20
Economics
14
1
0
1
16
Culture
11
0
1
0
12
H & N
8
2
1
0
11
S and T
4
0
0
0
4
Agriculture
3
0
0
0
3
TOTAL
133
7
4 2
146
%
91.1
4.79 2.74 1.37
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
Table 10. Sources of Development
Stori
es in Cordillera Today (January to July 20 12)
Story
Staff
Contributor PIA
PIO
Total
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Environment
60
21
13
6
100
H & N
8
2
2
5
17
Education
5
5
4
2
16
Economics
2
4
1
1
8
Social
Services
2
2
2
0
6
S and T
2
1
2
1
6
Agriculture
0
2
0
2
4
TOTAL
94
39
26
17
176
%
53.41
22.16 14.77
9.66
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
Mountain Beat News. It can be seen in Table 11 that four out of ten (40.41%) of the
development stories were written by contributors followed by PIO (36.27%) and PIA
(17.62%). The staff of Mountain Beat News contributed only eight articles (4.15%) out of
the 193. Three of the articles were unattributed.
Only eight out of 193 articles were written by the Editor-in-Chief, who is the only
staff who writes among the three staff members. These stories were all editorial articles.
Having only one staff who writes was definitely the reason why articles contributed by the
staff had the least number.
Table 11. Sources of Development Stories in Mountain Beat News (January to July 2012)
Contributor
Story
PIO
PIA
Staff Unattributed Total
Environment 21
30
4
1
0
56
SS
16
12
7
2
0
37
Economics 6
6
8
1
0
21
Agriculture 12
3
3
0
1
19
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Education
9
4
4
0
2
19
H & N
5
6
3
3
0
17
Culture
4
5
5
1
0
15
S and T
5
4
0
0
0
9
TOTAL
78
70
34
8
3
193
%
40.41
36.27
17.62
4.18 0
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
Perlas ng Pilipinas. As shown in Table 12, four out of ten (37.67%) of the
development stories were written by contributors followed by Public Information Offices
(33.56%). Twenty-four (16.44%) of the stories were from PIA. Only 17 (11.64%) of the
stories were written by the staff. One story was not attributed.
Most of the stories on environment (23) were written by Public Information
Officers. Fifteen on education were written by contributors.
Sources of News
Cordillera Today. It can be observed in Table 13 that most of the news in the
development stories were from government officials (31.63%). This was followed by other
sources like documents, books and Private Institutions (28.06%). Fourty-two of the sources
were attributed to government offices while the rest were credited to Nontraditional sources
of news (Cause-oriented groups, Laborers and Colleges and Universities). No news was
attributed to Youth groups.
Majority of the news on environmental stories were from government officials.
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Table 12. Sources of Development Stories in Perlas ng Pilipinas (January to July 2012)
Story
Contributor PIO
PIA
Staff Unattributed Total
Environment 17
23
4
1
0
45
SS
11
11
7
5
1
35
Education
15
3
2
0
0
20
Economics 5
4
2
4
0
18
Culture
4
5
2
1
0
12
H & N
1
1
4
5
0
11
ST
1
2
1
0
0
4
Agriculture 1
0
2
0
0
3
TOTAL
55
49
24
17
1
146
%
37.67
33.56
16.44
11.64 0.68
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
Table 13. Sources of News in Cordillera Today (January to July 2012)
Story
Traditional Others Traditional Non-traditional
Total %
GOfc
C OG CU L
GOfl
Environment 39
30
19
19
3 5
115 58.67
H & N
3
15
2
1
0
0
21
10.71
Culture
6
3
5
4
0
0
18 9.18
Education
3
3
6
1
4
0
17
8.67
Economics 4
0
4
0
0
0
8
4.08
Social
2
1
4
0
0
0
7
3.57
Services
S & T
3
3
0
0
0
0
6
3.06
Agriculture 2
0
2
0
0
0
4
2.04
TOTAL
62
55
42
25
7
5
196 100
%
31.63
28.06 21.43
12.76 3.57 2.55 100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
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Legend:
GOfl- Government officials
CU- Colleges and Universities
GOfc- Government offices
L- Labor Groups
COG- Cause-oriented Groups
YG- Youth Groups
Mountain Beat News. It can be seen in Table 14 that five out of ten (50.97%) of the
news sources were from government offices followed by government officials (22.33%).
Twenty-six (12.62%) of the sources were out of the defined traditional and non-traditional
sources such as documents, books and private institutes. The rest of the sources were
Cause-oriented Groups (8.25%), Labor Groups and Colleges and Universities (2.43%).
Only two (0.97%) were from Youth Groups.
Twenty-six stories on social services were attributed to government offices while
twenty-four on environment were attributed to government officials.
Table 14. Sources of News in Mountain Beat News (January to July 2012)
Story
Traditional Others
Non-traditional
Total %
GOfc GOfl
COG CU L
YG
Environment 19
24
6
6
0 2
1
58
28.16
SS
26
3
4
4
0
0
1
38
18.45
Economics 11
6
3
1
0
1
0
22
10.68
Education
10
2
4
0
5
0
0
21
10.19
Agriculture 12
2
3
0
0
2
0
19
9.22
H & N
14
2
2
1
0
0
0
19
9.22
Culture
6
4
3
5
0
0
0
18
8.74
S & T
7
3
1
0
0
0
0
11
5.34
TOTAL
105 46
26
17
5
5
2
206 100
%
50.97 22.33 12.62
8.25 2.43 2.43 0.97 100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5.5 5.5 6
7
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MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
Legend:
GOfl- Government officials
CU- Colleges and Universities
GOfc- Government offices
L- Labor Groups
COG- Cause-oriented Groups
YG- Youth Groups
Perlas ng Pilipinas. As shown in Table 15, most sources of news were traditional sources.
Almost half (49.74%) were attributed to government offices followed by government
officials (24.61%). Twenty-two (11. 52%) of the stories were attributed to other sources
aside from the defined traditional and non-traditional sources. The rest were attributed to
non-traditional sources: cause-oriented groups (8.9%), colleges and universities (2.62%),
laborers (1.57%), youth groups (1.05%).
Table 15. Sources of News in the Development Stories in Perlas ng Pilipinas (January to
July 2012)
Story
Traditional Others
Non-traditional
Total %
GOfc GOfl
COG CU L
YG
Environment 18
25
6
6
0 2
1
58 30.37
SS
27
3
4
4
0
0
1
39 20.42
Economics 11
6
3
1
0
1
0
22
11.52
Education
9
2
4
0
5
0
0
20
10.47
H & N
15
2
2
1
0
0
0
20
10.47
Culture
5
4
2
5
0
0
0
16
8.38
S & T
7
3
1
0
0
0
0
11
5.78
Agriculture 3
2
0
0
0
0
0
5
2.62
TOTAL
95
47
22
17
5
3
2
191 100
%
49.74 24.61 11.51
8.9 2.62 1.57 1.05 100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Legend: GOfl- Government officials
CU- Colleges and Universities
GOfc- Government offices
L- Labor Groups
COG- Cause-oriented Groups
YG- Youth Groups
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MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
Article Placement
Cordillera Today. As shown in Table 16, most of the development stories (46.02)
were found on the upper part of the inside pages.This was followed by development stories
printed on the lower inside pages (27.8%). Sixteen of the environmental stories were found
in the upper front and nineteen on the lower front. No development story was found on the
Story
IU
IL FL FU
Total
Environment
41
24
19
16
100
H & N
5
13 1
0
19
Culture
7
5
3
2
17
Education
13
2
0
1
16
Economics
4
2
2
0
8
S and T
4
2
0
0
6
SS
4
1
1
0
6
Agriculture
3
0
1
0
4
TOTAL
81
49 27
19
176
%
46.02
27.84
15.34
10.1
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
back pages.
Being on top is one indicator of importance of a story according to Giles and
Hodgson (1996). With this, it can be concluded that Cordillera Today gives importance to
development stories having most of them printed on the upper part of the inside pages.
Table 16. Article Placement of Development Stories in Cordillera Today (January to July
2012)
Legend: IU- Upper Inside page
FL- Lower Front page BU- Upper Back
IL- Lower Inside page
FU- Upper Front page BL- Lower Back
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Mountain Beat News. It can be observed in Table 17 that more than half (52.33%) of the
development stories were printed on the lower inside pages of the newspaper. Two out of
ten (18.13%) were printed on the upper inside pages. The front page was dominated by
stories on environment, with eight out of nineteen on the upper front and fifteen out of
twenty-two on the lower front page.
Printing most of the development stories on the lower inside implied that they were not
given much importance since being on top of the page is an indicator of a story’s
importance (Giles and Hodgson, 1996).
Table 17. Article Placement of Development Stories in Mountain Beat News (January to
July 2012)
Story
IL IU FL FU
BU BL Total
Environment
16 8 15 8
8
1
56
SS
27 8 0 1
0
1
37
Economics
14
3 1 2
1
0
21
Agriculture
11
4 2 1
1
0
19
Education
15
1 0 2
1
0
19
H & N
8
6 1 0
2
0
17
Culture
5
4 2 3
1
0
15
S & T
5
1 1 2
0
0
9
TOTAL
101 35 22 19
14 2
193
%
52.33 18.13 11.4 9.84
7.25 1.04
100
Rank
1
2 3 4
5
6
Legend: IU- Upper Inside page
FL- Lower Front page BU- Upper Back
IL- Lower Inside page
FU- Upper Front page BL- Lower Back
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Perlas ng Pilipinas. As shown in Table 18, sixty-eight (46.58%) stories were printed on
the lower inside pages of the newspaper followed by upper inside pages where thirty-one
stories (21.23%) were printed. The front page was dominated by stories on environment:
nine were printed on the upper front and eight were printed on the lower front page. Culture
stories followed environment stories in terms of placement on the front page (6), education
and social services (3) and economics (2). The rest were printed on the back page of the
newspaper.
Comparative Analysis of the Three Community Newspapers
Number of published development stories and space allocation. As shown in Table 19,
there were 515 development stories published by the three community newspapers from
January to July 2012. The Mountain Beat News topped the list37.48%) despite being the
Table 18. Article Placement of Development Stories in Perlas ng Pilipinas (January to
July 2012)
Story
IL IU FU FL
BL BU
Total
Environment 14 9 9 8
3
2
45
SS
24 7 1 2
0
1
35
Education
12 4 1 2
1
0
20
Economics 3 4 2 0
5
2
16
Culture
4 2 6 0
0
0
12
H & N
7 3 0 0
1
0
11
S & T
2 1 0 0
1
0
4
Agriculture 2 1 0 0
0
0
3
TOTAL
68 31 19 12 11 5
146
%
46.58 21.23 13.01 8.22
7.53 3.42
100
Rank
1 2 3 4
5
6
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Legend: IU- Upper Inside page
FL- Lower Front page BU- Upper Back
IL- Lower Inside page
FU- Upper Front page BL- Lower Back
latest to operate among the three. It was followed by Cordillera Today (34.17%), the oldest
established community newspaper among the three.
Cordillera Today allotted the largest space (35.77%) for development stories
despite being second to Mountain Beat News in terms of numbers of stories published.
This was followed by Mountain Beat News (35.5%) then, Perlas ng Pilipinas which allotted
the least space (28.73%).
It was observed that the space allocation for development stories of Cordillera
Today and Mountain Beat News has only 0.27% difference. On the other hand, the switch
on rank of the Cordillera Today and Mountain Beat News was attributed to the number of
opinion and news feature-which were lengthy by nature- that were published in Cordillera
Today.
Table 19. Number of Stories Published per Community Newspaper in La Trinidad and
their Space Allocation (January to July 2012)
Name of newspaper
No. of stories Rank Space allocation(cm2) % Rank
Cordillera Today
176
2
394, 279.8
35.77 1
The Mountain Beat News
193
1
391, 287
35.55 2
Perlas ng Pilipinas
146
3
316, 697
28.73 3
TOTAL
515
1, 102, 263. 8
100
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Type of Development Stories. It can be seen in Table 20 that of the eight types of
development stories, all three community newspapers published most stories on
environment (37.48%). In Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas, the stories on
environment were followed by stories on social services. On the other hand, Cordillera
Today published more Health and Nutrition stories following stories on environment.
Fewer stories were written on education, culture and economics. Cordillera Today
and Perlas ng Pilipinas published the least on agriculture while Mountain Beat News
published the least on science and technology.
This shows that the community newspapers were more concerned on environmental
issues and social services. There was a lukewarm attention given to education, culture and
economics. Agriculture, which is said to be the backbone of the country’s economy, and
science and technology were given the least attention. The probable reason could be
because of the environmental disasters that the region faced concurrently during the time-
frame. After which, the issue on the earthballing of 182 trees by SM in Luneta Hill became
a taut issue. Adding to these were the garbage problems that had been haunting Baguio
City for years. Hence, issues on environment were mostly discussed.
The rare publication of agriculture and science and technology stories was found
out to be the same in the study “Development Reporting of Five Community
Newspapers” by Colting in 2001.
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Table 20. Type of Development Stories Published by Three Community Newspapers in La
Trinidad (January to July 2012)
Story MB News
Cordi Today Perlas ng Pilipinas
Total %
Rank
Environment 56
100
45
201 39.03 1
SS
37
6
35
78
15.15 2
Education
19
16
20
55
10.68 3
H & N
17
19
11
47
9.13 4
Economics 21
8
16
45
8.74 5
Culture
15
17
12
44
8.54 6
Agriculture 19
4
3
26
5.05 7
S & T
9
6
4
19
3.69 8
TOTAL
193
176
146
515 100
%
37.48
34.17
28.35
100
Rank
1
2
3
Treatment of Development Stories. It can be observed in Table 21 that most
(74.56%) of the development stories published in all three community newspapers were
written as straight news. Almost all of the development stories in Mountain Beat News and
Perlas ng Pilipinas were written as straight news. On the other hand, stories written as
opinion (54) trail closely the stories written as straight news (76) in Cordillera Today. MB
News and Perlas ng Pilipinas did not have any article written in feature form.
Similarly, Cordillera Today had only two feature stories.
It was further observed that writers from PIA, PIO and the contributors write almost
all of their articles as straight news. It was observed in the analyzed newspaper issues that
writers from PIA, PIO and the freelancers treats almost all of their stories as straight news.
Malinao (2005) explains that straight news reporting is event-centered and is usually
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concise. The biggest consideration could be the space that newspapers can allot for their
stories; the shorter their story, the greater possibility that it will be published.
The MB News
175
3
8
7
0
Table
21.
Cordi Today
76
54
37
7
2
Perlas ng Pilipinas 133
4
2
7
2
TOTAL
384
61
47
21
2
%
74.56
11.84
9.13 4.08
0.39
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
Treatment of Development Stories of Three Community Newspapers in La
Trinidad (January to July 2012)
Newspaper
SN
Opinion
NF
Editorial
Feature
Sources of Development Stories. It can be seen in Table 22 that the development
articles published by both Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas were from
contributors followed by Public Information Officers, then Philippine Information Agency.
The staff of the two newspapers had the least article written. This was contrary to Cordillera
Today where the staff had the most articles published, followed by contributors, then PIO
and PIA.
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The reason why staff of Perlas ng Pilipinas and Mountain Beat News wrote the least
article was they do not have staff writers. All stories they published, aside from their
editorial, came from PIO, PIA and contributors. In contrary, Cordillera Today has five staff
writers aside from the editor-in-chief and associate editor.
Table 22. Sources of Development Stories of Three Community Newspapers in La
Trinidad (January to July 2012)
Newspaper
Contributor PIO
Staff PIA
Unattributed Total
The MB News
78
70
8
34
3
193
Cordi Today
39
26
94
17
1
176
Perlas ng Pilipinas 55
49
17
24
4
146
TOTAL
172
145
119 75
4
515
%
33.4
28.16
23.11 14.56 0.78
100
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
Sources of News. As shown in Table 23, sources of news in the articles published
in Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas were mainly traditional coming from
government officials and government offices. Few of the information also came from other
sources such as private institution, books, documents and personal experiences and
observations. Conversely, though Cordillera Today’s top source were government
officials, with sixty-two, it was closely followed by other sources out of the defined
traditional and non-traditional sources, with fifty-five. All three community papers’
development stories though had few of the news that came from the non-traditional sources
such as cause-oriented groups, youth groups, laborers and colleges and universities.
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The same result was deduced from the study of Bulalin (2006) and Olod (2010).
Traditional sources are preferred by the Baguio-based community newspapers they
studied.
Upon scrutiny, the activities and issues reported by the writers were focused on
government offices and government officials. It was also observed that the articles written
oftentimes had only one source of news which were the government officials and offices
setting aside the opinion of the masses. This defies one of the principles of development
writing that Jamias (1991) enumerated, which is, “development writing inquires into,
analyzes and reports on the problems of the people and society to promote solutions.”
Table 23. Sources of news of the development stories of three community newspapers in
La Trinidad (January to July 2012)
Newspaper
Traditional Others
Non-traditional
Total
GOfc GOfl
COG CU
L
YG
The MB News
105 46
26
17
5
5
2
206
Cordi Today
42
62
55
25
7
5
0
196
Perlas ng Pilipinas 95
47
22
17
5
3
2
191
TOTAL
242 155 103
59
17
13
4
593
%
40.81 26.14 17.37
9.95 2.87 2.19 0.67
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
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Placement. It can be seen in Table 24 that most of the development stories were
printed on the lower inside pages of Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas followed
by the upper inside pages. Contrary to this, Cordillera Today printed most of its
development stories on the upper inside pages followed by lower inside pages. All three
placed fewer articles on the front pages. Cordillera Today and Mountain Beat News printed
more development articles on the lower front page that on the upper front page. In contrast,
Perlas ng Pilipinas printed more development articles on the upper front page than on the
lower front page. Cordillera Today did not print any development story on the back page
while Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas placed a few articles on the back page.
Table 24. Placement of the development stories of three community newspapers in La
Trinidad (January to July 2012)
Newspaper
IL
IU
FL
FU
BU
BL
Total
The MB News
101
35
22
19
2
14
193
Cordi Today
49
81
27
19
0
0
176
Perlas ng Pilipinas 68
31
12
19
5
11
146
TOTAL
218
147
61
57
7
25
515
%
42.33
28.54
11.84 11.08 1.36
1.29
Rank
1
2
3
4
5
6
Legend: IU- Upper Inside page
FL- Lower Front page BU- Upper Back
IL- Lower Inside page
FU- Upper Front page BL- Lower Back
The Landscape of Three La Trinidad-based Community Newspapers.| OPLAS,
MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
SUMMARY, CONCLUSIONS AND RECOMMENDATIONS
Summary
Community newspapers are considered to have significant roles in the development
of a community. A content analysis of these newspapers helps determine whether or not
the expected roles they are supposed to accomplish are realized. Furthermore, the
background of these newspapers helps in the deduction of certain motivations why they
publish the stories in certain quantity, why they allot a more or lesser space for certain
stories, why they treat most of their stories in a certain manner and why most of the stories
they publish come from certain groups or individuals.
The study was done to analyze the stories published by three out of four community
newspapers based in La Trinidad. These are the Mountain Beat News, Cordillera Today
and Perlas ng Pilipinas. The researcher chose the newspapers depending on the willingness
of the owners/publishers/editors for their newspapers to be studied. Specifically, the study
aimed to narrate the general profile, editorial and production flow and business profile of
each community newspaper, identify the field of development most frequently covered by
the stories, determine how much space is allocated for development stories, determine the
most frequent treatment and placement of these stories, identify the frequent sources of
news in the articles and compare the content of these newspapers.
La Trinidad was chosen as the locale of the study because it is the only municipality
in Benguet which has editorial offices.
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To obtain information on the landscape of each community newspaper, interviews
with the editors/publishers or staff knowledgeable of the newspapers’ background were
conducted.
Copies of the newspapers published from January to July 2012 were acquired from
each editorial office and were analyzed. The dominant sources of news, frequency of
development stories published according to the field of development reported on, the article
treatment and their placement and space allocation were examined using frequency counts
and percentages with the aid of code sheet materials.
Results of the study showed that Mountain Beat News published the most
development stories followed by Cordillera Today. Perlas ng Pilipinas published the least
development stories.
On the other hand, Cordillera Today provided the most space allotment for
development stories followed by Mountain Beat News, then Perlas ng Pilipinas. All three
of the community newspapers studied treats most of the development stories as straight
news. Similarly, they all focused on environment in most of the stories they published.
Science and technology and agriculture are the least prioritized stories.
Moreover, most of the development stories published in Cordillera Today were
printed on the upper inside pages. Conversely, Mountain Beat News and Perlas ng Pilipinas
allotted the lower inside pages for most of the development stories they published.
In addition, it was found out that the community newspapers were established
mainly for business purposes. Furthermore, these newspapers had been existing from three
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to eleven years. It was further uncovered that MB News and Perlas ng Pilipinas have the
same publisher and that these newspapers do not have staff writers.
Conclusions
Based on the findings of the study, the following conclusions were drawn:
1.
the three community newspapers are individually owned like most
community newspapers in the country;
2.
issues about environment remains to be the common development story
covered by local community newspapers as evidently shown in the study;
3.
there is enough space allocated for development stories in the community
newspapers analyzed;
4.
Straight News is the most common angle in writing development stories by
the three publications; and,
5.
most writers of the community newspapers still rely on traditional sources
in writing development articles.
Recommendations
Based on the results of the study, the following recommendations were drawn:
1.
other fields of development such as agriculture, as it is the main source of
livelihood in the locality, be reported also by the community newspapers;
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MERVALYN G. APRIL 2012
2.
writers may consider other treatments like news feature and feature in
writing development stories to probe more on the details that matter but are oftentimes
overlooked;
3.
writers may also consider other news sources such as farmers, laborers, and
cause-oriented groups when seeking for facts for their articles; and,
4.
lastly, a study on the challenges faced by Baguio and La Trinidad media
men on writing development stories may be made to assess the factors that affect their
willingness or reluctance in writing development stories.
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