Community press faces cyber threats - PAPI

BY BOY RYAN B. ZABAL

PAPI led by president Juan Dayang (right) and Director Don Jose Rodriquez of the Instituto de Cervantes (left) sign a Memorandum of Agreement for scholarship grants to PAPI members at the recent PAPI midyear session (BRZabal)

KALIBO, Aklan - The online journalism poses a threat to the viability, if not survival, of the traditional media, according to the Publishers Association of the Philippines Inc (PAPI)
"Let's face it, the world of the press has changed and the message is crystal clear - unless we adapt and tackle the risks, we perish," said PAPI president Juan P. Dayang during the midyear executive session of publishers and editors in Makati Sports Club.
Dayang stressed, "the age of information technology, or much of the processes in the media have been radically altered and the ways of the old practice can no longer match the speed, the efficiency and impact that technology brings to the community of readers and listeners."
He said the advent of publishing via the Internet and the mobile phone media coupled with the rapid advancements in technology, the publishing has acquired global dimensions ranging from sophisticated cross-border editorial scale to expand markets and stay competitive.
Dayang said PAPI is launching the PhilNews Service to provide the Information Technology linkages via the Internet for all the media entities comprising PAPI to adjust to a technology-driven market.
He cited the establishment of an International Media Production Zone (IMPZ) in Dubai, Saudi Arabia to create a unique cluster environment for media production companies from across the industry value chain and from across the world to interact in the field of graphic art, publishing and packaging.
Last Sunday, PAPI led by Dayang and Director Don Jose Rodriquez of the Instituto de Cervantes signed a Memorandum of Agreement for scholarship grants to PAPI members pursuing journalism studies.
"The challenge before us is how we can harness the competitive benefits of technology and disperse them to down to the grassroots level - media outlets in cities and provinces outside Metro Manila. We can't just content ourselves with the old, worn-out ways of doing things, we must move with dynamism, creativity and innovativeness," he added.