By CARLOS DAVE B. GARCIA and BRYAN EDWARD G. VILLASANA
September 7, 2012, 7:48pm
MANILA, Philippines — Veteran journalist Malou Mangahas on Friday presented her recommendations to keep the print media vibrant, relevant, and competitive in today’s challenging market during the 2nd Philippine Print Media Congress (PrintCon 2012) at the historic landmark Manila Hotel.
Mangahas, executive director and co-founder of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ), said that print media needs three “I”s to overcome and even outlast the changes brought by technology: Initiative, Innovation, and Investment.
Speaking on the second and last day of the confab, she said: “Stop pining for the good old days and, instead, start dreaming and looking forward to reinventing print in the era of the Internet.”
Mangahas also challenged media organizations to depart form tradition and scale up its potential and unique platform values to embrace change and adapt in the new conversation defined by the Internet and other emerging technology.
“We must reinvent print and vest it with power to serve as root of all media and aggregator of all media products,” she said.
Mangahas also urged reporters to become “multimedia journalists” by not just being good in writing stories, but also in taking photos, video and other rich-media content.
Believing that print can outlive the Internet, Mangahas said that print media firms only have to “explore the best of both worlds of the print industry and the Internet.”
Meanwhile, Ms. Merlee Jayme, DM9 Jayme Syfu creative director, spoke at the conference on ways for print to compete with the digital world.
Speaking in behalf of the advertising sector, Jayme declared, “it’s not the end of the world” for print. She said print organizations only have to capture the short attention span of the changing target market and “talk with the heart.”
Jayme said print organizations should elevate their medium to become an art form by being more insightful, informative,and creative for the future.
For Media Specialists Association of the Philippines (MSAP) President Manuel “Meckoy” P. Quiogue, a good thing about print media is that “nothing compares to [seeing] the importance of a big event if you read it in the newspaper.”
Leading the group of independent media firms, Quiogue said that print organizations should only aim for reader engagement by making their publications interactive through the adaptation of the Internet.
He also urged print media firms to follow the initiative of the broadcast industry in publishing photos of “citizen-journalists,” noting that people still want to see their names printed in the paper.
On how organizations can show the highest potential of media, Unleash International Executive Vice President Avielynn Garcia urged industry practitioners “to love their workmates and even competitors as one family to create a harmony.”
“This would help the print industry in achieving its goal of keeping their publication vibrant and competitive in the society,” Garcia said.
On the second half of the first day of the two-day confab last Thursday, speakers sought answers to the issue of the day: “Is the emerging new medium (digital) a friend or a foe?”
Havas Media Ortega Chairman and Chief Executive Officer (CEO) Jos Ortega talked about how new media affect the print industry in his topic “New Media: Friend or Foe? Threat or Opportunity?,” whether the former uphold or drag down the latter’s legacy.
“Face the reality that people are now patronizing multi-screen, television on other medium,” Ortega said.
“Content is your differentiator… The content of almost all is the same so [you need to] go back to your brand,” he told delegates, particularly print publishers, adding that they should look at what their brands are, beyond press and print.
On the problem’s solution, Ortega had three words: “Differentiate or die,” as he underscored proper branding, and having a unique selling point and criteria to either stand-out or survive in the print industry.
For Mobile Marketing Association of the Philippines (IMMAP) President Manny Fernando, the audience still has the same content of the print needed by the interactive world because print “provides credibility and earns your audience’s trust.”
“The online media is huge but very fragmented,” said Fernando.
It is a competitive environment today, where competition can come from anywhere, especially in the digital world, according to Fernando.
“Online media is huge but very fragmented,” he said. “New media is not a revolution but an evolution of how content is consumed. Publishers need to address the shifting consumption of the audience and consumers.”
Digital, Fernando believed, is no longer just a medium, but “an ecosystem.”
“Print is not dead, if you would ask me,” said Globe Telecoms Communications Channel Head Bunny Aguilar’s as he opened his topic with a query on how print leads the way into the digital future.
“Print can be the curator of digital content,” Aguilar pointed out. “Yesterday’s news is now an archive for people.”
Aguilar also highlighted the integration of online into print and price being a major factor in the competition.
“Online platforms have been getting into the print because the younger generation is looking to own something permanent,” he said. “Competitiveness lies in how you price yourselves.”
On whether or not to buy print, SM Supermalls Vice President for Advertising Grace Victoria Magno; Digitel Mobile Philippines, Inc. (Sun Cellular) GSM Marketing and New Business Senior Vice President Ricky Pena; and Jollibee Foods Corp. Marketing Communications Director Pauline Roxas-Chua Lao discussed their respective assessments and outlooks on the effect of print in their own industries.
“We announce each major marketing campaign with a series of full-page print ads. We cannot think of any other more effective way to do this,” Magno said. “Nothing compares to the visual impact of a big print ad with powerful visuals.”
“Why print? Because it has worked for Sun Postpaid over the last 5 years,” Pena shared. “Newspapers need to reinvent themselves in order to create a new experience for readers. But in all cases, emphasis should be on improving reader experience, whether that results in reinvention or not.”
“Print builds credibility and reputation,” said Chua Lao.
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