Swan song

The Cebu Daily News started yesterday what it said will be a 13-part series that will seek to document its 20-year existence as a newspaper. CDN did not actually mention the word "closing" because perhaps it is not. It will only be transitioning to a fully-digital platform.

Nevertheless, the print edition of CDN will be no more in 2019. And as a print journalist for 37 years and counting, it truly saddens me to be a witness to yet another passing of yet another newspaper, even if such a newspaper happens to be a rival and competitor.

For sadness in this regard stems from a deep sense of valued relations built over years of belonging to the same profession, eking out a living and carving careers out of the same industry. But more than anything else, the sadness comes from a deeply-held belief, at least by its practitioners, that print journalism is the one and true journalism.

Over the years, print journalism had swiftly given up much ground, first to broadcast, then to the digital or online platform, and is now widely considered to be an endangered species, not because it has ceased to be relevant, but because it has simply become less convenient in a world where convenience has become synonymous with efficiency.

My own newspaper, The FREEMAN, will be turning 100 years old in 2019. It takes a lot of everything conceivable for a newspaper, especially one of The FREEMAN's size, resources, and available market, to hit the century mark. And the fact that it is on the verge of doing so can only be due to the fortitude of everyone in it and the enduring grace of God.

I do not know how long The FREEMAN can weather the onslaught of time and technology. The digital option, being the new norm, will become an ever persistent and attractive option even if I, personally, would prefer that it remains rooted in print, even if, in doing so, it would seem embarked on a Quixotic quest.

What gives me a sense of hope and conviction is the discovery that despite the introduction and aggressive promotion of e-books, real book lovers still prefer the paper editions. Maybe a bit of romanticism has something to do with it. And certainly a great deal of pride helps as well. But there is something in owning and holding a real book that makes a book what it is.

Maybe newspapers as they are, in good old ink-on-paper form, will not totally vanish. Maybe they will survive in those small niches reserved for those whose need and relevance can never be diminished by innovation and technology. And while I am truly proud and happy for my FREEMAN, I am also truly sad for CDN, with whom many journalists shared great experiences.