Smart supports online campus journalism

MANILA, Philippines - Student journalists in the cities of Iloilo and Baguio are poised to get their campus papers online after learning how to access online resources and undergoing relevant training under Journ.ph, the online campus journalism project of Smart Communications, Inc. (Smart).

Journ.ph includes collaboration with media, academe and journalism institution partners to promote and develop online campus journalism among schools nationwide, using Information and Communications Technologies (ICT).

The project also includes a mentoring and training program for journalism students and local media, and an online content management platform journ.ph (www.journ.ph).

In two trainings recently conducted with the Philippine Information Agency-Region 6 in Iloilo City and the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club and St. Louis University in Baguio City, Smart showed the participants how to get an account via the journ.ph website and how to post and edit campus news on their online campus paper.

During the Basic Journalism Seminar conducted by PIA-Region 6 in Iloilo City, Smart also brought experts to discuss the Fundamentals of Blogging and Journalism Ethics and Cyber Laws.

In attendance were over 300 campus journalists and faculty advisers representing close to 75 college papers in Region 6. The Baguio City seminar drew more than 100 participants representing publications from the St. Louis University, Benguet State University, SLU Laboratory Elementary School and the Don Mariano Marcos Memorial State University.

The leading wireless services provider has been partnering with community and media organizations in conducting trainings to equip interested school publication teams with the skills and the resources to get their campus papers online. Such trainings have been conducted in the cities of Cebu, Baguio, Davao, Iloilo and Dumaguete. Smart is scheduled to conduct more training sessions, this time among high school publication teams, in partnership with PIA-Region 6 in Bacolod.