Workshop of gratitude

“Whatever the mind of man can conceive, it can achieve.” – W. Clement Stone

There are still a few slots left for the Bill Velasco Broadcasting and Media Marketing Workshop that opens this Saturday and Sunday at the Development Academy of the Philippines in Pasig. Friends and strangers, colleagues in sports broadcasting and students have signed up for what I promise will be an enlightening, engaging and fun experience. It is a distillation of over three decades of experience, reinventing self, making mistakes and growing. It is also the first time that we will be doing a workshop open to the public.

I have been fortunate to have worked for or with some of the most brilliant minds and athletes on both sides of the camera. I have stood shoulder to shoulder with greatness and taken notes. I have been friends with geniuses and pioneers of Philippine broadcasting. And for the last 20-odd years, I’ve also been in the corporate training industry as a certified trainor and facilitator. Each has broadened my horizon, widened my world view, and allowed me to travel the world to experience other cultures. I understand to a practical degree, how people work. And I wanted to give back.

Our broadcasting workshop will also be an acknowledgment that I don’t know everything. Hence, we have brought in three powerful speakers who will complete the learning experience. PBA MVP Eric Menk is in the unique position of having been on both sides of the camera, first as subject, and now as interviewer on his highly popular podcast, “Staying Major”. He has also always been frank, straight to the point and true to himself. Also sharing knowledge is Karen Tanchanco-Caballero, the deputy secretary-general of the Philippine Olympic Committee. Karen is a tireless worker, an effective leader, and a straight arrow who takes no bull from anyway. She sits on the board of the world body for sepak takraw. She will discuss empowering women in sport, an underreported story in this country, and the rise of Philippine women’s sports in the last decade. Karen is the kind of speaker who makes you sit up and listen.

And last but not the least, Boyet Sison will be speaking from 13 years of broadcast experience in front of the camera. He has transformed from a student of the industry to a capable commentator, reporter, news reader and talk show host on a broad range of subjects, and has a very high-rating program on DZMM. Moreover, he is a trusted friend and respected colleague who is an inspiring story of what anyone can achieve if they set their mind to it.

The substance of the workshop is not taught at other workshops, or even in private schools. We will trace the history of broadcasting in general before branching out into sports broadcasting. In one module, we differentiate among all the people who work in front of the camera in sports. Can people actually discern the differences between a commentator and a journalist and a vlogger? What are the goals and roles of each, and how should we listen to them? Who should we believe? Then we explore cases of athletes whose reputations have been damaged by malicious misuse of media. 

Another subject matter hardly – if ever – covered in classrooms and seminars is a Filipino broadcast language. People assume all broadcast forms are the same. How do we, as a bilingual country, speak on television or the radio? We’ve mashed English and Filipino together so much, we’ve weakened our ability to write in or speak either language. And how does one do an interview, anyway? What is a pre-interview, anyway? How do you ask questions? 

But we won’t be spoon-feeding the participants. As in all of my workshops, it will be a safe environment to learn and correct mistakes. You have to have basic writing skills in the proper form. There is no way around that. On Day 2, we will add how to look and sound for broadcast. For far too long, this has been a neglected skill which our elders took very seriously. It’s time we did, too.

We have also been blessed with like-minded sponsors who have helped make the workshops affordable: Meralco, PAGCOR, Eastern Telecommunications, Raimol, Cebu Grand Hotel and Bluewater Maribago Resort. Without sponsors, we would also not be able to take the class to the provinces and allow students to attend.

Those interested to participate in the Bill Velasco Broadcasting Workshop may contact Pinkie Mariano through 0915-1281407 or +63 939 803 0379.