Manila Broadcasting Company’s human resource manager read my resume after I handed it over. “Saan mo ba gusto, TV or radio?” Sir James asked. “Any medium… preferably the line of work would be Broadcast Journalism,” I straightforwardly answered. I did not know whether I sounded very demanding for my practicum in their company; what I knew was I had only responded with utmost honesty as to what I have been asked about. “Ah gusto mo hands-on talaga? Sige Mag-Aksyon Radyo ka.”
On the 20th of April, I went back to MBC with a mixture of excitement and nervousness for the beginning of my internship in Aksyon Radyo. Down to the ground floor of the building, I was guided to the small booth of the news bureau where I met my internship mentors: Niño “Bonito” Padilla, Atty. Rhina “Pañera” Seco and Patty Tolentino. They were the Aksyon Radyo news anchors.
I was a Communication Arts major with a heart-engraved passion for journalism. I have developed an interest for production and events; nonetheless, I knew in my heart that what I really wanted was to write, speak and think – more akin to the craft of journalists than to producers’ or directors’. Hence, given this opportunity to expose ourselves in the industry as mandated by our academe, I had really hoped for an on-the-job-training that would introduce me to the world of broadcast journalism. And meeting these people in this kind of internship set-up was indeed an answered prayer. More than what I have asked for.
I did not read journalism books. I was not obliged to painstakingly watch news to learn the correct way of speaking and breathing in front of a microphone. I was not forced to read law books to have a fair and comprehensive preview of the Philippine Law. During my 200 hour-internship period, I was simply conversing with experienced broadcast journalists who had known very well the vacillating pathways and tunnels in Philippine journalism.
Meeting this experienced broadcast journalists entailed me to be more vigilant in the events that were unfolding during those times. The job in the station entailed me to be equipped with the most current events everyday. But that very requirement was tantamount to my interest for public and social awareness which made it relatively easier for me to adapt to the demands of the work.
On-the-Job Training Activities
Aksyon Radyo interns do four basic things: read, write, speak, and think. Read matters on current events. Write three news everyday. Broadcast your news to be included in the report of other reporters from the different provinces. And think with common sense. Some interns are also taught how to use their Cool Edit software for productions and plugs. Interns also join special coverages during events and special occasions.
On my first day, I only observed the goings-on in the small news booth: how Karen, the outgoing intern, wrote and broadcasted her news; how she recorded the news of reporters from the different provinces through the phone-patched-computer; how Ate Patty quickly operated the Raduga software during broadcast recordings. Attorney Rhina oriented me on the things that I was expected to do, as well as the nature of the work in the station.
The very first chore that I was assigned was to transcribe Sir Niño’s interview with Senator Nene Pimentel regarding Manny Villar’s C-5 road project fund scam. Not having been able to write news for years since my high school campus journalism experiences, I was very nervous for this task of not only transcribing, but also writing news about it. Thank God I was able to successfully do it. It was my first, and of course I did not want to fail.
On my third day, I anchored the Network Afternoon News with Ate Patty. Still being new in the craft, nervousness again crept in. Nonetheless, with Ate Patty’s kindness and understanding, she made me feel at ease while doing my first broadcast. After the newscast, she had given me points for improvement which I now always carry every time I dub and speak through any medium: have more energy and power, and speak from the diaphragm. Speaking from the diaphragm was also what Sir Niño had pointed out to me in my afternoon newscast session with him later that day. From that day on, I started to be conscious with my breathing, my voice, and the way I speak.
As the day went by, I enjoyed my internship at the station. Lunch with my internship supervisors were also added times for learning as they tell tales of experiences in their years of stay in this field of work. During my first week, in one of our lunch out, Sir Niño talked about the fundamentals of news writing, summarized in his equation of the “Mathematics of News”. “Positive times positive equals positive: it does not make a good news story. There must be a negative factor in order for it to be called newsworthy,” he vividly explained.
Aksyon Radyo had a special coverage of the Aliwan Festival which exposed us to live anchoring and news reporting. DZRH 70th anniversary plug project entailed me to know more about the various senators, congressmen and politicians as I researched about their profile to be included in the everyday-countdown script. Bisalog, Attorney Rhina’s and Sir Niño’s Sunday news commentary program, challenged me to think about possible topics which could be tackled in their commentary portion, as well as come up with radio productions for that program.
Among the most significant experiences that I had during this internship was when Sir Niño and Attorney asked me out to guest in their Bisalog program last May 10. In the guise of a Thomasian, I was given the chance to air out my opinion and viewpoint on national radio regarding the then-talked-about Nievera’s version of the Lupang Hinirang. It was a wish fulfilled to be with known personalities in radio influencing people’s perception with regard to a certain issue. Months ago, I was only reading articles on media’s power to shape the beliefs of society. Now, I had been given the privilege to be among these respected radio commentarists acting out to enlighten the people’s - grassroots and eminent alike – minds about societal issues and concerns.
The Relationship with Comrades in the Workplace
With equal importance to the technical and real-life lessons that I learned from my internship, I also appreciated the healthy and worthy-to-be-treasured relationship that I had formed with my fellow interns as well as with my internship mentors (I am very thankful indeed) .
During my first day, who I saw was a seemingly-overly strict and snobbish man with thick eyeglasses sitting in front of the computer. A problematic lady walked to and fro the booth exclaiming about her aching stomach. A lady who also seemed to be unfriendly talked to me at our first meeting. A fellow student who seemed to not mind a new intern’s presence concentrated herself with what she was doing in front of the desktop.
Nonetheless, first impressions dissipated as conversations developed. The snobbish man, I now call my tatay; the problematic lady turned out to be a cheerful and intelligent woman; the I-thought-of-snobbish attorney was truly a kind-hearted and generous woman; and the fellow student was a gentle colleague indeed. Before I left, another student came at the station who replaced my position as the Aksyon Radyo intern. We also became good fellows and taught each other lessons distinct from our own experiences.
The first hour for my 200-hour internship requirement began in the morning April 20 and ended in the afternoon of May 19. In the morning of April 20, I was nervous and excited: I did not want to start. In the afternoon of May 19, I did not want to end. But every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
I have now begun the last year of my academic life with real-life lessons derived from this internship program. These, I could apply in the theories that I would learn in the upcoming communication classes. Once, the flow of knowledge was from theory to practice. Now, it would be from practice to theory: with the experiences at hand serving as pieces of evidence to the theories that I would analyze in my academics reports and researches.
On the 20th of April, I went back to MBC with a mixture of excitement and nervousness for the beginning of my internship in Aksyon Radyo. Down to the ground floor of the building, I was guided to the small booth of the news bureau where I met my internship mentors: Niño “Bonito” Padilla, Atty. Rhina “Pañera” Seco and Patty Tolentino. They were the Aksyon Radyo news anchors.
I was a Communication Arts major with a heart-engraved passion for journalism. I have developed an interest for production and events; nonetheless, I knew in my heart that what I really wanted was to write, speak and think – more akin to the craft of journalists than to producers’ or directors’. Hence, given this opportunity to expose ourselves in the industry as mandated by our academe, I had really hoped for an on-the-job-training that would introduce me to the world of broadcast journalism. And meeting these people in this kind of internship set-up was indeed an answered prayer. More than what I have asked for.
I did not read journalism books. I was not obliged to painstakingly watch news to learn the correct way of speaking and breathing in front of a microphone. I was not forced to read law books to have a fair and comprehensive preview of the Philippine Law. During my 200 hour-internship period, I was simply conversing with experienced broadcast journalists who had known very well the vacillating pathways and tunnels in Philippine journalism.
Meeting this experienced broadcast journalists entailed me to be more vigilant in the events that were unfolding during those times. The job in the station entailed me to be equipped with the most current events everyday. But that very requirement was tantamount to my interest for public and social awareness which made it relatively easier for me to adapt to the demands of the work.
On-the-Job Training Activities
Aksyon Radyo interns do four basic things: read, write, speak, and think. Read matters on current events. Write three news everyday. Broadcast your news to be included in the report of other reporters from the different provinces. And think with common sense. Some interns are also taught how to use their Cool Edit software for productions and plugs. Interns also join special coverages during events and special occasions.
On my first day, I only observed the goings-on in the small news booth: how Karen, the outgoing intern, wrote and broadcasted her news; how she recorded the news of reporters from the different provinces through the phone-patched-computer; how Ate Patty quickly operated the Raduga software during broadcast recordings. Attorney Rhina oriented me on the things that I was expected to do, as well as the nature of the work in the station.
The very first chore that I was assigned was to transcribe Sir Niño’s interview with Senator Nene Pimentel regarding Manny Villar’s C-5 road project fund scam. Not having been able to write news for years since my high school campus journalism experiences, I was very nervous for this task of not only transcribing, but also writing news about it. Thank God I was able to successfully do it. It was my first, and of course I did not want to fail.
On my third day, I anchored the Network Afternoon News with Ate Patty. Still being new in the craft, nervousness again crept in. Nonetheless, with Ate Patty’s kindness and understanding, she made me feel at ease while doing my first broadcast. After the newscast, she had given me points for improvement which I now always carry every time I dub and speak through any medium: have more energy and power, and speak from the diaphragm. Speaking from the diaphragm was also what Sir Niño had pointed out to me in my afternoon newscast session with him later that day. From that day on, I started to be conscious with my breathing, my voice, and the way I speak.
As the day went by, I enjoyed my internship at the station. Lunch with my internship supervisors were also added times for learning as they tell tales of experiences in their years of stay in this field of work. During my first week, in one of our lunch out, Sir Niño talked about the fundamentals of news writing, summarized in his equation of the “Mathematics of News”. “Positive times positive equals positive: it does not make a good news story. There must be a negative factor in order for it to be called newsworthy,” he vividly explained.
Aksyon Radyo had a special coverage of the Aliwan Festival which exposed us to live anchoring and news reporting. DZRH 70th anniversary plug project entailed me to know more about the various senators, congressmen and politicians as I researched about their profile to be included in the everyday-countdown script. Bisalog, Attorney Rhina’s and Sir Niño’s Sunday news commentary program, challenged me to think about possible topics which could be tackled in their commentary portion, as well as come up with radio productions for that program.
Among the most significant experiences that I had during this internship was when Sir Niño and Attorney asked me out to guest in their Bisalog program last May 10. In the guise of a Thomasian, I was given the chance to air out my opinion and viewpoint on national radio regarding the then-talked-about Nievera’s version of the Lupang Hinirang. It was a wish fulfilled to be with known personalities in radio influencing people’s perception with regard to a certain issue. Months ago, I was only reading articles on media’s power to shape the beliefs of society. Now, I had been given the privilege to be among these respected radio commentarists acting out to enlighten the people’s - grassroots and eminent alike – minds about societal issues and concerns.
The Relationship with Comrades in the Workplace
With equal importance to the technical and real-life lessons that I learned from my internship, I also appreciated the healthy and worthy-to-be-treasured relationship that I had formed with my fellow interns as well as with my internship mentors (I am very thankful indeed) .
During my first day, who I saw was a seemingly-overly strict and snobbish man with thick eyeglasses sitting in front of the computer. A problematic lady walked to and fro the booth exclaiming about her aching stomach. A lady who also seemed to be unfriendly talked to me at our first meeting. A fellow student who seemed to not mind a new intern’s presence concentrated herself with what she was doing in front of the desktop.
Nonetheless, first impressions dissipated as conversations developed. The snobbish man, I now call my tatay; the problematic lady turned out to be a cheerful and intelligent woman; the I-thought-of-snobbish attorney was truly a kind-hearted and generous woman; and the fellow student was a gentle colleague indeed. Before I left, another student came at the station who replaced my position as the Aksyon Radyo intern. We also became good fellows and taught each other lessons distinct from our own experiences.
The first hour for my 200-hour internship requirement began in the morning April 20 and ended in the afternoon of May 19. In the morning of April 20, I was nervous and excited: I did not want to start. In the afternoon of May 19, I did not want to end. But every new beginning comes from some other beginning’s end.
I have now begun the last year of my academic life with real-life lessons derived from this internship program. These, I could apply in the theories that I would learn in the upcoming communication classes. Once, the flow of knowledge was from theory to practice. Now, it would be from practice to theory: with the experiences at hand serving as pieces of evidence to the theories that I would analyze in my academics reports and researches.
(Submitted on the 27th of June, in partial fulfillment of my requirements in the Practicum course for the 1st semester of A.Y. 2009-2010)
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