By TRISHA MAE ALIÑO
(Editor’s Note: Ms. Trisha is a 4th year Bachelor of Arts-Journalism student at the University of La Salette, Santiago City.)
Published in its print edition on August 16 – 22, 2025
A journalist is a timeless profession. As a journalism student, I’ve been asked often why did I choose this course, with some even telling me that I should’ve chosen a harder, well-paid course in my earlier years in college.
These conversations I had with people made me realize one thing that’s the opposite of their point— people don’t see the value of journalism because they have never known life without the media.
This is the fourth estate in our society, a pillar in preserving the security of the people and serving democracy in the country. As the watchdog of the government and injustices in our society, journalists are more than just “reporters”.
This profession has always been and will continue to be an integral component of every community. Journalism is part of the society, speaking for the voiceless and holding accountable people in power.
It never loses its power to inform and influence the public in their views, opinions, actions, and belief.
The media itself may be dynamic, with new mediums and modes entering in the modern world, along with its pros and cons as any existing platforms we had in the past.
The rise of the digital era created new opportunities for the society to consume media in a quicker, easier way through the existence of social media.
The internet became the main platform for consumption of media for the mass, with wider range of reach made possible with the advanced technologies we have in the present.
With one tap, it is possible to send and receive content through media. However, this convenience led to the birth of citizen journalism. With countless content being published online, fact-checking and verifying information is a problem.
It is harder, often impossible to depict if an information online is false, especially with the rise of Artificial Intelligence. News platforms may use the new medium to connect with the people easier and faster, but journalists always integrate the traditional approach in the mechanism of journalism.
In my case, as a student journalist, our publication made sure that we use every medium possible to spread the word to our fellow students through The Salettinian’s official facebook page, and as well as producing newspapers and magazines.
This allowed us to reach a wider audience while serving the students and our rights as journalists.
In the digital era, almost everyone had shifted their focus from consumption of news and entertainment in traditional media outlets such as newspapers and radios to mainly social media.
Since this platform provides every information a person may need through applications— Facebook, Instagram, Tiktok, Youtube, and X, this has been normalized throughout the years.
This gave the opportunity for content creators to rise and use this platform as their source of income. This created a wide variety of entertainment for everyone tackling different niche. This advantage in the digital era gave people exactly what they wanted— conveniece in their own hands.
Personally, I also use these platforms in consuming media But as a journalist, I will always appreciate the traditional approach in journalism and I sometimes prefer it even.
With the traditional newspaper, my sole focus is in the story I’m reading, and with radios, it is always convenient to simply listen while being able to multitask.
But the reality of getting and finding them today is a hassle that even I wouldn’t want when the same content I can find online, in real time, and for free, is available in a click away. I am completely aware that it is a privilege to have the choice in content consumption.
In our country, the internet is often unavailable in remote areas, and not everyone is capable of owning new forms of technologies. In these areas, radios, TV broadcasts, and even newspapers are the mainstream for the mass.
The world will always move forward, with new innovations in the field of journalism. However, no medium will be perfect to cater each and everyone’s needs in one device.#
