“WE HAVE TO EVOLVE. WE HAVE TO FIND OTHER PLATFORMS ASIDE FROM THE ACTUAL, PHYSICAL PRINTED COPY OF THE NEWSPAPER SO THE PEOPLE CAN REMAIN INFORMED ABOUT IMPORTANT EVENTS.”
– Atty. Abdiel Dan Elijah “Ade” Fajardo, Panay News Chairman of the Board
Did you know that an Eagle can detect when a storm is approaching long before it breaks?
According to Dr. Myles Munroe, author of the “7 Principles of an Eagle”, the majestic bird would actually fly to a high spot and wait for the winds to come. When the storm hits, the Eagle sets its wings so the wind will pick it up and lift it above the storm. Relatively in life, the author wants to emphasize that one can use the “storms of life” to rise to greater heights.
For Panay News, the Eagle – the paper’s official emblem – sums up its journalism values and brand – focused, strong and determined.
Forty years on, Panay News continues to be inspired by its emblem to spread its wings, fly higher and continually test the limits of press freedom with vigor and sheer grit just as its visionary founders.
One of the living witnesses to Panay News’ struggles and triumphs is Atty. Abdiel Dan Elijah “Ade” Fajardo, the newspaper’s Chairman of the Board and eldest son of the late Panay News publisher and founder Danny Fajardo.
His parents founded the then fledgling newspaper when he was 10 years old.
“Forty years of my life was in a way with Panay News… I have practically been living my life with a couple of journalists wanting to make a change in the region,” said Atty. Ade, 50.
He recalled the initial years of Panay News when there were major barriers to break: first, the preference of local readers for Manila-based newspapers; and second, the absence of commercial advertisers.
“It was very difficult to set up a newspaper in Western Visayas. People shall we say in the beginning were biased for national media organizations. Local newspapers found it difficult to start and be economically viable at the same time,” Atty. Ade said.
It was only much later, he said, that the paper got enough patronage among local readers.
“Eventually, Panay News was able to actually work as a truly independent news organization,” he continued.
For Atty. Ade, it was the correct attitude and perseverance of the men and women of Panay News that put the paper to greater heights.
Like the Eagle, Panay News, too, has a strong vision.
“We have to evolve. We have to find other platforms aside from the actual, physical printed copy of the newspaper so the people can remain informed about important events,” Atty. Ade said.
Panay News is poised to further expand its digital presence to reach more people.
Atty. Ade acknowledged that exploring new frontiers would be a challenge but he is banking on the men and women of Panay News.
“It’s a difficult time in our national history. We are faced with an unprecedented coronavirus pandemic. Some other publishers have actually started thinking about or rethinking the existence of their publications so it’s very challenging at this time as we survive and promote still journalism in this region,” he said.
Reaching 40 years in the media industry is one greatest milestone for the management, more so for the one who founded it.
“I think masadya gid tani si DF, I think it was within his horizon, within short-term vision at that time of his passing and he was foreseeing this…I can say that had he lived to see this he would have been really a proud founder to say that it was he who actually envisioned the growth of Panay News,” Atty. Ade said.
On its 40th anniversary, Atty. Ade thanked the Ilonggos and people of Western Visayas for being partners in the growth of Panay News.
“This is an industry that has so much public interest. As we get into this new decade, as we experience life in the 2020s, I think everybody knows that journalism is very important and also part of our social, economic and political life,” he said./PN
