MILLENNIALS – those born between 1981 and 1996, according to the Washington, D.C.-based Pew Research Center – belong to a generation shaped by technology as they came of age during the internet explosion.
With technology, specifically mobile devices, placing almost all sorts of information right at their fingertips, it is no surprise that many of them have become accustomed to the convenience of modern means of access to facts – most especially news.
Here they share their sources of news, what kinds of stories they engage in (share, comment on, react to), the social media platforms they use, and their outlook on the journalism industry.
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GELINE JOY SAMILLANO, 28
Paralegal
Jaro, Iloilo City
The internet is my source of news. Amid the demands of my job, reading news online is very convenient. Everything these days are on the web. But I read local and national newspapers in our library when I was still a Law student. I spend at least 30 minutes of my study time to read the news.
My news consumption depends on what’s trending, the hot topic. I read various sources for me to have a grasp of the issue. This way, I get to understand better. Some facts or details can be found in one source but not in another. This has been this way for some four years already.
I’m on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and LinkedIn. But I get more news from Facebook and Twitter. I commonly engage in stories on politics, current events and, on rare occasions, entertainment. Politics, especially Philippine politics, is as interesting as it is often misconstrued. Entertainment news give me a breather.
If I must choose between traditional or new media, I’d choose the latter. Like I mentioned earlier, it is convenient – I can comfortably sift through pages from multiple news outlets pertaining to the same story. The only reservation I have is with the proliferation of “fake news.”
The journalism industry is dynamic and evolving. I believe it is a powerful industry, one that shapes public opinion, affects people’s lives. Thus, it must not deviate from being fact-based and impartial. It shouldn’t sensationalize stories just to gather more viewers and readers.
The news media should pay more attention to politics. They should expose those who use their position for personal benefit. The media has the responsibility to expose wrongdoings so the public may correct them come election time.
ALLYN MAY CANJA, 28
Freelance web designer and content creator, law student
Iloilo City
Aside from the news big media companies post on Facebook and Twitter, I’m subscribed to a few international outfits with free subscription. I normally look at Trending Topics Worldwide and search for those that interest me, like “Supreme Court,” “Senate” or “House of Representatives,” because I’m sure there is new class-related information that I must know.
Every day I read three to five news articles online, mostly news features in long form. Dealing with a busy schedule, I read the news even when I’m in the restroom. Three to five restroom breaks could mean the same number of articles read. When I can, I read a newspaper from cover to cover because news are normally short and straightforward, which I like.
I like how convenient Twitter and its Trending Topics are. I love updates on various news topics, especially politics. I also use Reddit if I want to know what other people think about the news.
Aside from politics, my News Feed is all about pop culture news and art updates. Normally I do not share news a lot of others are already sharing. I’m very careful with discussions online. When I comment, I make sure I have sources and I’m posting facts.
I’m an advocate of print but I agree that news – especially those about the general public welfare – should be put out there in real-time and for the widest reach it can possibly have.
I believe the journalism industry is currently undergoing a critical transition. Traditional mediums are deemed with more integrity yet the new ones are more beneficial and efficient to use. And many people fall in the gap between the truth and “fake news” because the journalism industry has yet to bridge that gap.
Everyone must know the facts. I would like to read more straightforward news. That means less hate-mongering, biased and sensationalized news.
BERNARDO ARELLANO III, 32
Project Coordinator, National Commission for Culture and the Arts’ Philippine Registry of Cultural Property
Pavia, Iloilo
Mainstream and established media are my sources of news, and I also read alternative news sites for a different perspective. But I am cautious, wary of the biases of the writer or author.
I’ve been exposed to news for as long as I can remember. When I was a kid, I watch the 6 o’clock and 10 o’clock news on TV, I prefer broadsheets to tabloids, and AM stations are a necessity during natural calamities since battery-operated radios continuously broadcast news even when the electricity is cut.
I’m on Facebook, Twitter and Instagram, mostly on Facebook where I’m subscribed to my traditional and alternative sources. But I get on-the-spot news from Twitter, where users tend to deliver the “first sign of events,” like fires or earthquakes.
I normally engage mostly in stories about regional development and culture. My opinion on politics I keep to myself, given the monstrosity of social media trolls. But I’m scaling down my engagements on news stories. Social media has become toxic. I thought I’m just adding up to the noise already, somehow, devastating our online experience.
Like everything else, the journalism industry is imperfect. It is vulnerable to its environment. It has biases even if it says it’s being “objective.” I personally have reservations with mainstream media, especially their Editorials (I guess it stemmed out of experience). In our historiography class we were taught that “there can never be an impartial, unbiased history because writers have their own biases.” The same applies to journalism.
I like a balance of good and not-so-good news, especially from the regions, so I won’t wish for media to prioritize certain topics over another. Just go ahead and deliver the news – but enough of the Editorials.
ADELLE PACIFICAR, 32
High school teacher
Iloilo City
Facebook pages of radio stations are my sources of news these days. I rarely go to the Facebook pages or websites of national newspapers. I don’t know why really.
I just use Facebook all the time. It’s a double-edged sword – very convenient and quite a hassle at the same time.
Education, art, reflections on local arts and culture – these are the news topics that commonly engage me. They lighten up my timeline. Haha! I also let my students check them out so we can discuss them in class.
If I must choose between print and online, I think would still choose both. Some people do not have access to the internet.
I think the local press should give more attention to stories that will make the nonreading public read and think.
KRISTOFFER GEORGE BRASILEÑO, 28
Visual artist
Janiuay, Iloilo
I mostly read news online from sites like Time.com, NYTimes.com and HufftingtonPost.com. I think they provide well-written stories that are readable and relevant. Locally I’m a fan of the Philippine Daily Inquirer because of their opinion writers. In Iloilo I have access to newspapers like Panay News because of my father who buys them regularly.
I don’t have television. Not a fan. I deliberately shun it. I do own a transistor radio I tune in to programs on RMN, Aksyon Radyo or Bombo Radyo. I also follow these radio stations’ Facebook accounts.
I’m an intermittent newspaper reader but whenever I get my hands on one I make sure to read from cover to cover. I write down important points or quote them on social media. I keep small notebook for interesting stories for future references.
I use Facebook for marketing and news reading. On Instagram I upload images, also for marketing, and follow artists for references. I engage in posts about politics, religion, history, and science. The more informative the stories are, the more time I spend reading them.
If I must choose between online and print, I’d choose the latter. I collect magazines, publications and, for some time, newspaper clippings. For me the advantage of print is that its contents are well-edited and go through several levels of review.
Quality journalism must be applauded in the era of “fake news” and unreliable content. It should be given utmost attention and funding that it deserves. Sometimes important decisions of national or international scale depend on good journalism.
More attention must be given to investigative journalism and less attention to write-ups that serve the interest of only a select group of people./PN
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This article was first published in print on April 6, 2018.
