Ang Dabawenyo

The last time I was in Tagaytay was in 2005 when I found myself with the country’s IT industry movers and shakers, and the purpose was to formulate the Philippine Software Industry Roadmap. Now I’m back, and it’s for another conference. This time it’s MediaNation5.2.

MediaNation is an annual event wherein journalists come together and discuss issues and trends that affect their profession. I was invited to contribute what I can about new media. I will give a talk tomorrow about how blogging and other forms of new media are impacting Philippine media today.

I feel privileged to be among the country’s top media organizations. Today during the first day’s activities, I had the chance to mingle with the shapers of Philippine news and opinion, and it’s certainly been very eye-opening. As well, the experience is reaffirming my belief that Manila-based journalists and news organizations lack a certain appreciation or sensitivity of what the real deal is in Mindanao.

You see, this year’s MediaNation conference (it’s actually the second in 2008) focuses on Mindanao, and the apparent lack of in-depth coverage allotted to issues emanating out of the island. It is good that the country’s media gatekeepers are now talking about this: how can Mindanao be afforded more airtime as well as column space in mainstream media outlets? Also: what are the obligations of mainstream media in portraying the true images of Mindanao?

This runs parallel to the objectives we’ve set for ourselves in the Mindanao Bloggers community. In fact, I was asked to join this conference (which is an invite-only affair) as the convenor of our unique bloggers’ community.

There are many more representatives from Mindanao media outlets present. And this is a good thing because, this way, Manila-based media practitioners can certainly get man-on-the-street points of view of what’s really going on in Mindanao.

Although there are no expectations that the conference will have a direct bearing on behavioral changes among media practitioners, I do hope that the new knowledge about, and appreciation for, Mindanao that the participants acquire will somehow influence how they report our issues and concerns in the Philippine South.