Campus Journalism Act of 1991: An Overview of Provisions and Loopholes

“…uphold and protect the freedom of the press even at the campus level”

“promote the development and growth of campus journalism as a means of strengthening ethical values, encouraging critical and creative thinking, and developing moral character and personal discipline of the

Filipino youth (Sec. 2)”

GENERAL PROVISIONS:

It is optional to have a publication adviser.“[The publication adviser] shall be selected by the school administration from a list of

recommendees submitted by the publication staff. (Sec. 6)”

FUNCTION: Technical guidance only (design and layout)

You are an institution. You have autonomy“A student publication is published by the student body through an editorial board and

publication staff composed of students selected by fair and competitive examinations. (Sec. 6, Student Publication)”

You must manage all operations.“Once the publication is established, its editorial board shall freely determine its editorial

policies and manage publication funds. (Sec. 4)”

You have fiscal autonomy.“In no instance shall the Department of Education, Culture and Sports or the school

administration concerned withhold the release of funds sourced from the savings of the appropriations of the respective schools and other resources intended for school publication. Subscription fees collected by the school administration shall be released automatically to the student publication concerned. (Sec. 5, Funding of Student Publication, with emphases)”

ISSUES:

The publication fund is optional.“[Funding] may include savings of the respective school’s appropriations, student subscriptions,

donations, and other sources of funds. (Sec. 5, with emphasis)”

The definition of “Publication Adviser” is rather unclear.“The function of the adviser shall be limited to one of technical guidance. (Sec. 6)”

CAMPUS PRESS FREEDOM ACT:

No administrative intervention on funds No delay, suspension and closing down Mandatory funds Clear definition of “Publication Adviser” Administrative sanctions for campus press freedom violations

RECOMMENDATIONS:

1. Work out on your permanent residency. You cana) save funds to have an office built in the campus, orb) request the administration to give you a permanent place to stay.

2. Petition for the automatic release of your funds and—in the letter—cite some relevant provisions under RA 7079, provided that you have set up a bank account. (A joint account or an account for non-profit organizations, I think this is possible)

3. Address the administration about the option of having a technical adviser (refer to Sec. 3, d) and tell them that you wish to have your technical adviser removed or that you should be given the prerogative to choose your own technical adviser only when it is necessary.

4. You have editorial policies. Revise it. Follow it.5. Improve your social media. Make it meaningful and interactional. Don’t just post pictures of

routinary events but also some short articles, commentaries, culture photos, etc. about social/local issues. You can also

a) Post a weekly comic strip just to generate views and at the same time keep them updated since they will be looking forward to any future posts. Let them know that you don’t exist when you have just published or when there is a school event. You are a publication.

b) Create venues for students to ask you tips, questions about social issues or campus life and write about them.

c) Post funny videos, short interviews, etc.6. Follow a concrete system in gathering news, information, etc.

a) Researchersb) Fact-checkerc) Writersd) Analysts

7. Reserve at least three days of hiatus before you finally send the unpublished tabloid to the publishing house. Leave it for one day then come back to it to check for errors and make final revisions. Make sure that you have scanned through all the pages for errors before you finally send it.

8. Everyone in the publications must know RA 7079 and its implementing rules and regulations by heart. It is also suggested that you review the Campus Press Freedom Act.

9. Avoid writing the same news (i.e., yearly school events, pageants, etc.). Be vigilant. Look into the details of the school operations. Be sensitive.

10. Work together as a team. Don’t let one person do one task, such as writing news. It has to be a team. As young writers we have the tendency to make a lot of mistakes even when gathering data. Sometimes it is not enough and sometimes we get too much information that most of it is no longer relevant.