"Kaplag Manunulat: A Content Writing and Digital Publishing Webinar" is an online forum that educates communicators and aspiring media practitioners on topics about media and content writing as well as digital publishing. The guest speakers were Berchan Louie Angchay, a military journalist and former ABS-CBN reporter, Jomari Valdez, an employee of Sun Star Davao and a former UM-Multimedia Arts Professor, and lastly Ace Perez, a journalist, and digital content editor. The webinar was available in Zoom and was also streamed via Facebook Live on May 11, 2021.
This webinar has been very informative especially for Communication students like me. It has educated me in areas I don't know about most significantly in areas that were out of my expertise. The first speaker Angchay, has reminded me how to effectively deliver information in every article. He discussed how essential the 5Ws and 1H are in content writing. His being a military journalist obviously adds pressure as his job is a lot more crucial than the usual journalist.
Though not just in the military, acquiring a credible source of information is a must in all fields of journalism. The fact that people expect the most accurate information, it is our job to provide facts and clear details. Angchay also asserted that grammar and spelling are strictly observed in content writing. Well, I think I don't need to explain them further. Moreover, Angchay emphasized avoiding flowery words. I definitely agree with this because when you right, there's no need to lengthen the story, you just have to be straight to the point for the message to be clear. He also shared some tips about visual storytelling and then proceeded to answer some questions.
On the second part of the webinar, the guest speaker was Jomari Valdez. He discussed the challenges the traditional print media had come to face in the epoch of modern technology.
It is obvious that most people nowadays no longer buy newspapers to read news and current events. They'll just go straight to Facebook and Youtube or choose to read news articles uploaded online. It is indeed more convenient to read or watch the news on the internet, however, it does not make print media any less when it comes to providing information. As we all know, fake news has been rampant nowadays due to fast-paced articles. News sites have been competing in terms of speed in uploading articles hence to be the first to upload the news, most information contains flaws and errors.
Valdez said the although there is a drop in circulation of the print media, he emphasized that print is not dead. He mentioned that print media are trying to re-invent themselves hence create a multi-platform newsroom. He also added that we should focus on journalism and not the medium because people will always want to read, watch, or hear a true quality story.
The last speaker Ace Perez taught us about web design. He emphasized how important the role of a writer is in web designing. According to him, web designing requires brainstorming which is why writers portray a significant role in terms of planning.
He then mentioned how content creations work. It was said that the content must engage readers in order to drive them to take action that's necessary to fulfill the site's goal. Hence, the content must be able to reach the target audience in a way that they could relate to the message and apply it to their own lives.
As Valdez ran out of time to discuss furthermore, he concluded in his discussion that a good web design must be clear, interesting, and helps users consume content. Thus, although web design is a bit complicated to understand and takes time to master, I still find it really interesting.
Overall, the whole webinar has greatly provided me a lot of substantial information in the matters of content writing, digital publishing, and web designing. I really feel grateful to be given the free opportunity to attend a very educational virtual discussion. Kudos to all the speakers and people behind the webinar!
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