Rappler: Making Journalistic Ripples through Social Change.

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It is rare to see journalists talk about what they think about what should people should or could do to change the way they think and what they act, and yesterday was one of those days.

When I saw on Rappler’s website that they will hold Move.PH’s chat series here in Manila, I was giddy and excited.. And when I saw that it will be held at the Far Eastern University, I was more determined to be there, (since it was only near LPU).

When I looked at the guest list, no superlatives can explain my feeling. The guest speaker is no less than Al Jazeera English’s Veronica Pedrosa, herself a respected career journo. For the chat session, the speakers were Patricia Evangelista, (of Storyline fame), Natashya Gutierrez and Chay Hofilena of Rappler, Then the main part, which is the chat session about Social Media for Social Change, will be discussed by Maria Ressa, The CEO and Executive Editor of Rappler. Plus the open forum moderated by no less than Probe’s par excellence, Cheche Lazaro.

It was a casting coup…. All the right people, talking about what should we do right.

 

So I registered online, got the reply e-mail, and marked the date. The day which I will see these journalistic heavies, and snag a chance to meet, take a picture or maybe even get a simple interview.

The day came, 12 January 2012, A Foreign band is holding its concert in the SMART Araneta, but I prefer to spend time with thought leaders than with noisemakers.

 

What is Rappler.com?

But you may ask me, Why did I choose to go to this event? And What is Rappler?

Because, Like ZEN Otaku Honbu, Rappler is an online news site, Their focus is more general, more complex. They are doing what no news website is doing or will be doing. They will be the new kid on the block when it comes to the big news stories that we witness before our very eyes.

What is different with Rappler is on how we will be involved when it comes to the news. They are the only news site that has a Mood meter, which, if you click, will count what do you think on the news story presented on the site. Now, there is going to be a Mood Navigator, which will come later. The Mood Navigator aggregates all the clicks from the Mood meter and, (correct me), will show the general consensus of the moods and emotions that has surfaced, or as Maria told me, “It will harness all our efforts in one place, and I think the biggest difference is that it is a hearts and minds approach to news”

 

“Age of Reference”

The event is hosted by respected journalist Glenda Gloria. For the keynote, Veronica Pedrosa told her story first as a beat reporter for ABS-CBN, then her entry in the international broadcast scene via CNN International and Al Jazeera Engish. She then quoted a study from Ad agency Ogilvy that Asians now trust social media more than traditional media, and that today, we are now entering the age of reference, not the age of deference.

Anecdotes from the start of the Arab spring uprising, to WikiLeaks, and her own personal experience during a storm in Myanmar opened up how a journalist should differentiate himself/herself in the story by not being in the story.

She also added that with technology, the power has shifted from the media moguls, barons, the establishment and the publishers to the people themselves.

“Technology, used well, has the ability to make you feel something” she said.

At the end of her speech, she noted that there will be an intense debate on credibility, and also the world is in the process of a redesign that the next decade will never be on technology, but more on the attitude on those who use it.

 

Pat Evangelista shares her stories

The First Chat Session led by Pat Evangelista, noted producer of Storyline and a former champion public speaker and Inquirer columnist (“Method to Madness”) introduced us to her mode of journalism–no, not journalism, telling stories.

She does not consider herself as a journalist, but she calls herself a storyteller, “Not everyone has a voice”, she says, but she stresses that with the stories that people will tell, people will stand up for them.

“What life can you change with the stories you tell” she reminds, adding “We know the repercussions of keeping silent. That’s why we tell the story, because silence is consent. To see it and not to say anything that means you’re okay with that. That means that, that’s the sort of universe you want to live in”

Interspersed with her session are some videos ranging from an interview with young celebrity mom Andi Eigenmann, to a Rappler story on the children of flood-ravaged Cagayan De Oro City, to the relatives of those who were massacred that fateful November day in Maguindanao in her self-produced ANC documentary “58″. Videos which document her extensive storytelling capability.

 

It’s More fun to be a Multimedia Journo

Natashya Gutierrez, (yeah, that is the spelling of her name) has a degree in an Ivy-league university, but instead of working abroad, she chose to work here in the Philippines, and yes, Work for Rappler.

Her chat session resonates so much for me and for us at ZEN because she tells us about the fun and perks of being a Multimedia Journalist,.

She says that with Multimedia Journalism, stories become more enjoyable and with more output, more skills are needed for it.

“We have the tool to be first and to be fast. There’s that pressure because there’s that ability with the iPhone,” she says.

Now, you’re wondering why am I emphasizing the iPhone, because on the course of her talk, she uses the smartphone as a nifty example of what a multimedia reporter should use, to the chagrin of everyone in the hall. Even Cheche Lazaro asked, “Is she an endorser of Apple?”

But aside from the numerous times she mentioned the iPhone, she explains that in Multimedia Journalism, you should also have this kind of thick skin like a rhino’s skin, or in Filipino, we call it “Kapal ng Mukha“. She takes on the instance where the Rappler multimedia journos did something that outdid traditional media, like the video one of their reporters took while the arrest warrant of Former President Gloria Arroyo was given inside the St. Lukes Medical Center and an official copy of the arrest warrant.

“Multimedia Journalism is revolutionary, and the news is changing, and we are part of it.” Gutierrez attests.

 

Being responsible in Social Media

Chay Hofilena, Head of Citizen Journalism arm Move.PH, now explains to us how to be responsible in social media, something that WTF Cosplayers need to have right now because of the issue regarding Don Rob’s costume, which I will explain and comment on later.

The Philippines is now one of the biggest users of social media in the world, in fact, we are the 8th largest users of Facebook, and the 2nd in Southeast Asia, adding to the fact that we are the text capital of the world, with an average billion messages sent per day.

And with that, there is a price to pay, which are the risks of social media, like broken English (wud u read dis msg in a wy lyk dis? I knw you wudn’t), a link between addiction and depression, and a startling thought that digital natives will spend more that 10,000 hours of their lives online, in between anti-social tendencies. Cyberbullying, also, is also a big risk in the world of Social media. (remember Christopher Lao? The “I was not informed” guy?)

Being responsible meant that when you post something, it goes public, no matter how private your account is, because it is the age of the screen grab. We should also mind our privacy and to choose who to friend, Avoiding inflammatory language, and NEVER FEED THE TROLLS, with a picture of Trollface to the delight of the everyone.

 

 

Rappler in Perspective

The last speaker was the Top honcho of Rappler, Maria Ressa, who speaks about Social Media for Social Change. And it was the most enlightening segment of the talk.

Ressa discussed about how Social Media can be powerful enough to change the world, as evidenced by the Arab spring protests and the Occupy protests.

With Social Media overtaking pr0n, (yes, pr0n, as in those sites you….er….) as the no. 1 activity on the web, people now have the power to change. In fact, Ressa points out, Social Media and Technology can kill traditional media like Television.

Taking the case here in the Philippines, 27 Million are on Social Media, as opposed to the 10-plus Million households Television is reaching, and these are really big numbers.

“Why are we all talking about social media? Because of these really, really big numbers,” Ressa says.

And with social media, Emotions can also run over. As proven to a study showed to the audience, 80 percent of people’s decisions are now solely based on emotions, and Social Media amplifies it. How’s that to think over?

With these premises in mind, Rappler is going to change the way we think about reporting. Backed by the experienced hands of traditional journalism with the wisdom of crowds and the power of technology. Rappler, Ressa says, is hopeful that people will move to positive and efficient action.

“We’re the social media capital of the world. Let’s use it for nation-building. Let’s use it to make our world better” Ressa concluded

 

The Open Forum with Cheche Lazaro

After the enlightening talk with Maria Ressa, the floor was now open to the open forum which was moderated by the Queen of Philippine Investigative Journalism, the Cheche Lazaro.

Of course, I wouldn’t let my voice go unnoticed, so I decided to stand up and face the people whom I Idolize. But before my turn came, I was nervous as hell, and I really was cold. But when my turn came, I really tried to introduce myself to the audience and to the speakers that I am the @knightkira on Twitter. and I am an online journalist as well from ZEN Otaku Honbu.

I asked them questions about 1. What will amateur online journos like us do to make our stories credible, factual and within the borders of Journalism ethics? and 2. I relayed them my story about the Don Rob costume thing, and I asked them on how will I teach my friends how to be responsible in Social Media.

I was happy to hear their answers, which galvanized me as a social media user, blogger and an online journalist.

 

ZEN Exclusive Talk with the Maria Ressa

After the event, we quickly grabbed the chance to interview the person responsible for the event, none other than Ressa herself, I asked her how young people can be a part of Rappler and Move.PH.

“I think the difficulties when you’re alone is that it is hard to build a large audience. One of the things Rappler will do is to give you a larger audience, if you take what you write and put it in Move.PH, there’s an audience that is there already….It’s a merging of professional and citizen journalism, in a way that acknowledges the power that we can act together, so how can you do it? Join us. Move PH is there” says Ressa.

“We believe the power is in the young, It’s in you guys! It’s not us anymore! It is not an attempt to become dinosaurs, you either join or you die.  You have fresh new eyes and that’s what the world needs.” Ressa adds.

Finally, she leaves us an advice for all anime fans who never reads or watches or even surfs to news.

“News is about what an effect on your world.. there is a bigger picture always, There’s a reason [that] they’re connected, there’s context, We can help provide that context. [so] talk about the things that are important to you,  It doesn’t have to be heavy news, it can be about… cosplay… This is all an experiment, and the key to making it work is knowing what is important to you, so bring it on!” (emphasis mine)

And after the interview, we quickly took pictures with the people behind Rappler, people who we only see on TV, or see them in print, people like Ressa, Glenda Gloria, Pat Evangelista, Chay Hofilena, and Josh Villanueva.

 

Final Thoughts and Thank Yous

Rappler’s event surely will be on my list of my top 10 events that shaped my life, and if it is not yet on the top, it could probably be on the top 5, Hearing Journalists talk about what should we do to change the world by being responsible social media users, and even as bloggers and online journos is something that is, in the risk of repeating myself, enlightening. They talk from their experience, and their shared experiences makes us really think about how should we do in the world today. We should not just be in the comforts of our own PC’s, Let us use this to think and act so that in our own little way, we will be a part of a world that we live in.

Rappler is different, Rappler is unique, Rappler is something way extraordinary. I think they are the first Online Journalism site in the world to harness technology and crowdsourcing to attract audiences and elicit what they think. The Mood Meter and Mood Navigator is different, It collates and calculates the emotions that we experience when we read and watched their stories. It is a good move, because it represents a reflection on what the online world is seeing. People get to be emotional when they read these stories, with the Mood meter, it not only allows you to participate, you are part of the collective decision making and collective emotions that run other people as well. It channels what you think, and that will channel to the people whose influence is far more greater.

 

To Maria Ressa and Rappler, Thanks, Thanks for being true believers of the power of Online Journalism, and we look forward with everything Rappler will do, because I think Rappler makes the big ripples towards a new shift in making Online Journalism part of the Journalism fraternity, opening other sites like ZEN Otaku Honbu the door towards a more balanced shift towards social media.

 

Rappler, Rap and Ripple, combined to bring a big splash in the world of Online Journalism.

Here are some of the Pictures from The Rappler Event.
 

And That’s The Way it is,

Headin’ Out!

 

Message of Thanks: Thanks to everyone at Rappler for this event, Special thanks to Maria Ressa, Chay Hofilena and Josh Villanueva, Some of the quotes were taken from Rappler’s own article of the Move Manila event here, Photos by ZEN Exec Ed JM. I’m looking forward to the next event of Rappler.com! (n.b.) this is my longest blog post ever!

Executive Editor’s Note: Please be advised that I have made some changes on this blogpost, due to privacy issues. I hope you understand.