Romancing the Showbiz

His readers and fans may hardly even imagine it, but The STAR’s entertainment editor Ricardo “Ricky” Lo would’ve now been in a white soutane holding a chalice and preaching the word of God had he not discovered his passion for writing.

As an altar server for most of his childhood, Ricky Lo almost entered the seminary in his hometown in Calbayog City, Samar to become a priest. “I was a sacristan since Grade 1 and until I finished Grade 6. I served in church everyday, and until now, I still know how to say the Lord’s Prayer in Latin,” he recalls.

Thankfully for his legions of readers, it wasn’t too late until he realized that there was another mission he wanted to fulfill in life.

Ricky Lo, who handles the print industry’s No. 1 entertainment section and pens the much-sought-after Funfare column in The STAR, proclaims a different gospel these days as an eyewitness to and expert on the world of entertainment and celebrities.

His taking this direction shouldn’t come as a surprise. “Even as a small kid, I was already fond of reading, which eventually made me discover my own knack for writing. The urge to write just came naturally for me,” he enthuses.

In high school, he contributed short stories, poetry and other literary pieces to magazines. This became his training ground until he eventually found a bigger venue in which to perfect his craft after finishing AB English at the University of the East.

“Writing is an inclination. One does not really have to take up journalism or any specific course in writing because even an engineer can write very well. Nick Joaquin didn’t even finish college,” he says.

The vocabulary of showbiz

Instead of the pulpit, his destiny took him to the glamorous world of showbiz and entertainment. He says, “I’m a movie fan at heart in the sense that I love movies unlike others who just run up to the stars, although I have my own favorite stars. You have to be a movie fan at heart when you’re writing about movies.”

Ricky Lo claimed that he was a big movie buff even in his younger years. But his earnest admiration for his favorite celebrities like Susan Roces was part of the reason why he landed in this field of his career. He even recalls, “My dream when I was in high school when we were still living in Tabaco, Albay was to be Susan’s gardener when I go to Manila so I could be with her every day. When I tell this story to Susan these days, she laughs about it.”

But of course, he didn’t become the gardener of this well-admired and respected actress. Instead, his writing and interest in the movies landed him a job in different well-known publications, eventually establishing himself as the legendary entertainment journalist that he is now.

In all fairness

Way before celebrities got engaged in Twitter wars and the rise of paparazzi bloggers, Ricky Lo’s name was already the trusted source of showbiz scoops and critic of movies and other entertainment programs. His Funfare columnremains unrivaled. Online social networking communities have started to become a channel where celebrities and paparazzi tweet or post about the latest celebrity controversies, from breakups to young actresses getting pregnant. 

Nevertheless, Ricky Lo still gets to break the stories first on today’s hottest personalities, not only in showbiz but even in the realm of politics and sports. But feeding the fans with these exclusive stories is not the reason for his reputation for reliability. For him, sticking to the truth and showing respect to his subjects are still the top rules in entertainment journalism.

“Once they trust you, they’re going to talk to you about their personal lives and even the most personal things. And they wouldn’t even ask you to put it off the record because they already know that you know what to write about and what to omit from your conversation with them,” he explains.

Despite the image of the entertainment press in the country, he makes sure that he doesn’t appear intrusive to the lives of popular figures and that he doesn’t malign their reputation. “Basic values learned from home such as honesty, truthfulness, respect and goodwill toward other people are really important. If you have all these values intact, then you wouldn’t have a hard time dealing with challenges and temptations, like the fear of getting corrupted,” he suggests.

All his years in the business, Ricky Lo should be proud to say that he was never directly sued for a libel case.

However, it always pays to humble without risking his own integrity as a journalist. He says, “No journalist is infallible. If you make mistakes, part of your credibility is the humility to clarify yourself and let the other party be heard and make the necessary correction.Never retract from what you wrote. Because once you retract from what you wrote, your credibility will be destroyed and that’s the end of you as a journalist.”

Even as the younger generations of journalists come out and as technology keeps producing a new medium for information and entertainment, Ricky Lo believes that traditional journalistic ethics and standards should always exist.

And even as newer trends keep coming out and outmode the existing ones, he will continue fulfilling his lifelong mission in The STAR and the entire industry of providing fair and ethical journalism.