Students flock to first leg of ‘Kapuso Campus Tour: The Regional Masterclass Series’

CEBU, Philippines — Last December 10, hundreds of students filled the Claire Isabel McGill Luce Auditorium of Silliman University in Dumaguete City to take part in the first leg of the ‘Kapuso Campus Tour: The Regional Masterclass Series’, organized by GMA Network—through its regional arm, GMA Regional TV.

In line with the Network’s 2019 election advocacy “Pusuan ang Totoo”, ‘Kapuso Campus Tour: The Regional Masterclass Series’, saw some of today’s most talented Kapuso personalities sharing their thoughts on various topics—from mobile journalism to choosing the country’s next leaders in this digital age.

Award-winning broadcast journalist Atom Araullo, who banners the monthly documentary program ‘The Atom Araullo Specials’, discussed among the participants the process of documentary-making. The ‘I-Witness’ host shared what it is like to be a millennial journalist as well, adjusting to digital demands without sacrificing the traditional fact-checking rigors of journalism.

Imparting valuable lessons on mobile journalism was GMA News’ senior social media producer Audrey Domasian. She also shared how it is to navigate through the so-called fake news culture.

Meanwhile, championing the YOLO (You Only Live Once) attitude was GMA Network scholar and GMA Network Excellence Award (GNEA) finalist Eleazar Del Rosario, who is now the executive producer of public affairs program Tadhana. Del Rosario shared with the audience his experience about being young and striving for excellence and how a YOLO attitude can be a golden opportunity to achieve one’s goals in life.

For Rahiema Guerra, starting at the local level is key to building global communities. The AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines President talked about establishing global communities through intercultural programs.

Capping off the series of discussions was GMA RTV’s Balitang Bisdak anchor Cecille Quibod-Castro. She explained how RTV’s belief that “local news matters” has been their guiding principle in their everyday operations of serving nine million homes or 45 million viewers via all GMA Regional TV newscasts—namely Balitang Amianan, Balitang Bisdak, One Western Visayas, and One Mindanao.

“The Kapuso Campus Tour is a proud initiative of GMA Network's Regional TV, in synergy with GMA News and Public Affairs, GMA Network Excellence Awards (GNEA), GMA News Online, and AFS Intercultural Programs Philippines, and in partnership with seven of the country's top universities,” says GMA Regional TV Vice President and Head Oliver Amoroso, who is an alumnus of Siliman University.

“I remember very well, even if we were considered far from Manila in terms of distance, we were far from being detached from the dramatic turn of events. Many thanks to media news reports then, we became deeply aware of the issues and changes going on in the national governance. Of course, there was no Facebook, Instagram or any social media at all—and things like fake news were alien concepts to us. Nevertheless, it wasn't hard to realize how important it was to be well-informed about current events and issues facing our communities and country,” he adds.

“And as we now enter another election season, GMA Network, through the Kapuso Campus Tour, joins in the conversation on voting and other relevant issues in this digital age. This is still part of the Network’s election advocacy campaign, ‘Pusuan ang Totoo’–a call to stand for what is true; to fight against corruption and disinformation, and to choose leaders who will truly serve the country,” ends Amoroso.