Capitol PIO enhances use of new media

CEBU, Philippines - The Capitol Public Information Office enhanced the use of social media in a recently concluded series of weekly seminars on News and Feature Writing and Social Media Blast which started in April this year.

Attended by PIO officers and staff, the speakers and coach of the seminar were Philippine Information Agency (PIA) 7 Regional Director Minerva Newman and PIA’s Information Officer Rachelle Nessia who gave inputs on journalistic technique, particularly reporting techniques with substantive output.

Topics include insights and the changing array of social media, how to analyze its usefulness and how to achieve success.

They lead a hands-on session of how to use social platforms for tips, newsgathering tools to source new stories, and also the ethical use of social media through the use of web-based and mobile-based technologies to turn communication into an interactive and engaging dialogue between communities and individuals.

Participants learned the use of some popular social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, WordPress and others.

The seminar was not only intended for the writers of Cebu Monthly and Cebu TV, but for all employees, on-the-job trainees (OJTs) and interns assigned at Capitol PIO.

The seminar was also designed as an opportunity for the PIO staff to learn and boost their knowledge and skills in order for them to multitask whenever necessary.

The activity was part of the revitalization of the province’s TV channel and the official publication.

Early this year, the P3 million PIO Building located near the CFI Building in the Capitol compound was inaugurated.

The Cebu PIO will provide free wi-fi service and some equipment for the local and out-of-town media to use.

Recognizing the important role of information officers of the local government units around the province in local governance and development, the PIO has reconnected with the Cebu Association of City and Municipal Public Information Officers (Caocampio). (FREEMAN)