EDITORIAL - Relevance is staying power

The FREEMAN is 91 years old today, that is, counting from the first day it was first published in 1919. The great significance of this moment is that the countdown begins for the final decade toward this venerable newspaper's first century.

But there are great significances that litter every page of any great story other than just the count from the beginning. And this newspaper has an ample inventory of such significant moments, moments that, taken together make up what The FREEMAN is all about.

For instance, The FREEMAN 's 91-year-old existence is not one uninterrupted continuum of dedicated community journalism. The newspaper that then assemblyman Paulino Gullas founded as a tri-lingual publication in 1919 actually ceased publication during the war.

But this great paper was not destined to vanish into forever just like the others that sprouted during the turn of the 20th Century. In 1965, Jose "Dodong" Gullas, a nephew of Paulino, decided to revive The FREEMAN, first as a magazine, and eventually into the daily it is today.

Dodong may not have known it at the time. But his revival of The FREEMAN was probably the first manifestation of a revivalist streak in him that was to surface many years later, as in his efforts to revive interest in Cebuano arts and culture, particularly Cebuano music.

It may be significant to note that the old FREEMAN building, where the newspaper made the first shift to modern publication from the old methods of printing, now houses the Halad Museum where Dodong houses Cebuano musical and cultural artifacts and memorabilia.

The FREEMAN of today dates its existence back to the day of its first publication. That is the way of all things. We always hark back to our birth, to our beginning. But the process of growing, the steps taken, the challenges met, all make up the significances that make it alive.

From the day Dodong revived The FREEMAN, it has since been 45 years. Before the paper reaches its first century, a short nine years away, it shall also have been half-century under Dodong who, for the most part since its revival, almost single-handedly kept the paper alive.

Like most other things, The FREEMAN had its great moments of excellence. But it also had its unfortunate shortcomings. Yet through all the challenges it faced, Cebu's oldest newspaper, drawing strength and confidence from its public, never faltered in its main mission.

Modern technologies may have removed newspapers from being the main source of news and information in the world. And Cebuanos, as well as the rest of the people in the Visayas, where this paper also circulates, have found other mediums to tap, such as television and the Internet.

Yet The FREEMAN continues to evolve into an institution, devolving its brand of public service into other functions, some of which are not even newspaper-related, such as The FREEMAN Foundation, which provides medical, civic and educational assistance where most needed.

And through all the years, The FREEMAN has been the favorite training ground for aspiring journalists from all over the Visayas, as well serving as the springboard for the launching of great journalistic careers. Many great media personalities in Cebu have had some history with us.

But man cannot dictate the way of all things. So Dodong, probably obeying his revivalist instincts, projected The FREEMAN well into the future. In 2004, he entered into a strategic partnership with Miguel Belmonte and the Philippine Star Group, the country's biggest.

The partnership launched The FREEMAN into a position where it can effectively meet the great and often unpredictable challenges posed by a rapidly changing world where the newspaper industry faces a serious challenge from wireless technology.

Still, for as long as newspapers stay relevant in people's lives, your FREEMAN will be there. The FREEMAN is not just Cebu's story you read in daily installments. It is also the untold stories of nearly 200 men and women who put it together, day and night, year after year.