Opinion

A newspaper and a family

BREAKTHROUGH - Elfren S. Cruz - The Philippine Star

July 28, 2016 | 12:00am

Yellow is the dominant color of the logo and masthead of the Philippine STAR. Yellow is also the symbolic color of the EDSA People Power Revolution. It is not a coincidence that both share the same color.

All great newspapers all over the world are associated with the stories of a family dynasty that has made the newspaper true to its traditions and heritage. The stories of these newspaper families have often become part of a nation’s history because they have, through their publications, influenced public opinion.

Take the United States. The New York Times was acquired by Adolph Ochs in 1896. Today, the Ochs descendants – the Ochs-Sulzberger family - still maintain management control of the publication. The newspaper has become the most influential publication in the United States especially among the liberal and progressive groups in American society.

Rupert Murdoch and his children control several publications – Wall Street Journal, New York Post, London Times – which have become the most influential opinion makers among conservative groups.

In the Philippines, the most influential families in media before martial law were Joaquin “Chino” Roces (Manila Times); Teodoro Locsin Sr. (Philippines Free Press); and Eugenio Lopez Jr. (Manila Chronicle).

The history of the Philippine STAR can only be appreciated by knowing the story of the Go-Belmonte family and their heritage of courageous journalism. It began with the Fookien Times, a daily Chinese language newspaper founded in Manila in 1896 by Dee C. Chuan and Go Puan Seng. Go would become the publisher and editor in chief of the newspaper.

Before the Second World War, Go became very critical of the imperialistic ambitions of the Japanese Empire. Through the Fookien Times, he called for the boycott of Japanese products . During the Japanese Occupation, Go and his family had to hide in the mountains of the Sierra Madre.

After the Second World War, the Fookien Times resumed publication. Go also started grooming his daughter – Betty Go – to become his heir in managing the newspaper. The newspaper became very critical of the administration of Ferdinand Marcos. After Marcos declared martial law in 1972, one of the many newspapers forced to close by the government was the Fookien Times. While Go went into exile in Canada, the daughter, now Betty Go Belmonte, remained in the Philippines and continued to operate the printing press.

Betty Go Belmonte actively supported the presidential campaign of Corazon Aquino. The Fookien Times printing press was used to print some of Cory’s campaign materials. Also, in 1985, Betty Go-Belmonte, Max Soliven and Eugenia Apostol founded the Philippine Daily Inquirer which immediately became the leading independent publication at that time. This was another act of courage because the nation was still under Marcos rule.

After the EDSA Revolution, on July 28, 1986, Betty Go Belmonte and Max Soliven decided to start their own paper – The Philippine STAR. The headline story of the first issue of the Philippine STAR was about the death of 22-year-old Steven Rodriguez who was beaten to death by some Marcos loyalists just because he was wearing yellow. There was a photograph of a mob beating Rodriguez to death and the headline: “Wear Yellow and Die.”

Today, the future of newspapers is being widely debated. The closure of many publications has generated a fear that we are seeing the end of newspapers. It is widely believed that technological change and the increasing use of the Internet will change the reading habits of most newspaper buyers.

But even though there is the seeming crisis, the newspaper business has actually become more popular. According to the New Yorker’s economics writer James Surowiecki: “The peculiar fact about the current crisis is that even as big papers have become less profitable they’ve arguably become more popular.”

Here is the ranking of the top 15 global news sites: Yahoo News; Google News; Huffington Post; CNN; New York Times; Fox News; NBC News; Mail Online; Washington Post; The Guardian; Wall Street Journal; ABC News; BBC News; USA Today; Los Angeles Times. Six of the top news sites are newspapers.

Newspapers may well become a hybrid of part print and part Internet for the foreseeable future. Even major Philippine newspapers, like the Philippine STAR, now have both print and digital editions. I have noticed that I am now getting a lot of response from people who have read the online editions of my column. I also realize that many readers access my column through my Facebook account or have read them from someone who shared it through their own FB accounts.

The world is becoming more digital but I do not believe that it is technology that will determine whether newspapers will remain vital to people’s lives or become irrelevant. Different people read newspapers – on paper or in digital form – for different reasons. In a democracy and whenever there is freedom of speech, the press will always be the mirror of society. Perhaps the role of print journalists will evolve. Michael Stephens calls for a “turn toward wisdom journalism that will take more evaluative, investigative, informed and possibly even opinionated stance.” But there will always remain one constant – that a democracy will always need an efficient and fearless press.

This week we celebrate the 30th anniversary of the Philippine STAR. May it never forget the tradition and heritage that its founders left as a legacy to the Filipino people.