Campus Journalism: Opportunity for deeper learning

A new dawn for young journalists has come!

This week, on February 5-6, 2024, DepEd Manito District has launched district-wide campus
journalism training-workshop among young writers and school paper advisers, an activity to enhance
journalistic skills necessary for holistic learning.

Initially, the activity paves the beginning of new learning experiences, supportive of the mandate
encapsulated in Republic Act No. 7079 also known as “The Campus Journalism Act of 1991”. Most of the
facilitators emphasized that a writer must be well-informed, critical thinker, a passionate writer and a
wide reader.

In fact, in a study of (Blessedy in 2019), the findings showed that several factors greatly affect
the performance of the student-journalist in journalistic competitions particularly lack of trainings,
seminars and colloquiums. It was also found that students’ willingness and courage to compete
contributes to this problem. Moreover, teachers of journalism subject must attend extra trainings and
seminars regarding the modern trend of the said field.

Amidst the challenges and problems revolving the implementation of campus journalism, its
impact leaves significant opportunities among student-writers. Moreover, learners were able to express
creative ideas, make informative articles, create personal views or sound judgment with their journeys
and exposure in joining campus journalism. Additionally, it serves a training ground for students who
wish to pursue journalism as a career. The campus or the school paper is vital not just it exposes budding
journalist to what goes on in the newsroom but also through it, students were honed to have good
interpersonal skills (Danny 2019).

Indeed, campus journalism calls for greater support from DepEd and school officials. It needs to
be funded with enough budget to accommodate and train potential writers. A push to inspire more
participants building their new perspectives towards future-proof and life-long learning. True enough,
joining a journey in campus journalism is always a win-win solution for deeper learning.