A FACULTY of Arts and Letters (Artlets) professor and Varsitarian alumnus was given the Catholic Mass Media Award (CMMA) for Best Business Column last Oct. 22 at the Henry Lee Irwin Theater at the Ateneo de Manila.
Prof. Ramon Osorio’s column, “Commonness,” appears every Wednesday in the Business Life section of the Philippine Star.
CMMA recognizes people’s excellence in mass media and honors their ability to touch lives by emphasizing the love of God, love of humanity, and the fellowship between other people.
“It actually came as a big surprise for me kasi 10 months pa lang ako sa Star tapos I’m the only Philippine Star awardee,” he said.
Though, according to him, his column is about marketing issues with an “unbusiness-like approach” similar to a lifestyle feature, it was named a good business column based on the CMMA criteria.
Osorio added that the University played the biggest role in his CMMA award.
“My writing training mostly happened in UST. I started as a Flame (Artlets’ journal) staffer during my freshman year, then eventually became a Varsitarian staffer. I had a good training in UST. Also, I think the school has given all the spiritual guidance and strength to the students,” he said.
Osorio finished Communication Arts in UST in 1974 and took his master’s degree in Business Administration at Ateneo de Manila University (ADMU). He heads Campaigns and Grey, one of the country’s top advertising firms.
He has been teaching in UST for 19 years and has also taught in UP-Diliman, ADMU, Assumption College, and St. Paul College-Manila.
He also chaired the Department of Communications for 18 years until 2000. Elka Krystle R. Requinta
