
STUDENT JOURNALISTS must embrace their truth-telling role ahead of the 2025 midterm elections, veteran journalists said during the 26th Inkblots campus journalism conference on Jan. 11.
John Nery, Rappler columnist and editorial consultant, stressed that the campus press is not mere “pretend journalism” but is a significant form of reporting especially in a period as critical as the elections.
“How can it be a catalyst of truth if it’s not real journalism?” Nery said during his lecture on opinion and editorial writing on Jan. 11. “Student journalism is real journalism. Your issues are real issues. Your world is the real world.”
He stressed that the campus press’s scope extends beyond the school.
“It is not only a hub for what is happening in our campuses […] but it should also serve as a public square for the larger communities around us. And that includes local governments — that is where our responsibility lies in the 2025 elections,” he added.
Political journalist and Inkblots founder Christian Esguerra encouraged campus journalists to leverage digital tools to strengthen their election coverage.
“You are living in the best and the worst of times when it comes to digital technology and I would like to focus on the best of times because you have a lot of opportunities to make use of your platforms,” Esguerra said in his keynote address.
He also advocated for more empowering narratives, urging journalists to abandon the condescending “bobotante” (stupid voters) framing in election reporting.
“Masyadong mataas ‘yong dinedemand natin sa mga Filipino na maraming pinoproblema because of their situations,” he said. “Why not empower the conversation? And this should be initiated by people with means — kayo. Tayo.”
READ: Drop ‘bobotante’ narrative, campus journalists urged during Inkblots
PhilStar.com chief editor Camille Diola said the campus press is a microcosm of larger reporting environments, both bearing responsibilities to their respective communities.
“What we can learn about today is having to not just run a digital newsroom, but having to capture an audience using the tools and platforms at your disposal as reporters, as editors, as multimedia specialists in a campus publication,” Diola said.
She highlighted the importance of shaping journalism’s future with intention and purpose.
“To continue to adapt to the digital era, we have to shape it with purpose, creativity, commitment, and truth,” she said. “We will shape the future with how much we’re shaping it now.”
Nestor Cuartero, a Manila Bulletin entertainment columnist and former Varsitarian editor, reminded journalists to safeguard their credibility and morality, which he said are the values that set journalists apart.
“Remember that our biggest advantage over social media is the credibility that we wield,” Cuartero said during his lecture on feature writing, which featured a mock press conference with MMFF Best Supporting Actor nominee Kokoy de Santos.
The Varsitarian’s 26th Inkblots, themed “Campus Press as a Catalyst for Truth in the 2025 Elections,” gathered nearly 300 fellows from over 40 schools and publications nationwide.