MGCNLCA Campus Journalists Attend Lifenews’ Annual Journalism Workshop

For the fourth straight year, MGC New Life Christian Academy’s (MGCNLCA) Lifenews held its annual journalism workshop last August 3 to further improve the journalistic prowess of its staffers.

With the theme “AI-mpact: Finding Joy in the Digital Age of Journalism,” the workshop consisted of three different sessions focused on reviving the love for journalism in today’s digital age. 

Manila Standard Managing Editor Joyce Pañares spoke about “The Impact of Artificial Intelligence (AI) on Journalism,” teaching the students ways to keep news trustworthy, unbiased, and interesting amidst the prevalence of AI. The veteran journalist explained some key factors of excellent newspaper writing and design, highlighting legibility, information, and style. She provided tips on writing straightforward articles, reminding the students to look out for biases and to double-check their sources.

Pañares, who also teaches journalism at UP Diliman, discussed the different types of information disorder and how AI is used to spread wrong information, which, in the process, affects journalism as a whole. At the end of her talk, Pañares stressed the importance of submitting on time as late articles are no longer relevant, adding that “the deadline is the most sacred thing” to a journalist. She capped her talk with a news writing workshop and critique session with the writers of the News, Opinion, Features, Sports, Science, Daloy, and Chinese sections.

Meanwhile, the Photojournalism section had a separate session with Ashley Go, an MGCNLCA alumna and former The LaSallian photographer. The Layout and Cartoon sections, on the other hand, were mentored by college arts teacher John Asher Maramara.

The workshop ended with a breakout session among the different sections. Former Lifenews Editor-in-Chief Sophie Chu and Opinion Section Editor Jasmine Uy-Ching spoke to the Science and Opinion sections, respectively, while the rest of the sections were facilitated by their own section advisers and editors.