By Angel R. Calso | Opinion & Social Media Editor
Excellent journalism makes good business, and strong partnerships with stakeholders can fuel growth. That’s what BusinessMirror Publisher T. Anthony C. Cabangon constantly preaches. As we mark our 11th birthday anniversary, the challenge for us is how to make sure we always stay at the top of our game and how to unlock greater business potentials in an emerging collaborative economy.
In this business where the art of storytelling is how we make sense of the world and how we distinguish ourselves from competitors, we must establish our reputation beyond truthful and balanced news reporting. We must constantly endeavor to stay relevant to deserve the continued patronage of our readers and advertisers. What better way to serve our stakeholders than by forging strong partnerships and alliances with them?
The past years saw us thrive on collaborative endeavors. For example, the BusinessMirror was named the official media partner of the Asia-Pacific Economic Cooperation (Apec) 2015 CEO Summit. As leaders from the Apec economies gathered in Manila, the BusinessMirror was there to tell the delegates what’s going on in the Philippines and what’s fueling the country’s growth. We have documented how the participation of government officials and business leaders in Apec’s global stage has led to the streamlining of the country’s economic policies. We know we have done our part to help attract trade and investments in the years to come.
In August the BusinessMirror partnered with the European Chamber of Commerce of the Philippines to stage a well-attended forum on federalism. The event comes at a time when most of our national leaders are starting to echo President Duterte’s mantra: We have to change our form of government. As our publisher said, “We owe this to our stakeholders. We want big business and industry leaders to know how the Duterte administration’s federalism initiatives will affect the business sector. We don’t want to just be content reporting the news. We also want to create a newsworthy event that we can bring to our readers firsthand.”
He added: “Several groups have come to us to discuss possible partnerships for this kind of public forum. And BusinessMirror will not say no to these noble endeavors. The business community and the public, in general, deserve to have these types of forum to get information firsthand from our policy-makers and thought-leaders, and also get the chance to air their concerns and ask questions during the open forum. So I’m inviting you, should you wish to use the BusinessMirror as your information vehicle and partner in a public forum like this, I promise you—as the publisher of the BusinessMirror—I will personally meet with you to discuss how we can make our collaboration succeed.”
The BusinessMirror recently partnered with Unilab/RiteMed/United Bayanihan Foundation to recognize exceptional civic organizations and senior-citizen associations that are tirelessly coming up with beneficial programs for the elderly through the annual Dakilang Adhikain ng Ating Lahi Awards.
To supplement the paper’s content with a selection of articles from other news organizations, the BusinessMirror has partnered with global brands such as The New York Times and the Harvard Business Review. We know that each of our partners brings a different set of values, resources and competencies to the table. The challenge for us is to distill these diverse contributions and offer them as a complete set of concepts useful to our readers and advertisers.
Our annual offering, Turning Points, is the original year-ahead licensed magazine by The New York Times. It features exclusive content from globally recognized voices who share their perspectives on how our world and our lives may change in the coming year and beyond. The BusinessMirror adds local content to create a bespoke magazine that targets Philippine readers and advertisers.
For readers seeking insight on global business trends and guidance on how to live and work better, BusinessSense, our weekly offering, provides analysis, ideas and commentary from Harvard Business Review, The Economist and The New York Times. From time to time, the BusinessMirror customizes each publication with original content that resonates with our readers.
We are proud to note that our brand of journalism is being appreciated and recognized. The BusinessMirror won the Asean Champion of Biodiversity Award for being the only newspaper in the world with a biodiversity page. The award was given by the Asean Centre for Biodiversity on November 26, 2014. The BusinessMirror also bagged the WWF-Philippines Media Partner of the Year on November 3, 2015, for printing stories in its Green and Biodiversity sections edited by Lyn Resurreccion. The BusinessMirror’s Agri-Commodities section, edited by Jennifer A. Ng, was recognized as Agriculture Section of National Newspaper of the Year in the 2015 PAJ-San Miguel Binhi Awards.
The BusinessMirror’s Property Section editor, Tet Andolong, was recently feted the 2016 Gawad Sulo Prestigious Seal Award for Real Estate Journalism. The Gawad Sulo Prestigious Seal Award recognizes outstanding individuals and organizations in the fields of real estate, property development, construction materials, social welfare, business and mass media, whose contributions made a tremendous positive impact on Philippine society and helped improve the lives of Filipinos through education, livelihood, health, social and humanitarian services, and people empowerment.
At the recent 25th Journalism Awards of the Economic Journalists Association of the Philippines, the BusinessMirror was cited as the Best Business News Source of the Year. The paper bagged the top prize—considered the “Oscars” of the Philippine journalism industry—with four of its reporters winning the best reporter of the year award in their respective beats. Mary Grace Padin, who now writes for another newspaper, was named Reporter of the Year for the Agribusiness and Mining beats. Lenie Lectura was awarded Energy Beat Reporter of the Year, while Cai U. Ordinario won the award as Reporter of the Year for the Macroeconomy beat. Lorenz S. Marasigan was recognized for a business feature story.
Entries to this journalism awards were judged based on the stories published in the previous year. Content, which covers accuracy, fairness, balanced presentation and depth, was assigned a 60-percent weight. The remaining 40 percent was allocated for style, which covers clarity, ability to communicate the message, grammar, logical presentation of issues, coherence and fluidity of ideas.
Other BusinessMirror award-winners are Jonathan Mayuga, who won the Best News Story for print and the Best Feature Story for print at the 2016 Sarihay Media Awards, and Leonila Garcia, who bagged in October the Outstanding Published Feature on De La Salle University category of the 2016 Lasallian Scholarum Awards.
In all modesty, the BusinessMirror has won three Rotary Club of Manila Journalism Awards. And it is the only Philippine newspaper that bagged the prestigious United Nations Media Award.
We have all the reasons to celebrate. But, sometimes, celebration begets confrontation. At a time when the digital age continues to shake up the newspaper industry, we are confronted with diminishing circulation and advertising revenues. We know that innovation in the news industry will involve adopting new business models on the wings of advanced technology. And the BusinessMirror must have the flexibility and willingness to embrace new methods that could spell survival. As we respond to new challenges, however, we keep a firm pledge to work tirelessly to make the paper more relevant in line with the vision of its late founder—Ambassador Antonio L. Cabangon Chua.
Relevance is the magic word in this business. We have to keep the BusinessMirror attuned to the times. And we need to constantly stay at the top of our game. We must be constantly reminded that excellent journalism makes good business, but only strong partnerships with stakeholders can ensure growth.
Image credits: Nonie Reyes, tephanie Tumampos, Alysa Salen