ON June 18, 2006, Bicol Mail, the region’s most read weekly, will celebrate its fourth year of rebirth as Bicolandia’s only regional newspaper. Bicol Mail was founded 53 years ago but had to shut down when Martial Law was declared in 1972 as “it did not want to be part of a charade in the state-controlled press” during the long dark period that followed. The news weekly, adjudged as the “best edited provincial newspaper” in the country in its heyday, was founded by the late Leon SA. Aureus, Naga’s first city mayor. Incidentally, the date of this paper’s rebirth falls on the same day that Naga celebrates its charter anniversary. On the same day this year, too, the Metro Naga Chamber of Commerce and Industry where this newspaper is an active member, will formally open its 2nd Bicol Business Week, dubbed as the biggest trade show in the region.
Indeed, we have more than one reason to celebrate this week as we invite everyone to join us in the revelry. At this point, we wish to make a special toast to our readers who faithfully trusted us as harbingers of news, pleasant or unpleasant, for as long as they speak of the truth and nurture our freedom of expression as tool for community development.
Throughout the four years that we have been together, we still do realize that more things need to be desired. We are humble enough to accept our flaws and limitations; and yet we are proud to say that based on our expanding readership, Bicol Mail is moving towards the right direction, notwithstanding the fact that running a newspaper is like paddling upstream in a leaky canoe.
Because we, as members of the fourth estate, have committed ourselves to be a leader in the community, our readers would take notice that we give ample space in our news pages to the promotion of civic projects, cultural events, and sometimes engaging in constructive crusades. As part of their job, our investigative reporters are assigned to ferret out facts for an expose’ of corruption, crime and some other conditions which we condemn as venal and evil.
But sometimes, too, we debate on the ethics in the treatment of our news. It is contended that the obligation of our paper is to be strictly objective, to keep its news and editorial columns separate and never to slant news to promote the private interest or whim of anybody, including the publisher.
On the other hand, it is argued that the public demands from us – and is entitled to – something more than mere parrot-like transmission of bare facts. The other side of us holds that a newspaper like the Bicol Mail, as a wide-awake community leader, should use its news as well as its editorial columns to stimulate thought, provoke action, expose wrongdoing and promote progress.
To be frank, we see no end to the debate even as we do not yet have a definite stand on which line to follow. Suffice it to say that during each press work, we always do our tasks with great caution, tempered by our belief that in the pursuit of our profession, we need to exercise greater professional responsibility where common good is the goal. And after each issue, we feel duly compensated when we hear from our readers these congratulatory words: “Carry on the good work, guys!” They are words that are music to our ears. Thank you.
