Maria Ressa, chief executive officer and executive editor of the social news network Rappler.com, said that the trend of activity in the internet by the 15-21 age group through the social media like Facebook and Twitter will change the way we look at everything in the society.
“Social media is the game changer of every industry,” Ressa told a jampacked group of students, faculty and representatives of NGOs at Silliman Hall.
Ressa, formerly Jakarta bureau chief of the TV giant CNN, was keynote speaker during the #MoveDumaguete, part of Rappler.com’s Move.Ph Chat Series held Nov. 16. The Dumaguete leg was dubbed Social Media for Social Change: Pushing Environmental Journalism Forward.
#MoveDumaguete aimed to promote environmental journalism and awareness through the most powerful source of information available in today’s generation, the social media.
Ressa discussed the importance of Social Media for Social Good. She stressed on the key function of social media in many of the major events that shook the world in the past year.
She noted that the way we see the world today is far different from how the people saw it only a few years back. She said the social media have given this generation “God’s eye view” of how things work, how people are connected, and how the emotions basically drive us to make decisions.
With the same “God’s eye view” in looking at society, Ressa said we can also zoom out and get a better glimpse of how things, movements, and conversations are happening around us. “The larger picture shows a massive reaction and activities of people from different parts of the globe connected by a common thread that is the internet and the social issues.”
She said the substantial and rapid activity going on in the world is abruptly changing the face of society.
She further noted that big events in society these days materialize in matters of seconds because of the speedy medium that is now being used by the people. “The medium (social media) is evolving humans and human behavior,” she added.
The social media, according to Ressa, spreads not only ideas and information, but also and most importantly, emotions.
Meanwhile, Silliman University President Dr. Ben S. Malayang III talked about the prospects of environmental journalism. He said the media should know by heart the story they are working on, and to tell the readers not only what is happening but how it could make the people empathize with the situation.
For environmental issues to be addressed, Dr. Malayang noted the environmental journalists must be able to tackle the emotional, technical, and political aspects of the issues presented.
Others speakers from Rappler during the forum were Ateneo journalism professor Chay Hofilena, Citizen Journalism director; multimedia reporters Natashya Gutierrez and Patricia Evangelisa, and Michael Josh Villanueva, Special Projects director.
Rappler.Com’s Move.Ph Chat Series has been conducted in various parts of the Philippines. The event in Dumaguete was co-sponsored by the SU College of Mass Communication, a pioneer and one of the few universities to date, in the offering of Environmental Journalism and Environmental Communication courses in the mass communication curriculum. (xxxxxxxxxxxxx, Handen Cadiente/SU Masscom)
