By Atty. Antonio P. Pekas
The other day, I received a message to attend a meeting regarding a local magazine being planned to be put up by a group. When I got to the venue, the Hill Station restaurant, nobody was there. After a few minutes, they arrived. Tom Picana, publisher of Amianan Balita, Atty. Karlston Lapniten, former PIA Regional Director Helen Tibaldo, and my idol and former professor in UP at Baguio, the indefatigable Mrs. Brigite Pawid.
Mrs. Pawid, perhaps due to her innate desire to improve local publications, the literacy in English of people around, has been keeping the fire burning for the publishing of a magazine. Now, with these people, former Director Helen Tibado and Atty. Karlston Lapniten helping her, with all their credibility, ability and qualifications, am sure the magazine will materialize and flourish.
When I first heard about the plan as broached by Mrs. Pawid, I had to admit the idea was great, being novel, BUT.. . . . and it was a big BUT. The financial requirement is huge and the right mix of people must be found.
As I was in the cab going to the venue that afternoon, I was still kind of negative if the plan could really take off the ground. What changed my mind was seeing the people I mentioned above who came for the meeting. So I became a supporter. For the idea had been festering inside me: “How to arrest the deterioration of the English proficiency and the writing or even thinking of people, particularly the masa, due to the advent of the social media platforms?” And I had nothing, perhaps only the ZigZag Weekly, which cannot have a viable effect towards the improvement of such. In short, even just thinking about it, for me, it was already a lost cause. Dead in the water. Then the people mentioned earlier, arrived. And they reversed my defeatist attitude, So, joining the band wagon, I told them I will help as soon as I could recover a little bit from my numerous health issues or vagaries.
How can I help? Since I was still in the UP College of Law, I was already in the printing business though I was a full-time law student. I learned the business from scratch. In short, I know printing. I have the expertise which is only now partially being utilized for my community newspaper.
But the more important thing I can contribute is hitting the right balance between the business side of a publication and its acceptability to the reading public. These are the two things that can assure survival of a publication, if properly balanced. Otherwise, it it can only mean its eventual death.
I have seen a number of great writers in the local scene who were hired to run community newspapers. When I heard about these, I muttered, “kiss of death.” And time and again, I was proven right.
These are bold self-serving claims. But, mind you, ignore me at your own peril. Just look at the ZigZag Weekly. It is the oldest surviving local paper around.”
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