Journalism 35 years ago and now: No internet, no mobile phones, no AI

When I became a journalist 35 years ago, there was no internet, no mobile phones, and no AI.

I graduated from the University of the Philippines Diliman in 1991 with a Bachelor of Arts degree in Journalism —the very year my current CEO was born. 

At one point in college, I actually questioned my decision to major in journalism after my roommate pointed out that many prominent newspaper writers and editors didn't even have a journalism background.

However, after spending decades working across various newsrooms, I have come to realize the immense value of that degree.

At UP—informally dubbed a "school of hard knocks"—journalism students were thrown into covering real-world events right from day one. 

Our Journalism 101 class was taught by the late Prof. Luis Teodoro, former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication (now the College of Media and Communication). 

Prof. Teodoro was an icon, authoring authoritative books such as In Media Res: Essays on the Philippine Press and Media (UP Press, 2013) and Vantage Point: The Sixth Estate and Other Discoveries (UP Press, 2015), which won Best Book for Journalism at the 34th National Book Awards.

On our first day, he walked into the lecture hall reading a newspaper, without looking up until he reached the professor's table. 

He pointed to a headline and demanded, "What’s wrong with this headline?" Before anyone could process the question, he rattled off every single flaw in that story—and then dismantled the rest of the front page. 

Before class dismissed, he assigned each of us to cover a different police station in Metro Manila for our very first report.

I had never stepped foot inside a police station before. As I walked up the steps, a group was carrying a dead man through the entrance. 

Shocking as that was for a teenager, it turned out to be one of the easier assignments I would handle. 

Before turning 20, I was out in the field interviewing people from all walks of life—from street children and their parents to high-profile politicians embroiled in nationwide scandals.

A few of Prof. Teodoro’s practical tips from the late 1980s have naturally become outdated. 

He used to tell us to read the morning newspaper cover-to-cover to stay updated; today, breaking news reaches us instantly via digital platforms and social media. He also urged us to memorize phone numbers so we could call sources immediately when a story broke. 

Back then, with no mobile phones, we had to hunt down a landline or queue at a public payphone, dropping in three 25-centavo coins for a timed call and keeping extra coins ready if the conversation ran long.

Yet, almost all of his core lessons remain deeply relevant today.

Prof. Teodoro taught us that while making mistakes is human, a journalist must make every effort to correct them and ensure they were never deliberate—what we now call "fake news." 

He acknowledged that absolute personal objectivity is impossible because everyone carries biases. However, he insisted that a journalist’s personal stance must remain separate from their work; every report must present all sides of an issue fairly. 

Above all, he taught us to cultivate a "nose for news," to hunt down stories, and to pursue the truth endlessly—even when that pursuit makes us unpopular.

As the legendary political journalist Helen Thomas famously said: “We don't go into journalism to be popular. It is our job to seek the truth and put constant pressure on our leaders until we get answers.”

Lessons in Ethics and Humanity

Beyond real-life field reporting, my education at UP gave me a foundation through courses like Communication Patterns and Strategies, Advertising and Public Relations, Investigative Reporting, Mass Media Law, and Media Ethics.

Our ethics professor impressed upon us that no matter how skilled or famous a journalist becomes, it means nothing without integrity. 

Ethics requires strict accuracy and truthfulness. We cannot twist facts to suit an agenda, nor can we weaponize the truth to harm others unnecessarily.

This principle reminds me of a conversation I had with my former boss, Father Robert Astorino, the American founder of the Union of Catholic Asian News (UCA News). 

During an editors' seminar in Thailand, he asked me a pop question out of the blue: "What is more important in journalism: truth or charity?"

I immediately answered, "Truth."

Father Bob countered with "Charity." He explained that while we must always pursue the truth, we must do so with compassion. 

Charity in journalism demands fairness, balance, and impartiality. It prevents us from indulging in sensationalism, violating privacy, or causing unnecessary harm. True journalists take complete accountability for every word published under their name.

Reporting the Hard Way

I will always be grateful for having learned journalism in an era before the digital boom. We produced solid, impactful stories without Google or AI, but we had to do it through sheer legwork.

When I landed my first newspaper job in 1992, researching a deceased politician meant walking down to the company archives. I had to fill out a paper request form for the librarian, who would fetch a physical brown envelope stuffed with yellowed news clippings. 

Today, anyone can pull up a complete biography instantly just by speaking a name into a smartphone.

I welcome the modern technology that streamlines newsrooms today, but tools are only as good as the people using them. 

My hope is that as our technology advances, our ethical standards and dedication to truth elevate alongside it. 

When journalists hold fast to high principles, we bring society one step closer to being fair, just, and humane.

-Veronica Velarde-Pulumbarit/Paraluman News

Veronica is the Managing Editor of Paraluman News, a member of WAN-IFRA, one of the organizers of World News Day, celebrated on September 28.