When I was little, I wanted to be a Starr

When I was little, I wanted to be a Starr, specifically Brenda Starr, the protagonist of the comic series "Brenda Starr, Reporter."

That comic series piqued my interest in journalism. I was seven years old when I first started reading it. Out of all the comic trips in the Sunday newspaper, I only read "Brenda Starr, Reporter" and "Peanuts," starring Charlie Brown and Snoopy.

Growing up, I wanted to follow in Brenda's footsteps. She pursued stories that exposed ugly truths and dirty crimes, all the while dressed in crisp and trendy skirt suits.

The "Brenda Starr, Reporter" comic series was first created in 1940 by newspaper cartoonist Dalia Messick, who chose to use the pseudonym "Dale Messick" to deal with the male-dominated news industry at that time. 

Brenda Starr’s mission to search for the truth as a journalist resonated deeply with me, especially as my parents said my name "Veronica" means "truth." The name stems from the Latin word vero meaning truth. 

A nun suggested that name to my parents, telling them about Saint Veronica,  who gave her veil to the Lord Jesus to wipe his blood-stained face and provide him some comfort on His way to Mount Calvary in Israel, where he was crucified.

PATH TO "CALVARY"

Growing up, I was fascinated by the stories of Saint Veronica and Brenda Starr that I decided in high school I wanted to become a journalist.  However, I felt that I had to go through a difficult path — a way full of "crossses" — to achieve my goal of becoming a journalist.

At first, when I shared my dream with my father, he immediately disapproved due to the personal safety risks associated with the profession. Journalists get killed, he said and he encouraged me to pursue instead a career as a doctor.

Left with no choice, I obeyed my parents and enrolled in a science course in the University of the Philippines in Diliman, Quezon City.  I took up Food Technology because my cousin, also a UP student, said it is a popular pre-med track and offers a comprehensive curriculum that includes chemistry, microbiology, physics, and engineering. 

To me, that course was a cross I had to bear.  I felt my spirit wilting as I studied Food Technology subjects like microbiology.

That subject — microbiology — both delighted and disgusted me. I enjoyed "learning" about bacteria, viruses and fungi. 

To this day, I know that Staphylococcus Aureus or staph is a common bacteria found on the skin. It can cause a range of health issues from mild, such as pimples and boils, to fatal, such as endocarditis, or inflammation of the heart valves, which can trigger either a heart attack or stroke.

However, I "hated" that we had to breed Staphylococcus Aureus and other different types and colors of bacteria and fungi in the laboratory. 

One of my classmates dropped and broke her petri dish containing Staphylococcus Aureus. The following week, her face was riddled with pimples.

This started my obsession with cleanliness. In our Ilang-Ilang all-girls dormitory inside the UP Campus, I started taking a bath twice a day up to four times a day... 

Every year, spoof awards were given to Ilang-Ilang select residents for their quirks and eccentricities. I received a "Miss CR" award because my dormmates said they always see me there. But how could I not take frequent baths? A Safeguard body soap may remove traces of bacteria and viruses on my hands but a Safeguard soap could not remove the memory of those germs in my mind...

I patiently endured the Food Technology course for two years before I finally gathered the strength to ask for my parents' approval to study what I really wanted: journalism. I expected them to decline and I was totally surprised when Dad finally gave me permission to switch courses in the same university.

MY "CALVARY" ENDED

My "Calvary" ended and my life changed when my parents allowed me to study journalism.

This Veronica's "veil" was lifted and I experienced an emotional resurrection. I felt alive studying journalism even though I did learn that journalists do get killed, as Dad said.

In fact, one of our journalism classmates was killed even before we could graduate. Ana Lourdes "Beebom" Castaños was my classmate in a journalism class in 1990 just before she and her boyfriend Cochise Bernabe were abducted and killed in a mistaken identity case. If I am not mistaken, I think it was in "Media Ethics" that we were classmates. Her death came as a shock to us.

Studying journalism at UP, we learned to navigate many shocking realities by covering actual events just as professional reporters do, starting from our very first journalism class. These experiences provided me with a strong foundation in reporting on diverse and complex issues

Some of the journalism assignments I completed during my time as a young student in UP included:

• Police Reporting: My first police story covered car theft and homicide in New Manila.

• Investigative Reporting: I wrote about a case of illegal logging and reported on the environmental damage caused by an oil spill.

• Feature Writing: I wrote several features based on interviews with street dwellers, the wards at Manila Boys Town, and others.

Covering these stories required significant sacrifice and commitment as I had to balance this work with demanding assignments for my other journalism subjects, including Mass Media Law, Media Ethics, Communication Patterns and Strategies, and Advertising and Public Relations.

By the time we graduated, we had become accustomed to managing heavy and demanding assignments. Transitioning into a professional role as a journalist felt relatively seamless and easy.

BEST JOURNALISM LESSONS

it has been 35 years since I graduated from UP. During this time, I have gained extensive experience across newspapers, magazines, international news services, and online media. Some of the most valuable lessons that I picked up over the years include:

(1) HONESTY AND HARD WORK. These two virtutes — honesty and hard work, are the most essential virtues a journalist can possess. Unfortunately, these qualities have become increasingly rare and it is concerning to see how many deceitful and dishonest individuals have made their way into journalism.

(2) TRUTH AND CHARITY: Our news agency chief Father Robert Astorino once asked me, "Which is more important? Truth or charity. I answered "truth" but he said no. "Charity is more important than truth" he said, explaining that some people wield the truth as a weapon to hurt others. Father Bob said although it is important at all times to tell the truth, we must do it charitably. This implies writing fairly and presenting both sides of an issue.

(3) NO NEED TO RUN AFTER EVERY STORY: It is impossible to run after every story.  Over the years, I learned that stories come and go. What is important is to publish the best stories that we can with the time and resources that we have.

(4) NO DELIBERATE MISTAKES: One of our UP professors, Prof. Luis Teodoro,  said journalists are humans who are bound to make mistakes. However, he said, whenever we make a mistake we should make sure that it is an honest mistake not a deliberate one. No to fake news.

(5) PERSONAL BIASES: Prof. Teodoro, former dean of the UP College of Mass Communication (now called UP College of Media and Communication) also said no news company is without a bias. 

He said having a bias comes naturally to everyone. However, good journalists present both sides of an issue despite their personal biases.

My work as a journalist continues on Paraluman News. As the Managing Editor, I remain as passionate about the truth as when I was a little child. Searching for truth and defending it are still my part of my mission as a journalist. 

I also always emphasize the need to treat every story with care and respect even if it is about Sports, Lifestyle, Entertainment, Business. Every story is precious because it is about real people, real events.

Aside from this, if we have a high regard for our readers, we must provide them with the best stories that we can. 

In this time of war and conflict, it becomes even more imperative to practice good journalism.

The story of the comic book character "Brenda Starr, Reporter" may have ended in 2011 but the journey of "Veronica, Reporter" continues. I remain committed to becoming better each day and helping to change the world one word at a time.

My goal is to honor my late father’s memory, hoping he would be proud of his decision to support my choice to become a journalist.

-Veronica Velarde-Pulumbarit/Paraluman News

Veronica Velarde-Pulumbarit, Managing Editor of Paraluman News, is passionate about the nobility of the journalism profession. She finished journalism in UP Diliman and as a dedicated lifelong learner, she also completed specializations in Graphic Design from the California Institute of the Arts and Contemporary and Modern Art from the Museum of Modern Art. In 2017, she was recognized as one of the "100 Fearless Filipinas" for her work as a journalist.