THEY are TRIBUNE’s final line of defense — Josie De Vera, Larry Payawal and Via Ramones — carefully combing through every story, catching the smallest errors, and making sure every page goes to print polished and precise as the pressure builds toward deadline.
Photograph by Yuko Shimomura for DAILY TRIBUNE
DAILY TRIBUNE celebrates its 26th anniversary today — just three months older than I am.
It has always amused me that this newspaper, with a legacy older than my own life, welcomed someone like me despite my far-from-impressive journalistic background. It gave me a chance, and for that, I will always be grateful.
When you first step into the newsroom, you are not greeted by a polished reception desk. Instead, you’re welcomed by the unmistakable energy of the online team — loud, lively, sometimes chaotic, but always productive. Just a few steps away sits the print desk. At times calm, at times just as noisy, but always racing against deadlines, determined to close the paper as early as possible.
One question I hear almost every time people learn I work for a newspaper is, “Does anyone still read the paper?” Even when they don’t ask it aloud, their expressions often do.
My answer is always the same: yes.
In a world where almost everything is consumed through screens, print still matters. Digital media may deliver information faster, but a newspaper offers an experience that technology cannot fully replace. There is something timeless about unfolding a broadsheet, feeling the texture of its pages, and catching the distinct scent of fresh newsprint. For many Filipinos, that ritual remains meaningful.
Print was never meant to compete with digital speed. It serves a different purpose. It preserves stories. It gives readers the space to slow down, reflect, and absorb. DAILY TRIBUNE celebrates its 26th anniversary today — just three months older than I am.
It has always amused me that this newspaper, with a legacy older than my own life, welcomed someone like me despite my far-from-impressive journalistic background. It gave me a chance, and for that, I will always be grateful.
When you first step into the newsroom, you are not greeted by a polished reception desk. Instead, you’re welcomed by the unmistakable energy of the online team — loud, lively, sometimes chaotic, but always productive. Just a few steps away sits the print desk. At times calm, at times just as noisy, but always racing against deadlines, determined to close the paper as early as possible.
One question I hear almost every time people learn I work for a newspaper is, “Does anyone still read the paper?” Even when they don’t ask it aloud, their expressions often do.
My answer is always the same: yes.
In a world where almost everything is consumed through screens, print still matters. Digital media may deliver information faster, but a newspaper offers an experience that technology cannot fully replace. There is something timeless about unfolding a broadsheet, feeling the texture of its pages, and catching the distinct scent of fresh newsprint. For many Filipinos, that ritual remains meaningful.
Print was never meant to compete with digital speed. It serves a different purpose. It preserves stories. It gives readers the space to slow down, reflect, and absorb. It upholds a legacy that goes beyond clicks or page views.
Yet journalism today faces a battle unlike any before.
The digital age has made information more accessible than ever, but it has also made misinformation spread faster than the truth. Fake news, manipulated content, AI-generated misinformation, and coordinated disinformation campaigns flood social media and online platforms with alarming ease. In the Philippines, false information spreads like wildfire.
The challenge grows more urgent as the country approaches the next election.
The challenge grows more urgent as the country approaches the next election. Though still two years away, its effects are already visible.
Social media is increasingly weaponized to attack opponents, amplify trolls, and distort reality. These narratives shape public opinion and influence the choices of the very people who will determine the country’s future.
This is where institutions like the DAILY TRIBUNE continue to prove their worth.
For 26 years, the paper has endured changing technologies, evolving newsrooms, and shifting audiences. It has grown with the times without abandoning the principles that define journalism—accuracy, fairness, and accountability. It continues to fight misinformation not only by reporting facts, but by consistently earning the trust of its readers every single day.
The legacy of the DAILY TRIBUNE has never been about merely surviving. It is about persevering. It is about adapting without compromising the values that built it. Its grit is reflected in every deadline met, every edition printed, every story verified, and every truth told despite the noise.
Without fear and without favor, the DAILY TRIBUNE continues to remind us that journalism is not defined by the platform on which it appears, but by the integrity behind every word.
Happy 26th birthday, DAILY TRIBUNE.
Your place in this digital-first world is not one of competition — it is one of legacy. Because while news may increasingly be read on glowing screens, history is still written on paper.
