Column: Covering with New Media

It was not your ordinary coverage.

Tinig ng Plaridel (TNP) and DZUP 1602 joined together to bring the latest updates on the ongoing university-wide elections at the University of the Philippines Diliman. Covering from every part of the campus, correspondents were able to inform everyone at the College of Mass Communication (CMC) and those whose radios receive the signal of DZUP regarding the latest development of that day’s affair.

So what else is new?

The thing is, the canvassing of votes doesn’t start until late afternoon, and most of the students are already at their own home. So they are outside the range of CMC’s radio station’ signal and they can’t hear the updates called in by correspondents from the station and from TNP. If that’s the case, how will they know the latest news regarding the elections?

Whether intended or not, TNP had the answer. By 8pm, correspondents from the official student publication of CMC were calling in and texting updates from the university to their webteam stationed at their own homes, who where in charge of putting up the relayed data on their website. Alas, TNP had their first real-time coverage.

Reporting real-time is commonly seen in broadcasts, both in radio and television alike. For print, the news goes out in next day’s issue, unless they have a website of course.

The development of new media in the internet not only enabled incorporation of multimedia in reports and quick feedback and interaction between the reader and the author, it also allowed for instant reporting of events as it happens, where it happens.

Gadgets and equipments with mobile internet connection features make i possible for journalists to send in their reports on the go: whether they mail it to the webmasters or they put it themselves on the website. A running account of any event covered is made possible, and people who are online are able to read the updates as soon as they come in.

Sports is of great interest. Print, radio and television allot spaces or airtime for the latest news, especially sporting events that are very much anticipated.

Fights of boxer Manny Pacquiao are perhaps the most celebrated in the country. Claims of a zero crime rate and empty streets are a common whenever he has a fight: everyone is said to be watching on their television. The thing is, the broadcast on free TV is not live: what people see is a delayed telecast.

That’s why watching Pacman live from the US as he kicks, or punches rather, his opponent’s ass is offered in cinemas and sporting joint.. The fee, however, ranges from Php200 to Php500. Options for pay-per-view are available from certain cable companies. The others who don’t opt to watch live can always wait for the late broadcast.

Or they can read the updates on the web.

Inquirer.net’s special section, The Pacquiao Files, has a running account of Pacquaio’s fight. It contains a description of the boxing match’s every round and has a summary story at the end. People who can’t wait for the delayed telecast or just can’t watch the fight on TV can log on and read as the fight progresses. In his previous fight offers to watch live online were made, though details on that are still a bit sketchy.

This coming Sunday, Pacquiao will face Juan Miguel Marquez in a match, and with their previous face-off ending with a draw, will determine who the better boxer is once and for all. People will watch it live in cinemas, sports joints, or in their home, or read the running account on their PC or laptops.

TNP's coverage and Inquirer's running account are examples of home journalism converges well with new media and the internet. It is reporting by the second, the moment that an event happens, and it breaks the restriction that print has. Real-time reporting is really an advantage that online journalism can harness, and where the future of relaying news may lie.