Thirty years ago, the newsroom at the Manila Standard offices was abuzz with noises that were jarring and yet oddly comforting at the same time. There was the noisy clack of typewriters from different reporters trying to beat the daily deadline, phones would ring off the hook if there was a barrage of information about breaking news from different trusted sources, and fax machines would hum with statements being sent by national figures who wanted their stories to make it to the front page. Couriers from the wires would often drop in with the hottest material from overseas and there would be a scramble to find which ones would be most relevant to local readers. On top of that glorious cacophony would be the news and desk editors trying to make sense of the latest happenings, going through all the material that has come in for the day, and giving out orders to print, print, print.
These days, the clack of the typewriters has been replaced by ergonomic keyboards. Interviews and images can be sent through email, and sometimes, the sources can even be reached through app messaging. Global news services now offer the convenience of providing materials through the internet, making it more convenient to sift through tons of excellent reportage from all over the world.
Through these changes, several things at the Manila Standard newsroom have remained constant – that sense of urgency to produce the most relevant news items, the commitment to provide accurate information, and its status as one of the trusted news sources in the Philippines. It was awarded as Newspaper of the Year during the 2015 Rotary Club of Manila Journalism Awards for its balanced and crucial reporting on current issues, including the exposé story on the involvement of Wang Bo, a Chinese drug lord, as the primary suspect in the Bangsamoro Basic Law payola scam.
More than just words on paper, the news articles published in the Manila Standard help keep the public informed on important issues that can have a long-term impact on society. Proof of this, are the headlines that came out in the past 30 years of the Manila Standard’s existence. Some of the local and global issues and events that have unfolded in the past three decades and which have been reported in the newspaper have helped shape public policy and opinion, and their effects are still felt to this day.