WITH THE DAWN of the publication’s 81st volume, The Bedan has launched its new website, “thebedan.com,” in beta mode through an announcement in its official Facebook and X (formerly known as Twitter) pages this August 26.
“The concept of the website is not very novel,” said The Bedan’s current Editor-in-Chief, Paul Alexis Arga. Previous volumes of the publication were already open to the idea of having a site-version of the school paper, yet it was never actualized.
Although the Editorial Board behind the 63rd volume of The Bedan already made a website that is still accessible to date, according to Arga, contact was no longer reachable, not to mention how the site’s interface “leaves much to be desired by today’s standards.”
Back in 2021, when Arga applied for the Editorial Board, he reminisced how establishing a website was his ‘marquee platform’ due to it being a means to finally publish articles in real-time.
The COVID-19 pandemic and the halt on all print issues affirmed Arga’s conviction on the necessity of establishing “innovative ways,” besides the traditional print, in reaching the intended readers.
“And the game nowadays is to be the first and to be exclusive always, things you can never achieve by sticking purely with print. You have to be able to supplement it,” he added.
With the full support of the Editorial board from its preceding volume, along with Mr. Albert Silva, the Director of the MVP-ICTC, and Dr. Marvin Reyes, The Bedan’s moderator, the website finally transpired through WordPress, to host the domain name and for the purposes of building the website itself.
The website’s interface features a classic red and white motif to “evoke the Bedan spirit” and is designed to have that “clean, minimalist, and streamlined look” while making it user-friendly. News, Features, Culture, and Reviews (FCR), and Sports, as well as the opinion columns and cartoons have dedicated archives for easy access to all articles.
Patricia Sonia Torreda, the FCR editor for Vol. 80, shared her delight with regard to the website’s launch, considering how she was “one of the individuals that proposed for a site-version.”
Seeing it as groundbreaking, Francesca Zia Robles, the current chief photographer of The Bedan, noted how the launching of the website is a proactive step towards modernization.
In addition to her, Paolo Ornos, The Bedan’s Office Manager, took pride in how it is one of the first in the University, in addition to The Barrister of the College of Law, to have a website with a design that conforms to the standard of publications.
Chelsea Andrea Chan, The Bedan’s former sports editor for Volume 80, exclaimed her excitement on how her successors will be “pioneering” the said platform.
On the other hand Phoebus Villanueva, former News Editor and Chan’s successor, aspired for the website to reach wider audiences and to “reduce the cost of print in the future,” sentiments which were also shared by Daphne Zenarosa, the current FCR editor.
Moving forward, Nicole Rile, the former Editor-in-Chief of Volume 78, hoped for the preservation of the website along with a “proper bequeathment for the upcoming volumes.”
‘Thebedan.com,’ which is the URL of The Bedan’s website, is essentially an “archive” of its past volumes and a medium to publish its articles in “real-time.” Previously, all news, features, and sports articles were to be written in real-time, edited, and then published after almost a month of preparation. With the website’s launch, such a process would be streamlined and made more efficient, since more topical articles can now be published in real-time.
Currently, the website is still in its beta testing phase, according to Arga. He says that the website “will still undergo further evaluation and assessment” so that it can be launched in an “official capacity” soon.
Now on its 81st volume, The Bedan is encouraging Bedans in the College of Arts and Sciences (CAS) to answer the clarion call and to hone their journalistic sensibilities while serving the community. Join The Bedan now!
