PAPAGAIO! RUNNING A publication is no easy feat—there’s no denial in that. I suppose it’s partly because it has to delineate the line between what’s personal and what’s professional, what’s biased and what’s impartial, who’s a friend and who isn’t. In a frenzy of coverages that involves connections and close relationships, I find myself measuring the value of friendship and a non-partisan stance as a member of a student publication.
It’s a running joke between me and a colleague – technically my boss and now a close friend – that we both had no social life outside of The Bedan. We’re always holed up in the office, only seen beelining for the OPSA, or speed walking to a coverage holding a camera, or interviewing, before retreating to our office by the main gate.
“The Bedan is not some dog you take out on a leash when you want. We’re not meant to sit, heel, or grovel on the ground on command.”
You could call us workaholics, maybe even a bit out-of-touch, but trust me, we know things – and we’re just dedicated to our work, leave us alone.
I digress. But I see that part of our “detachment” as a blessing because it saves us from unwanted strings pulling at the publication’s arms and limbs, which is why they’re only called “connections” and not “leashes.”
A friend approached me, a key person of a covered event, telling me to make an article of the program. “It’s an institutional event,” was their reasoning, and I couldn’t argue with that. But the staff and I were instructed that we were only to provide media coverage at that time. Service Agreement Forms, for starters, are only for media coverages. Meanwhile, written articles will be a decision from the Publication – we are supposedly independent in what we release.
After being told that, I was torn. Was I formulating questions for an interview to appease my friend’s assertion or was I drafting questions to shed light on an Institutional stepping stone?
To this day, I’m picking apart that question. I didn’t want to write an article because I was being told to, but at the same time, am I the enemy for disagreeing with their sentiments? Am I making the Publication an enemy for disagreeing?
This isn’t the first time I’ve felt cornered by personal attachments in my line of work. It’s like being in two places at once, knowing both sides, but not really knowing where I stood. But I know very well where my values lie as a harbinger of truth. The Bedan is not some dog you take out on a leash when you want. We’re not meant to sit, heel, or grovel on the ground on command.
We are a non-partisan organization meant to serve a community – real breathing people who juggle with academics and our personal lives to tell your stories, the good and the bad.
While I continue to speak my mind, remember that your News Editor is still as small-minded and timid as she was in her previous spiel. This ex-SOC officer’s mind is still fluctuating between time and space, so forgive her if the words she speaks feel far away.
Email me at thebedan_newseditor@sanbeda.edu.ph