A tribute to community journalism
U.P. System’s Gawad Plaridel
Pachico A. Seares of Sun.Star Cebu at the 2008 Gawad Plaridel
award ceremony in Diliman, Quezon City, July 4, 2008.
A tribute to community journalism
2008 ( CJJ4 )
U.P. Gawad Plaridel , the sole award in the University of the Philippines System, given to outstanding media practitioners, was awarded in 2008 to Pachico A. Seares, editor-in-chief of Sun.Star Cebu and Sun.Star Superbalita [Cebu].
The Gawad Plaridel “bestows honor on media practitioners who have excelled in any of the media (print, film, radio, television and news media) and performed with the highest level of professional integrity in the interest of public service.”
Seares is the second awardee from print, the first from community journalism, and the first outside Manila to win the Gawad. Earlier awardees were Eugenia Apostol (print, 2004), Vilma Santos (film, 2005), Fidela Magpayo (radio, 2006) and Cheche Lazaro (television, 2007).
In accepting the award at U.P. Diliman, Quezon City on July 4, 2008, Seares said the award is recognition of the work of community journalists in Cebu and the rest of the country. []
The citation for Pachico A. Seares’s award, was in Pilipino, titled
“Pagkilala.” U.P. Diliman’s College of Mass Communication also produced an English translation (below).
Citation
For dedicating his professional life to making community journalism relevant to the changing times and to instilling in community journalists the highest professional and ethical standards;
For charting, in a manner both visionary and revolutionary, the direction of various news and media organizations like Sun.Star Cebu and Sun.Star Superbalita, thereby encouraging his colleagues to develop and excel in their chosen professions;
For promoting not just excellence in community journalism but also the rights and welfare of community journalists by effectively organizing and heading media-related organizations;
For blazing the trail for community papers towards improving content, coverage and newsroom procedures, as well as strengthening the journalists’ sense of accountability to their community;
For giving a sense of identity and pride in community journalism and serving as a model for emulation to students, colleagues and all who want to venture to journalism.
The UP Gawad Plaridel 2008 is given to Pachico A. Seares on the fourth day of July 2008 by the UP College of Mass Communication at the Cine Adarna, UP Film Institute, University of the Philippines, Diliman, Quezon City. 