When a news source –an ex-reporter — is interviewedby her former buddy reporter:how ‘surreal’ can that be?
‘Trans-journos’
Who’s being interviewed by whom: Minerva Gerodias of MCWD (right) by Mildred Galarpe of SunStar.
When a news source – an ex-reporter – is interviewed by her former buddy reporter: how ‘surreal’ can that be?
[July 6, 2023]
Commenting in a Facebook post dated July 6, 2023, Minerva Gerodias, journalist-turned-publicist, described her feeling as guest at SunStar’s FB-Live news program “Beyond the Headlines” as “incredibly surreal,” something she “couldn’t have imagined in the past.”
She had long left private journalism. Minerva had worked at the Cebu Capitol for three years (January 2008 to December 2010) as head/station manager of Sugbo TV, then about two years more (July 2019 to April 2021) as consultant on TV production and media relations.
When interviewed on “Beyond the Headlines,” Minerva was public information officer of MCWD or Metro Cebu Water District. But the switching of roles must have become “bizarre” (“marked by intense irrational reality” of something she didn’t imagine before) only when she sat down for an interview with journalists, Mildred Galarpe and Alan Luigi Ladera Flores (who used to write Cebuano news for CNN Philippines, formerly known as Solar News).
With Mildred and Alan, Minerva was actually answering questions, instead of asking them; she was news source, no longer the reporter.
What added to the weirdness must be this: the two journalists interviewing her belong to SunStar, a news organization Minerva had worked with “for an incredible 10 years.” To her, it reminded of “life’s surprises, where roles shift and unexpected paths unfold.”
It never occurred to her that one day she’d become the interviewee, not the interviewer, much less by someone she worked with as news reporter.
Skills learned as reporter
Beyond the “surreal” or weird feeling is the question that would’ve been raised if the interview was held years ago when they were still reporters, given the editorial climate at the time. That, in the year 2023, may sound whimsical because strong ties between interviewer and interviewee, which mattered in the eighties and up, may not cross any one’s mind now.
Minerva acknowledged the skills and relationships she “cultivated and nurtured” during her stint in private media.
Among such skills are obviously the way to choose (a) which facts to disclose and (b) what words and phrases to use.
She knows only too well how to avoid “gotcha” traps, deliberate or innocent, set by an interviewer, knowledge that benefits the news source and is usually tapped in communicating with media.
On the other side, Mildred and Alan aren’t expected to be tough on their guest and, to Mildred, an ex-buddy.
If you haven’t seen the interview yet, how they traded endearments — or, surprise, punches — may tease you to watch it.
Minerva Gerodias’s experience as news source with Mildred Galarpe gives an insight into the life of a former journalist, a “trans-journalist,” one who has “gone to the other side” — who has returned for some “surreal” or “weird” moments. Worth-telling, to go with other stories about people in the Ex-Journalists Club. — Pachico A. Seares 