‘Kailangan ko matuto magluto kung hindi, hindi ako makakakain ng tama nung pandemic [I had to learn to cook; if not, I won’t be able to eat properly during the pandemic].”
This, to BusinessMirror Agriculture reporter Jasper Emmanuel Y. Arcalas, was a key takeaway he had during the Covid-19 pandemic, which has gripped the world for a year now. With help from his mother via phone calls, girlfriend, and YouTube, Jasper learned to cook.
Living alone in an apartment in Metro Manila, Jasper initially resorted to eating takeout food and prepared meals from nearby places to feed himself. But with the strict lockdown by the government, Jasper had to adjust.
The strict lockdown to contain the spread of Covid-19 had resulted in the closure of shops such as those that sold cheap, cooked food which workers like Jasper would frequent to survive in the urban jungle. Soon, he coped by cooking for himself.
The cooking kept him busy during the pandemic, apart from his work. After ensuring that connectivity and infra issues were settled before most of the work force was “migrated” as a precaution even before the strict lockdowns, BusinessMirror decided to allow most of its staff to work from home (WFH) days before the quarantine rules were set by the Covid-19 Inter-Agency Task Force (IATF) for the Management of Emerging Infectious Diseases (EID).
As was the experience of media workers around the world, the new setup forced many personal and professional life changes—something that even reporters, editors, and other media workers, used to a fast-paced work schedule, found quite disruptive, if not a source of much anxiety. Still, while some changes made working difficult during the pandemic, there were others that led to personal and professional growth.
’House’ reporters
THE lockdown paved the way for reduced coverage, and eventually made face-to-face coverages almost non-existent for many journalists. Mobility restrictions made webinars, and zoom meetings and briefings, a part of the everyday realities of covering.
At times, journalists attended as many as two or more webinars a day just to cover events, apart from writing and submitting stories at the end of the day. Sometimes, journalists needed two screens to cover two webinars happening at the same time.
Jovee Marie dela Cruz, this newspaper’s reporter at the House of Representatives, said Zoom meetings were common for legislators this year. Compared to the pre-pandemic period, these hearings tended to be longer (presumably because lawmakers were in relaxed settings in their homes and didn’t mind the time), and thus more taxing for reporters.
This was a challenge, especially if committee hearings were happening at the same time. However, since the hearings were recorded through Facebook, this helped Jovee go back to certain portions she may have missed because of another event or poor internet connection.
The joke among reporters was that, because of the lockdowns, everyone is now a “house” reporter like Jovee.
Like Jovee, this paper’s Senate reporter, Butch Fernandez, had to adjust to covering virtual hearings and sessions. The Senate imposed very strict rules on physical attendance by both Senate workers and mediamen as three senators were among the first widely publicized Covid-19 cases.
The veteran political reporter said it was the “ambush” interviews on the Senate floor or hallways that he missed most in the new setup.
BusinessMirror’s Trade reporter, Elijah Felice E. Rosales, said the amount of webinars that need to be attended in a day posed a major challenge for reporters, especially given the poor internet connection in the Philippines. They would often experience being kicked out of these events due to poor internet connection.
“Kahit na sabihin nating nakaupo lang tayo sa bahay tapos nakaharap lang sa laptop, kumpara sa old normal na lumalabas ka tapos pa-talon-talon ka sa coverage, napakahirap pa rin po ng setup ng work from home for me, especially when it comes to journalism. Halimbawa may mga gusto kang habuling special report, hindi mo mahabol kasi kailangan nasa ground ka. As much as nirerespeto ko naman yung digital, naniniwala pa rin ako na yung reality sa ground, yung ‘Law of the See’, is a superior setup, [Even if you’re just seated at home in front of your laptop, as against the old normal where you had to go out and physically jump from one coverage to another, the work-from-home setup is also hard for me. For example, it’s hard to chase after a special report, when it requires being on the ground. As much as I respect digital, I still believe the reality on the ground, the ‘Law of the See,’ is superior]. Elijah also said.
In some cases, some reporters would not be able to attend a webinar completely and have to rely on recordings of these events if they are available. The record function for Zoom meetings or airing events on social media would often be the saving grace of reporters during the lockdown.
Apart from the webinars and poor internet connection, journalists like Christine* (not her real name), covering events during the lockdown became very difficult in terms of sourcing information. She said it was difficult to get hold of sources during the pandemic.
Some of her sources would not respond for hours—some at 2 am in the morning—or days, or not at all. This forced her to get information from other sources on certain topics but for other topics, the workaround was very difficult preventing her from writing certain stories.
For Marcella* (not her real name), adjusting to a new beat was especially difficult during the lockdown. The sources did not know her, while others were able to meet her only weeks before the government imposed a lockdown. This was insufficient time for sources to get to know her.
Further, Marcella lamented that since the institutions she covered were also adjusting to the lockdowns, information requests took time before she got them. On average, it took her two to three days before she could get information from these institutions.
“It was hard to verify information, because of course sometimes you can’t be sure about the data they give and must get back to them,” Marcella added.
The case of Tyrone Jasper C. Piad, one of BusinessMirror’s Banking reporters, was unique. He was hired in his new job at this newspaper only two days before the first round of lockdowns took effect on March 17.
Like Marcella, Tyrone experienced difficulties adjusting to his new beat. He also had to touch base with most of his new sources during the lockdown. Still, he eventually adjusted quite well to the drastically altered setup.
BusinessMirror’s Samuel Raphael P. Medenilla said the current setup of working from home prevented him from achieving the much-needed work-home balance. He found himself working nonstop because of the need to file stories and cover the President—whose briefings would often happen at night until the wee hours of the morning.
Samuel also noticed, just like Marcella and Christine, that information was not readily available to the members of the press. This is why he is looking forward to the resumption of face-to-face coverages which, hopefully, would happen later this year.
In general, the lockdowns imposed due to the pandemic have increased reporters’ use of informal channels such as social media to reach sources. As long as sources can answer questions, reporters were able to write the stories required of them.
Old loves, new beginnings
DESPITE the challenges on the work front, reporters found the time for their personal and professional interests. While Jasper found a way to eat properly during the pandemic, Marcella returned to the kitchen through baking.
She also found her way back to playing the violin as a way to cope with the stress from the lockdowns and the pandemic. “Iba yung feeling na may nagagawa kang iba [It’s quite a different feeling when you can do something different],” Marcella said.
The lockdown allowed Elijah to return to his books and painting. He said he took advantage of the downtime to re-read literary works that helped him rekindle his interest in writing long-form pieces. Admittedly, he said, the hustle and bustle of face-to-face coverage during the pandemic made it difficult to write longer pieces.
Elijah also dusted off his paint brushes during the pandemic. He admitted that for a time he could not go back to painting but with the lockdowns, he was able to find his way back to his art.
Apart from hobbies, Marcella and Jasper embarked on their journeys to earn their Masters. They started on a pandemic year which required them to be online even on weekends. Marcella admitted that going back to school brought along its own challenges. These included staying up late just to finish readings and papers that were due for submission. There came a point when she faced daily school deadlines on top of her daily work on the beat. Despite these challenges, both were happy to report that they survived their first terms, despite the lockdown.
For mothers like Jovee, the WFH arrangement helped her develop a deeper and more meaningful bond with her toddler. She said this bond made her and her two-year old son inseparable—even during the deadline. She found this funny, especially when her son started answering her phone with “Opo, Ma’am” and “Bye, Ma’am.”
The lockdowns led to new additions to the families of some reporters. Tyrone’s family, which never had a dog, welcomed three dogs to their home.
Christine adopted two kittens. Both were abandoned in the street and were hanging out at the garage so her family decided to adopt them.
She also started to walk on a path to better health. This after a doctor-friend told her she needs to take control and prevent her from becoming even more unhealthy as she gets older. For Christine, a “healthier” life began at 40.
Looking back, ahead
FOR reporters like Elijah, the lockdowns did not prevent him from attending some physical coverages that were proximate to where he lived. This gave him a chance to test his skills and for him to get acquainted with the changed landscape of journalism.
Samuel is already preparing for many events this year. He covers Malacañang, Labor, and the Intramuros beat for the newspaper. With the elections coming up, 2021 is going to be a very busy one.
“Kung ako ang tatanungin, gusto ko pa ring bumalik sa physical coverage dahil hindi ko maramdaman ’yung essence ng trabaho sa bahay [If you ask me, I really want to go back to physical coverage because I can barely feel the essence of coverage],” Elijah said.
Many would consider 2020 a wasted year, an annus horribilis. There is no doubt that it is a bad year, given the millions who lost their jobs and the damage suffered by economies worldwide due to the lockdowns imposed to contain the spread of Covid-19.
But for some reporters, it became a year of taking stock of what is important. Becoming ‘house reporters’ for most of 2020 still offered them opportunities to achieve balance in their personal and professional lives.
This year offered them a chance to take stock of their lives and careers with the hope that 2021 would be a better and more productive one for them and the industry.
Image credits: Roy Domingo, Nonie Reyes