The Community Press Remains Alive Under COVID-19: Lived Experience of Community Journalists

Abstract

This interpretative phenomenological study answers how the lived experience of members of the community press under the Covid-19 pandemic shaped their practice of doing community journalism under the new normal. In-depth interviews with seven community journalists, who live and work in the Cordillera Administrative Region, were conducted and analyzed using Interpretative Phenomenological Analysis. Results showed that the Covid-19 pandemic has amplified the many crises that threaten community journalists ranging from threats to their physical safety, legal safety, psychological or mental health, digital safety, and financial or economic status. The biggest challenge is disinformation. To cope with the difficulties of living under the threat of Covid-19, community journalists had to adjust their data gathering, news writing, and publication methods. They had to learn new journalistic skills in order to adapt to digital publication and find alternative sources of income apart from advertising such as applying for story grants. Camaraderie and a tight community of media practitioners fostered by the Baguio Correspondents and Broadcasters Club (BCBC) also helped a lot in their survival, particularly their physical and mental well-being. These experiences paved the way for their personal and professional transformation. It also shaped a new form of community journalism: one that knows its audience􀂲the community it serves, understands their circumstances, and tries to reach them through hard copy or digital platforms. The new form of community journalism combines traditional methods of data gathering with technology-assisted data gathering tools. It upholds traditional news values packaged in a form and language appropriate for modern multimedia platforms. It is a kind of journalism that continues to wage a war against disinformation by adhering to the age-old journalistic principles of truth, service, and ethics. In essence, it is a kind of journalism which carries with it the same heart and passion for, and commitment to community journalism albeit with different tools.