Newspaper in Bacolod closes down after 38 years amid pandemic

By Glazyl Y. Masculino

 

BACOLOD City – After serving the Negrenses with critical and reliable information for 38 years, The Visayan Daily Star (VDS) based here has officially ceased its operations effective October 16.

The closure of VDS, considered as one of the pioneering community newspapers in Negros island affected at least 31 employees from the editorial, marketing, and printing departments.

The news on the impending closure of the outlet was announced in late July amid the difficulties that the management was facing brought about by the coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic.

Marchel Espina, a reporter of the paper, shared her sentiments on her Facebook post over the weekend, saying that from the time that they were informed about it, she personally knew the paper was having trouble but she didn’t realize it was that dire.

Espina said the management cited two reasons for the closure – first is that the print media has passed its threshold of viability and continues to be outdated following the stronghold of the internet on the media market, and second is the pandemic, which became the “final blow” to the already struggling industry.

Espina said they understand that the pandemic has caused the imminent death of the newspaper business. But she claimed that she just doesn’t understand why it felt that “each one of them was thrown out of the moving bus, and was crushed to death by the oncoming train.”

And what made it worse for them was that they lost their jobs during an ongoing pandemic.

“We were initially told that we won’t have jobs anymore by end of July. We insisted that the workers be given a 30-day termination notice as a courtesy so we will have time to look for new jobs,” Espina said.

However, after a series of meetings with the employees, the management still decided to close by the end of August.

Despite the initial pronouncement, they continued working until September, but during the second week of the month, they received their termination notice and were told that their last day of work will be on October 16.

Espina said that in the termination letter, the management told them that they will pay them 7.5 days per year of service as separation pay, calling it a “win-win solution.”

The management also said in the letter that they have no cash on hand, but has assured them that they will produce the money so they can pay them.

Espina, however, quipped that “up until now, it was not clear if when they will release our separation pay, or if ever they will pay us at all.”

She hopes and pray that the management could find it in their hearts to settle everything they owe to the employees as soon as possible. “We worked hard for it. It is our money,” she said.

Espina said that her way of voicing out is not to tarnish the reputation of the paper. “I just feel, the public needs to know what we’re going through. Somebody needs to speak up,” she added.

She said that for her, VDS will not become the institution that it is today if not for the dedicated journalists behind it. “I will bring with me that same integrity and dedication as I continue my journey as a journalist,” she added.

Meanwhile, the Negros Press Club (NPC), in a statement said that it regrets the closure of The Visayan Daily Star after 38 years of delivering vital and reliable news and information to Negrenses both here and abroad.

The shutdown of one of the pioneering community newspapers in Negros Island marks an end of an era and is a great loss the media industry, the group said.

We stand in solidarity with the 31 journalists and other workers of The Visayan Daily Star who lost their jobs as a result of the publication’s closure, the group also said.

Amid the difficulties brought about by a global health crisis, we are challenged by circumstances that greatly affect journalists and other media workers who have been tirelessly doing their jobs amid the threat of COVID-19, the NPC said in a statement.

Some news outlets have shifted to the digital format to sustain the goal of providing the public the news and information they deserve to know.

It may be difficult to enter such transition, but our responsibility of delivering the truth amid the crisis pushes us to become flexible and adapt to a new environment.

However, with all kinds of information the public can access through social media, we need to be more vigilant to combat the circulation of fake news.

To our media colleagues, let’s work together and keep our faith as we continue to advocate a free and responsible press.