As with the Visayan Daily Star, community papers had already been wounded by declining sales and advertising revenue — the pandemic just cut these wounds deeper, and for some, so deep that they could no longer recuperate. The lens that the community press lends is different from national media, Sebellino pointed out, as community journalists have a feel for what is truly happening on the ground. So, it will still be the community press and the individual journalists who will have to pick up the slack left by their colleagues from papers that folded up, Batario said. Questions on sustainability also haunt Digicast Negros, an upstart media company founded by former ABS-CBN Bacolod and the Visayan Daily Star staffers following their closures. Despite these, Digicast Negros’ following has grown exponentially on Facebook, reaching over 18,000 likes in just two months.

Source: Philippine Star November 25, 2020 01:52 UTC