Manila Bulletin

Group:
Celemin, Miraflor
Cutanda, Janice
Domasian, Audrey
Section: A51

The name of the newspaper we got assigned to was The Manila Bulletin. The newspaper’s corporate name is The Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation. It is found in Muralla corner Recoletos, Intramuros, Manila 1002, P.O. BOX 769. The contact numbers are the following: phone is 5278121 and fax is 5277510. The official website of the newspaper is www.mb.com.ph

There are different editors that head the staff of the Manila Bulletin and this is because of the wide scope of news and information the newspaper covers that can be divided into categories. They are different in terms of the areas or topics that they handle and each editor has their own staff to write about these certain topics. The editors are the following:

Editor-in-Chief - Dr. Cris J. Icban, Jr.

News Editor - Diego C. Cagahastian

Business Editor - Loreto D. Cabañes

Lifestyle Editor - Isabel de Leon

Sports Editor - Ding T. Marcelo

Agriculture Editor - Zac B. Sarian

Motoring Editor - Cecilia C. Colmenares

Provincial Editor - Antonio A. Antonio

Entertainment Editor - Crispina Martinez-Belen

The person we interviewed, Ms. Delia Galina, stated that the newspaper did not have regular reporters and did not give us a specific number. However, there are 40 correspondents in manila alone, and 66 based all over the country. Upon asking about their columnists, she stated that there were 29 full time columnists.

The Manila Bulletin started at February 1 1900 by Carson Taylor, then owned by Hans Menzi, a Swiss. According to Mr. Diego Cagahastian, originally it was a shipping journal but progressed to a newspaper. It is now owned by Emilio Yap (owner of the Manila Bulletin Publishing Corporation and Manila Hotel as well as Euro-Phil. Laboratories).

Upon interviewing Engr. Ramil Yumang, the production manager, about the pass on readership estimate, we learned that the number of copies produced during the weekdays and weekends were different. During the weekdays, about 160 000 newspapers are printed and distributed while the number increases in the weekends to about 240 000 newspapers. After they are produced, they are brought to PAL airlines to be shipped to the provinces. They only have one edition per day. The editorial deadline is at 5PM sharp.

The printing of the paper is done at the same venue as the editorial and uses offset as their type of press. This is because, as stated by Mr. Yumang, the offset printing can produce sharper images and flat texts. The large printing machine is found in the building connected to the building of the editorial. For printing, the main colors used are CMYK, just like that of an ordinary printer but much larger in scale. The broadsheet page the newspaper uses is 12.5 by 22 inches long, similar to that of other broadsheet newspapers. The typesetting is handled by the editorial department. The page layout is made with the latest technology of both Adobe Photoshop and Adobe Indesign. Everything is also proofread by proof to correct grammar or wrong spellings. After all those, the pre-press department handles it next. First is the camera stripping done by strippers, it is here where editorial negative and Ads negative will be integrated. In platemaking, negative is fixed and it is exposed to plates which are pre-sensitized aluminum and used with green coating for high speed and long run that is able to produce more without the ink fading off. The whole printing process starts after at 9:30PM, but prior to that, during the gap from 5PM to 9:30PM, the making of the paper goes through the process mentioned above.

As for the advertising rates, it ranges from 80 000pesos for the half-page colored advertisement, to 160 000 for the full-page colored ones. The newspaper makes use of the latest technology today, where most of the requirements for photos or articles are submitted through email. For advertising, there is a department that handles their clients are usually requests the advertisement to be submitted in .jpeg format.

The visit to the newspaper and interview was both a fun and creative way of learning about how life in the print industry is. We were fascinated with the machines and process, as well as the number of people typing away. The dynamics behind the newspaper must be their key ingredient to success as being one of the nation’s most read newspaper. Being in the business for 108 years is a sure proof of this success.

Here are the links to the video's we've made:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jGmxSO1VSHg

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=yCHmYKlbd-U

Special thanks to our sources in the Manila Bulletin:

Mr. Diego Cagahastian of the Editorial Department

Eng. Ramil Yumang of the Production Department (who also answered for the Circulation department)

Ms. Delia Galima of the Editorial Department