Interviewers: Andrea Gamboa and Pauline Guanzon
Andrea Gamboa: Please state your name, your position and newspaper.
Ms. Torregoza: I’m Hannah. Hannah Torregoza. I am a journalist, a writer, a senate correspondent for the Manila Bulletin.
Q: Ms. Torregoza, why did you decide to become a journalist?
A: I don’t really know why I became a journalist, (laughs) but I am a Communications graduate from PCU, Philippine Christian University. After graduating, I was thinking of what I would do, so I applied here and there, and I really had no idea I was going to land a job like this. I thought I would end up in a call center. But, come to think of it, ever since my high school and college days, I was a part of and enjoyed working for the school newspaper. Given that background, I guess I found my calling, and that is probably the reason why I was able to land this job. Thankfully, it’s been a good five (5) years already, five (5) years and several months since I started working at the Manila Bulletin.
Q: Did you have any relatives working for a newspaper, or as journalist?
A: No, I don’t believe so. I think I am the only Torregoza working as a reporter, although I do see a couple of Torregozas who work in media institutions like ABS-CBN. I see their names in the credits, under line editing and the like. I am not sure if I am related to them, perhaps very distant relations. There are only a few Torregozas here in the Philippines.
Q: Did you have any other jobs before you became a reporter for the Bulletin?
A: Before I even graduated I already had a few jobs here and there. My very first one was at an advertising agency.
Q: How many years have you been working as a journalist?
A: Five (5) years and eight (8) months.
Q: So, in the past five (5) years, are you satisfied?
A: Well, there are ups and downs in this job. When I first started out, I was very easily satisfied, but then there really is a time when you just feel burnt-out. In any job, I think, there really is a time when you feel this way. But I am satisfied, in a way, since being a journalist is very lucrative.
Q: How was it like when you first started working for the newspaper?
A: It was very difficult (laughs). It was difficult since I started out as a desk assistant, as an editorial assistant, so I had to do whatever the editors told me to do. And then they assigned me to do the weather reports. Weather reporting is very different from other kinds of reporting, and it requires you to really know what you are talking about, and so it required some study. I never really got the hang of it so I was assigned somewhere else. The first story I covered was on the World Youth Day, on Pope John Paul II. I was also the one they put in for reporters who went on-leave, or on vacation. But I really started out on the Church beat. I cannot describe what I felt when I saw my first banner, because it was my first story, and it was the banner! I was pleased and proud of myself, and from then on I was inspired to pursue this and do well. That is really what being a journalist is about. You don’t really stick to just one story. It’s an ongoing process.
Q: Please describe the Manila Bulletin, in terms of its physical location.
A: The Bulletin is very accessible as compared to the other broadsheet we compete with, the Philippine Star since they are in the port area. The Manila Bulletin is within the area of the Manila city hall, so it’s very accessible. Compared to the Philippine Daily Inquirer on the other hand, the location of the Philippine Daily Inquirer is good, since it’s in Makati only. Although it’s in Makati, it is still pretty hidden, all the way inside, somewhere in Pasong Tamo. I think it’s on Chino Roces Avenue, around that extension. Anyway, the Manila Bulletin’s location is okay, and our offices are good places to work in.
Q: How about the working conditions and the facilities?
A: The working conditions facility-wise, are okay. But as a reporter, I rarely get to enjoy them since I rarely go to the office. Because when you are a reporter you go from place to place, to the far reaches of the Philippines, of the world! Reporters have go to work wherever the beat is, wherever the story is, or wherever you’re assigned.
Q: How about the people you work with? Your editors? Your colleagues?
A: I’m okay with my colleagues. But there’s this saying that your enemy is your friend. This is especially the case in the newspaper business. Cause I have come across reporters from other newspapers with attitude problems, and I’ve realized that in the long run, it’s better to spend time with those who aren’t in your same workplace. You then develop camaraderie between the newspapers. It’s fun also, because we help each other, and we understand what we’re all going through, the difficulties of being a journalist. With the editors, well, the editors end up being “the enemy”. Because they are the ones who push you, and push you, and all they want from you are your stories, and that you meet your deadlines.
Q: So, how is your relationship with your editors? Who were your editors when you started out at the Bulletin?
A: I had a lot of editors. And as a reporter, especially when you start out, you work under the editors. You need to know how to deal with each editor. You need to maintain a good relationship with each one because they handle your stories. The best one is our Editor-in-Chief. Unlike the other newspapers, from what I’ve heard, their Editors-in-Chief are not that easy to deal with. But we can joke around and just laugh with our Editor-in-Chief. That’s what’s great about sir Icban. Of course, when it comes to work, it’s time to work. He takes work very seriously, and if he happens to get mad at you, well, he’d really be mad at you. It’s a great working relationship, to be transparent with each other, and to be able to read each other. It’s just work, it’s not personal. It’s a healthy relationship. It’s just professional.
Q: Were you a “cub” reporter before?
A: We all started out as cub reporters.
Q: How was it like to be a “cub”?
A: It was difficult, because when I started out, like I said, my first beat was the Church beat. And throughout my five (5) years, I’ve had four (4) different beats. Every time I was assigned to another beat, it’s like being a cub all over again, because I’ve got to learn about a whole new different thing. For example, when I started out with the Church, I had to learn about the church and Catholicism, Iglesia ni Cristo, El Shaddai and the other sectors. Then I was transferred to the COMELEC, and I covered the 2004 elections. I learned to appreciate the COMELEC. Although, those times were very difficult, so much so that I got sick for a few days, also because there were times I’d starve waiting for a story. I also had no choice but to study things like the Election Code of the Philippines to be up to date with the events. After that, I complained because they did not let me start with police beats, which is where all cub reporters are supposed to start. Their reason was, “eh kasi babae ka”. They kept on for awhile, and then, thankfully, they gave me the Makati beat. This is where I spent most of the five (5) years I’ve been with the Manila Bulletin. I covered the Makati beat for three (3) years. I really enjoyed it in Makati because there was a lot to write about, with the courts, police stories, local government, business, and all those other feature stories that really are intriguing. When the three (3) years on the Makati beat had passed, I was reassigned to the Senate, where I am now. So when I transferred, it was a whole new adjustment. I had to study the local government and politics. And honestly, I hate politics, but this is where I was assigned, and this is where I must stay for the time being.
Q: So what were the lessons that you’ve learned from your first beat?
A: During my first beat, nothing much, really. Well, maybe I learned how to adjust, how to adjust to work outside the office. I also learned how to deal with people, because I used to be mataray and I did not like to interact with the other reporters. I saw them as competition, but that has changed as well. I see my fellow reporters as my friends, my comrades.
Q: What would you say were your best memories as a reporter?
A: (laughs) best memories?
Q: Your best memories, or best coverage?
A: My biggest coverage was probably the Makati Bombing, the Valentine’s Day Bombing. It was the first time I’ve ever seen a person burn alive, literally burst into flames, so much so that he was no longer recognizable. That person died on the spot, the moment the place was bombed. And it was also my first time to experience rushing to Makati Med, to the people with shrapnel wounds. I saw that some of them did not even know they were already deaf, despite the fact their ears were already bleeding. At first I would get grossed out, and weak in the knees, but I’ve learned to bear it. I’ve learned to bear it, since also on another occasion, a reporter from the Inquirer and I covered the story by the train tracks in Makati. There was a person who got run over by the train, and his head got cut off. It was hardly a laughing matter, but my colleague and I were able to lighten the situation up, for my colleague said, “Oh, pano yan? Magtatanghalian pa tayo”. (laughs) To which I replied, “hindi, sige, kain na tayo”. After those two events, I’ve definitely developed a strong stomach.
Q: Did you have any memorable editors? Either in a negative or in a positive way?
A: Yes, I’ve had memorable editors. Would it be alright if I no longer mention any names? Anyway, my news editor was memorable, although we weren’t that close, we’ve been through some moments together. We did not really get along, but he helped me with my coverage abroad. We set aside our differences to get the story.
Q: How are your editors in terms of accuracy? Like in terms of your reports?
A: It depends on the editor. There are some editors who don’t really bother to check your work, and there are others who do so, strictly.
Q: How about on ethics?
A: Like, what kind?
Q: Like in terms of your stories, does it really require a certain kind of ethics?
A: It depends on the standards of the newspaper, on what it chooses to release. It really depends, like for example, you’ve done a story, but then it would put one of your advertisers in a bad light. Stories like that can be withheld. It is still the editors and the publishers who decide.
Q: In terms of deadlines, were your editors very strict, or lenient?
A: We have deadlines, and as much as possible we have to meet those deadlines. But the editors will understand if your story is complicated, or if it’s a running story, and so will give you allowances. Although, for example, the story you’re covering occurred in the morning, and later that afternoon you still have no story to submit. That’s a foul, for a reporter. Otherwise, they’re not really that strict. Not as strict as the other newspapers, based on what I’ve heard.
Q: How do they usually communicate with you regarding the deadlines?
A: They usually text, sometimes they call. It’s when they call that it’s nerve-wracking.
Q: So what would you say was your favorite story to cover?
A: For me, perhaps the 2007 elections. I worked on the campaign trail of the opposition. After the campaign trail, I was told to go back to the COMELEC, to cover the canvassing. It was fun, fulfilling, but very tiring. It made me feel like I was part of history.
Q: Do you have any other work aside from the Bulletin?
A: You mean, racket?
Q: Yes, ma’am?
A: Yes, sometimes. A few writing assignments here and there. I’d write for magazines at times, and the like.
Q: What advice would you give aspiring journalists like us?
A: (laughs) You have to be determined, determined enough to reach your goals. And you have to be interested in people, because this is important in becoming a reporter. It goes to show that you are interested in their affairs, and what goes on in their lives, be it on business, or on stories of human interest, and such.
Ria Gamboa and Pauline Guanzon: Okay, thank you very much ma’am!
Ms. Torregoza: Okay (smiles)
Hannah Torregoza was born in October 1980. She is a mass communication graduate of the Philippine Christian University. At the time of the interview she was covering the Senate for the Manila Bulletin.
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