August 4, 2008
Interviewers: Ramon Prieto & Philip Roa
Ramon L. Prieto (R): Hello good afternoon my name is Ramon L. Prieto and the cameraman here is Philip Roa who will be joining us later for the interview.
Philip V. Roa (P): Good afternoon, po!
Marixi R. Prieto (M): Good afternoon!
R: So, Tita, we’re here to interview you for our class, “Introduction To Print Media.” And we’re here to interview you about your oral history of what happened, mostly from when you started out in the newspaper business and the print business. We’ll just start with a couple of questions. If it’s okay, can we start with a biodata? What’s your full name?
M: I try not to use my formal name because I don’t normally use it. Just say its Maria A. But my nickname is Marixi and I really have been known as Marixi.
R: What’s your date of birth?
M: Sept. 11, 1940. That makes me 67.
R: Oh wow, and you’re still working.
M: Oh well, I find that keeping busy is what helps me keep strong.
R: What’s your place of birth?
M: Manila.
R: I know you’re married to Tito Alex.
M: Yes, to Alejandro Prieto.
R: Where did you attend elementary?
M: Assumption. High school, Assumption. For college, I attended Assumption also except for one year that I spent in a Manhattan college, Sacred Heart, in New York. But I finished college in Assumption.
R: What year did you finish elementary?
M: 1952
R: And high school?
M: ‘56
R: College?
M: ‘61
R: What was your course in college?
M: Business Management.
R: Since you’re in the publishing industry, did you ever experience being a journalist? We know that you’re a publisher of the Philippine Daily Inquirer but we’re wondering if you’ve ever been involved in being a reporter.
M: No, not at all. Actually I’m not the publisher of Inquirer. We own the paper. So my investment in the paper is more on the business side. In fact, I’m not a good journalist. But in Inquirer, we hire the journalists. So we manage them. I think you want to find out how I got involved in the newspaper business.
R: Yes, Tita. That was actually my next question.
M: Our family owns a paper mill which manufactures newsprint. Because of that, I used to sell newsprint to different publications during the Martial Law days. You must know that the family business of the Prietos was the Manila Times. That was closed during Martial Law but we still owned the paper mill and distributed newsprint. After the Revolution, other dailies came up. One of them was the Inquirer. And because I had been supplying a lot of the people before and during the Martial Law days, these same owners were now reforming the new newspaper. I didn’t get into Inquirer until 1993 and when I did, I entered as an investor. The Inquirer was run mostly by journalists and they didn’t really have any business of how to run a newspaper. And as all of us know, if you run any business, if you don’t make profit, you cannot continue. So that’s what we did, the group that came in with me, we started doing business improvements in the company. So much so that to this day Inquirer is not only printed in Metro Manila but we also have presses in Davao, Cebu, and in Laguna. So we have presses all over the place in order to be able to serve our readers on an on-time basis because, as you know, if you provide news in the afternoon for the morning news, it’s too late. So, because we have plants all over, we’re not hampered by bad weather, getting off-loaded because everything is manufactured in different places and so they serve the whole nation. So that’s my entry into the newspaper business. You see me here now, this is not Inquirer. I maintain my realty office. Inquirer is actually maintained by my daughter Sandy who is the president of Inquirer and she takes care of the day-to-day running of the operations. So she’s the one who’s really involved in the journalistic side. She’s not a journalist either, she also handles the business side. She puts together all the reporters and the editors to understand what makes up a business.
R: So we’re also going to ask you, specifically, what are your memories of when you first entered the newspaper business, what age you were…
M: Well, when I entered the newspaper I was at a retiring age. I was 55. I was due for retirement then I was asked by this friend of mine who was in publishing before to come in and help. And when I first entered, I was purely an investor. I didn’t attend meetings or what not. Then the one who invited me was going to migrate and he asked me to buy his share. Then the chairman of the board who was Mrs. Apostol also decided that she wanted to retire so we combined our shares. So I ended up from being a minority shareholder to a majority. And so that’s how it was. Now, my experience in entering Inquirer, to tell you frankly was probably the one that required the most publicity. The Prietos and the Rufinos are a very quiet people. They don’t like all the publicity that’s required. Because the Inquirer was now owned by the family, the people have to know who was running it. So, in the beginning, you had to become more visible which meant you have to come out in the paper to show who was behind the paper. So that was my traumatic experience. I didn’t like the visibility of having to be present in so many functions. But now, I’ve seen that it’s really part of the work that I have and so it’s been good. I’ve been very lucky that Inquirer has very good people, very dedicated. Like for me now, what I do in the Inquirer is just some policy-making or, you know, keeping the paper strong.
R: When you were younger, do you have any memories of your family probably going to the printing press?
M: Well, the only memory that I have is of my father-in-law. He was the president of the Manila Times. So probably I visited the newspaper during that time about twice. So I never really had an experience of the newspaper itself. But with the making of the newsprint, it was quite often. It was actually because we were supplying newsprint to all the publications that I became exposed to the publishing world. And so because of this exposure, I knew how more or less the operations of a paper because in meeting with them you don’t only sell, you get to talk to them socially and of course in business you experience how to run a paper.
R: So, Tita, where you interested in papers ever since?
M: Always. I’m not a typical housewife. I don’t know how to cook. I know how to run a household probably like a business. But I’ve never stopped working. Soon after I graduated, I was working. Even when I had all my children, I would go back to work usually after 4-5 days. I enjoy working. I find that it keeps my mind active.
P: Tita, do you still remember the publications you supplied newsprint to?
M: Bulletin. At that time, Times Journal. Actually, all of them because I not only distributed from our own paper mill but we were also distributors for Paper Industries. To this day, Paper Industries is closed and there are only three paper mills that can supply newsprint. It’s too expensive to import. Because you have to import paper, for newsprint, you must stock up, you have to buy by the roll. You have to buy enough to last you for at least 2 months. You have to store it. But if you get supplied locally then you can just have a weekly inventory. So that’s why we use newsprint that is supplied locally.
P: Do you supply any tabloids with paper?
M: Yes.
P: Do you remember any of these tabloids?
M: No, I’m sorry. That was a long time ago. But Malaya was existing at that time. That was one of them and we would supply the newsprint to wholesale suppliers who would then supply other newspapers or magazines, whatever would need newsprint. So not necessarily would we be the ones to sell directly to them, it would go through a middleman. Most of the time we would supply to the big users. The smaller users, we would supply them on a smaller basis.
R: Can you describe to us, Tita, the physical facilities of the Inquirer. Maybe the type of press, the state-of-the-art press that you acquired?
M: Well, Inquirer owns its own building. It’s located in Pasong Tamo on Chino Roces avenue. They own a press. It’s directly behind the paper which prints our overbight edition and then those are our oldest presses because that was the beginning. Then we have another press in Laguna which actually does not only the paper. It also prints on a commercial basis. We print lots of magazines and even coffee table books. In fact, we do print something for La Salle. I think it’s a newsletter that you have. Did you ever get to see the Prieto family book?
R: Yes, Tita, the Primos Unidos.
M: Yes, we printed that. From the printing, we expanded into commercial printing. We do a lot of magazines. And we decided to put another on. We have another press in Cebu and in Davao. So, they’re all high-speed machines. They’re not the regular machines that smaller printers use.
R: So they’re all the latest models?
M: Well, not all, but those are very conduit to our printing. And we keep them updated. We have allowed several adjustments to be made so that we can print new kinds of things. I don’t know if you read the newspapers but then you have those that open panoramically. So that’s something that we have incorporated into our paper. And if you look at our magazines they have all the latest innovations in printing.
R: I noticed that, Tita, because I read the Inquirer everyday and sometimes I even read it from cover to cover.
M: Oh, that’s good. I’m glad. Oh, you should give us your input on what we can improve on.
R: Actually, Tita, it’s all the latest stuff. I can’t really add anything.
M: But it’s always good for us. We have now what you call the Readers Council wherein we get people from the outside to tell us what they actually would like to see in the paper. So we have Reader’s Council for sports, for lifestyle, even for the main section. It’s one way of keeping in touch with our readers because, you know, it’s good to be updated and to get their views and they tell us we want to have more stories on this. It’s like advising our editors what they should write more about. S o that keeps us updated. And we have lots of innovations in the papers like we also have what you call Inquirer Briefings wherein we get some of our columnists to brief us on present-day issues like we have one this Wednesday which is on the economy of the country after the SONA. You know, what we can see. And it’s a discussion. We have somebody who speaks and relates with the audience. You know, to ask questions.
R: So Tita, as the owner of the Inquirer are you one of the first people who receives the news?
M: No, I receive the paper at the same time from delivery.
R: When there’s a big event, are you one of the first ones who know about it through your journalists?
M: No. I could say from the beginning until now, this has probably only happened twice. I get a call if there is a problematical headline and only to make sure that it’s within our policies because you have to understand that a newspaper’s very controversial when it comes to politics. We, as the owners, instill into all our journalists that they must always be fair. They cannot be biased for anyone’s side. That’s why Inquirer, remember, doesn’t endorse any candidate because if we endorse any candidate, and that candidate wins, and then they will say that, “You endorsed me in the paper”, so you know we don’t do that and we try as much as possible because we try to give people time and space to every politician that comes. And in business, we also give their side. And if sometimes someone fears that they have not been properly interviewed or talked about we have a Reader’s Advocate who you can write to and complain. And this one is taken up very seriously by us. And you can discuss if we have been fair or not. And if we have not been fair, we correct.
R: So Tita, we have already interviewed a publisher of a newspaper. Actually it’s a very small newspaper. It’s called Todo Silip Expose. It’s a tabloid actually. Well, she encountered a libel case. So what can you say about the Inquirer? Has Inquirer encountered any libel cases?
M: Oh, plenty! I think some people are angry. But I don’t think we have lost any libel case. Yes, because like I said, our real reporters are very strict, with them about having all these two sources for whatever they write, print about and then they always try and get the view of the other person. But sometimes, when you call them up they say, ‘no comment’, so you cannot do anything, you know. And so it’s up to us to be as certain always that there is fairness in whatever was printed.
P: So what is your initial reaction to when you hear a libel case being filed at some of your reporters or most of your reporters?
M: Every time a libel case is filed in we have a legal department that looks into it, and checks and then of course they verify it. As I said, one of the reasons why we haven’t lost our cases is because we are not biased for any particular person and we have all of these supporting documents always to come out with our stories. Sometimes the person who gave it to you, though he’s very well known as a person, may have just fabricated the story. But you can show that you have the proofs of how you got the information. That’s why we even warned all our journalists they must always have basis for all their stories. Because I feel that public is office is what remains public. So even public office is open to the public for criticism. So there’s no such thing as private if you go to the government. Your life is now open to the public.
R: What are your memories of the Inquirer in the time of Martial Law, or in the time of national crisis?
M: You have to remember that the Inquirer was not there during Martial Law. It only came about after the Revolution and I wasn’t involved with Inquirer at that time. The crisis what we have from time to time is when we have certain presidents who don’t like what we do and so we are very open to difficulties. But, you know, we always try to tell them that if we’re saying something wrong about you please tell us what it is. But like I said, sorry, because I feel that you are in public office, there should be no agenda, except to serve your country. They have to be the safeguards of that sign. We take very seriously the idea of being a fourth estate. Because we feel that if there’s nobody there to safeguard the rights of the citizens, it may be too late when the time comes that you’re in it. That’s why we ask our readers to be vigilant especially during these times. Like you made a comment ‘There’s no what?’ Well…it’s because of that that we have to change that. Because these are your tomorrows. It’s no longer mine’s nor your dad’s. It’s actually your tomorrows. If you don’t safeguard your rights, come the day…you have a right to a clean and honest government that works for you. If you don’t do anything about it, it becomes your fault. I really feel that this paper has a vision. It’s not just merely providing news but really help to nation-build. It has to give the strength to people who are free to come out on their own. Like lets say, how do you keep somebody honest? If he knows somebody’s watching him, he’ll be more careful that he doesn’t do anything wrong. Because I feel that some of our government officials can’t say ‘no’. So I often tell them, ‘you know we can be the ones to say no for you’. Because if somebody pressures them, we can, and it’s our one way of helping them keep their morals straight.
R: So are there any memorable editors?
M: Surprisingly, all our editors are still the same, they haven’t changed, like Letty Magsanoc. Of course they’ve risen from what they were into higher positions. The only one who’s left, of course she’s retired, is the founder who is Eggy Apostol. She used to be the editor also but now she’s retired already and she’s out of the paper. But all of the other people are still with us. We’ve increased from, I think we’re about four or five times the number of employees it was when we started in, uh, 1986, so we’re a lot more people now, yes.
R: So, Tita, what was the Inquirer’s name before?
M: Always the Inquirer. We’ve been Philippine Daily Inquirer all these years. Actually, they sometimes mistook it because it evolved from Mr. & Mrs. Mr. & Mrs. was a weekly publication I think that used to print stories and then the same group opened the Inquirer.
R: So what’s your attitude towards the deadlines and towards the reporters? How do you communicate to them, or if ever?
M: Well, luckily I don’t have to do that. The one who does that is my daughter. And she does not go over, uh, what they write, she remains completely on the business side. But we talk about deadlines and that always a problem for a newspaper because there are so many exciting stories that happen in the middle of the night. So you don’t know when to come out with it or not.
R: I can’t also imagine, Tita, like when they lay out the paper and it’s so thick…how…
M: Well, you can go and see the paper. You can have a visit and see what happens at 10 o’clock. There’s always a mad rush. It starts at about 8 o’clock when they come out of layout. Luckily now, because of the computers, it has helped a lot.
R: And this is everyday, Tita?
M: Everyday. Every single day.
R: Wow!
M: Yes! It’s a ‘Wow!’. That’s why I said it’s a very nerve-wracking business!
R: It must be stressful just to be there.
M: Yes.
P: Do you have any memorable colleagues? Do you still remember these people?
M: Yes, one, very much. General Menzi. He used to own the Bulletin. It was during the time he only used to distribute newsprint so we used to sell those prints to him. He was the one who introduced me a lot to the going-ons of a paper.
P: Was he a very close friend of yours?
M: A very close friend. He passed away though just before, I think, yeah I think before I got into the paper, which was in 1984. But during his time, he taught me about the business side of the paper. So he was, you could always say, a mentor of mine.
R: We were just talking about him today in class.
M: Yes! He was a very, very brilliant man. Mistaken, I think, for a lot of things but very, very good at what he did, you know.
R: But what can you say, Tita, about him? Because we were talking about how he was I a crony of Marcos, but we don’t really don’t know anything about that so we want to…
M: You know, I’ll tell you that during Martial Law, you have to remember how long the period of Martial Law is. If you wanted to remain in business, there were certain things that you really had to. I don’t think he was really a crony of Marcos in the sense that he got anything from him. In fact, you have to understand he owned Bulletin before Martial Law. He was actually the number 3 paper. It was the business paper. It was Manila Times, and then I think the Chronicle, and then I think the Bulletin was the business side. When he reopened the Bulletin, he opened it on his own. He didn’t get money from it. I cannot personally affirm this, but I am sure that the Marcos’ had shares in the Bulletin, but he owned his own shares. It was his own money that got him where he is. And I think that the problem that he had that he had no one to protect him after he died. No one to stand up for his own business because he was the only one here of his own family. And his president at that time, Mars Quimson, also migrated to Canada so there was really no one to fight for his shares. In fact, his shares, everything that he owned was given to a foundation.
R: Oh what foundation was that?
M: It’s the Menzi Foundation and they take care of giving scholarships. So it never went to him, but the personal things. He was very frugal and his only enjoyment really, was flying. We used to fly and I was lucky enough to, uh…We used to go out about twice a month to go to the…He was my introduction to the south: Basilan, Zamboanga, all of these dangerous places, we would fly. And I think that he never, um, I don’t think he abused his position and so when they say that he was a crony, in the sense I think if you look at it everybody must’ve been a crony who was a businessman who involved shares. But in the sense that you had to live with the situation, so…
R: Not necessarily to steal or take advantage…
M: Yes…yes. That’s right. And that’s why I just, uh…I’m still quite close to his employees that he has because they also are part of his foundation. But it didn’t go to a Swiss account or what not, you know, everything he had, went, like I said, to a foundation. You know, no one, really. No family member…
R: Tita it’s good that you told us because I’m going to tell my professor…
M: Yes, he was an honest man. He was not a crony. He didn’t get a, uh, I think it was mistaken that he was a crony because I think prior to the opening of the Bulletin, he was like an aide-de-camp of the president, Marcos.
P: Yes, we were just talking about that in class today.
M: Yes, during that time. But he never really asked, uh, the only business he was in was the newspaper and he owned it before and he knew how to run it as a businessman. Only because Bulletin was not the paper that was around after Martial Law. When Martial Law was declared all the newspapers were closed and so the other newspapers prior to Bulletin was the Daily Express and the Times Journal then Bulletin came in. And yet, even if the other ones were ahead he was able to bring the Bulletin to be the number one paper during Martial Law.
R: Ah okay. So have you ever experienced ventures because of work?
M: Sometimes when we get international awards, I attend, or conferences also to learn more. But now, I leave it to the people in the office who are the ones who attend. You know, I really am very strictly more on the business side more than the “learning-how-to-update-myself” on journalism. We have very good people and they’re very, very gifted so that’s why we pay them to run the paper. I might as well not pay them and do it myself, you know, so that’s why you get good people to do the work that they’re good at. So I feel that we have very good people and they know how to write more than I do so I just make sure that what they write, because it’s a newspaper, is always fair.
P: So you mentioned a while ago that you travel, one reason is that because the paper wins international awards. Do you remember these awards?
M: The last one that we got, that’s why I attended, is the one in Macau. We got the national awards regarding print. So, and prior to that, there’s a lot. I don’t know if you’ve heard of the Cannes? The awards that has to do with the advertising. Because the advertising, the Philippine advertising, we felt, needed to be acknowledged in the world and have great recognition. And so now we’re part of Cannes because we got their partnership so we bring the advertisers. The ones who win here I brought to Cannes and they compete and I think they won, you know, some of the prizes already. It’s one way of us, uh, sharing the gift of the Filipino, you know. But really the running of that now is a joint effort between the journalists and the business in the business world because they provide the venue for them to get to the places they want to go because take for example, they way we are, if you want to buy all these computers, if you want to provide your journalists, there’s no money to buy it then you can’t get yourself updated. So the editors realized that if they want to keep the newspaper independent, they must make money.
R: I think we’ve touched on many topics already so…
M: Yes! Good! Okay!
P: Oh, just to close lang po, Tita, what is your message to the youth who want to get involved in the newspaper business?
M: I think my message would be, ah…that’s a hard one! What would I give my children? Probably the message is that the role of being in media is very, very important. I think not only does one seek for economical reasons but more for what you can do for your country. Because, as you put it very well, there are very few honest people in the government. We just want to correct that situation. Each one of us has to do our share and I think the youth has this especially has this opportunity because they don’t have any baggage. They can correct the situation and see it very unbiased. It’s a little more difficult for the older people because sometimes we tend to be a bit more pessimistic on what we should be and we always say ‘we can’t do anything about that’. But I think that’s a wrong attitude and I think being a journalist, you can do something about it. It would entail a lot of sacrifice but if you’re willing to give, uh, if your moves are gearing, you know for prosperity, then this is the business for you.
P: Finally, what is your message to the youth of the Philippines?
M: Ah, I would like the Philippines to be optimistic. I’d like the youth not to keep on thinking, uh, not having to do with what is existing but to try and to put the situation for every little thing that they can do. If they can, uh, even the little things I know it’s very simple but even things like throwing garbage, following the rules, setting the example, And even how small, I don’t think there is anything trivial in doing anything that will correct the situation. Because can you imagine if you stop throwing a piece of paper into the streets. If you just multiply that by the number of people we have. If they all stop, how much that would help. So it’s also respecting private property. And so I’m saying we have to instill this, that everything that we do we have to be answerable for.
P: Thank you po so much for your time Tita! We really appreciate you allowing us to interview you, knowing that you have such a hectic schedule!
R: Yes, thank you for giving us your time! We’ve gained so much insight from you today!
M: You’re welcome! Oh, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go and sign some papers already!
R: Thank you again Tita and God bless you!
