Los Baos Times: A Collaborative Community News Platform

About
Los Baos Times is a collaborative community news platform under the
auspices of the Department of Development Journalism- College of
Development Communication, UP Los Baos. Various stakeholders in Los
Baos and nearby communities are involved as collaborators in the planning,
production, and management.
A not-for-profit community media, Los Baos Times has editorial
independence. It is not an instrument of political propaganda but of the
communitys agenda and interests.
It is deeply committed to being a platform of dialogue in the community. It
gives voice to various sectors, particularly those who are underrepresented
such as the small-scale farmers and fisherfolk, women, children, the elderly,
indigenous people, and people with disabilities. Taking into consideration the
changing needs of the community, it informs and educates the community
on relevant and important development issues, especially in food security
and nutrition, natural resources and environment, education, health and wellbeing, and entrepreneurship. It promotes local cultural practices. It tells the
stories of ordinary men, women, and children, told from their own
perspective and with the hope that this would help them have a better quality
of life and empower them to build sustainable communities.

History
Los Baos Times, as it is called now, was patterned from Sandiwa, an
eight-page fortnightly publication in Pilipino and a laboratory newspaper for a
course on community press. Sandiwa first came out in 1972 under the then
Department of Agricultural Communications, UP College of Agriculture. The
name Sandiwa means unity of mind, spirit, and idea. Its guiding philosophy
is to help in the best possible way in improving the quality of the life of
people living in the rural areas, by bringing to them important and latest
information about the different aspects of life, particularly those which deal
with agriculture and other related endeavors. With readers from 18 towns in
Laguna, Rizal, Batangas, and some parts of Manila and Quezon City,
Sandiwa published stories on community events, regular columns on
farming, livestock raising, homemaking, health and sanitation, and crossword
puzzles. In 1978-1980, Sandiwa was beset with financial woes, budget
constraints, and lack of staff.
In 1983, Los Baos Times was published as a project of the DEVC 164
(Production and Management of a Community Newspaper) class under Dr.
Crispin Maslog of the then Department of Development Communication of
the College of Agriculture (CA). Three decades after, Los Baos Times
remains as a community newspaper managed and produced every second
semester of the academic year by students enrolled in DEVC123 (Production
and Management of a Community Newspaper) class under the Department of
Development Journalism, College of Development Communication,
University of the Philippines Los Baos (UPLB).
Los Baos Times has evolved through the years to cater to the needs and
interests of its readers. The first magazine supplement In Depth came out in
2006. In 2010 the Los Baos Times officially started its online edition
(www.lbtimes.ph) to cater to a wider audience. From here, its social media

presence was established with its Facebook (www.facebook.com/LbTimes)

and Twitter (www.twitter.com/LB_Times) accounts.
Last March 2014, Los Baos Times Libre published its first issue.
REFERENCES:
Dy, Mary Ebitha. (Dec 1983) The Sandiwa: Lessons from Research and
Experience. CARD Digest (Communicators for Agricultural and Rural
Development), UPLB College, Laguna.

Guiding Philosophy
We are a collective of educators, learners, and practitioners of development
journalism at the Department of Development Journalism (DDJ) at University
of the Philippines Los Baos (UPLB) College of Development Communication
(CDC).
The DDJ faculty and staff work together with student development journalists
and the Los Baos community stakeholders to tell stories of community
activities and projects, localize national issues, share the Los Baos culture,
and facilitate community dialogue. Every Los Baos Times article is a story of
us a testament to the collaboration between the DDJ-CDC staff, our
students, and the members of the Los Baos community. Our print editions
and online platforms aim to provide venues for community stories and for
local multi-stakeholder perspectives.
More than reporting local development stories and presenting local
perspectives, our goal at the Los Baos Times is to capacitate and empower
community members to tell their own stories to take a step forward from
being interviewees and sources to becoming storytellers of their community
activities and concerns.

To achieve that vision, we have been holding development journalism

congress for high school students in the Calabarzon area. Undergraduate
junior development journalism students facilitate the sessions in the
development journalism congress.
Our development journalism training at the Los Baos Times goes beyond
the application of concepts and the production and management of a
community newspaper. Our students are trained to act as mentors for
younger development journalists-in training and share what they have
learned from their reportage courses.
A network of Los Baos Times community collaborators will be established
from the development journalism congress participants. This pool of
collaborators will report on their school and community activities and issues.
In exchange, they will be mentored by the Los Baos Times staff and will be
given access to our newsroom facilities.
Aside from establishing a network of student collaborators, we have also
been working on building a network of community stakeholders. Members of
this network will represent various sectors in the Los Baos community such
as the local government unit (LGU) offices, line agencies, research and
development organizations, non-government organizations (NGOs), transport
organizations, farmers associations, and volunteer groups, among others.
The network of community collaborators will facilitate dialogue and a more
efficient sharing of information between and among stakeholders.
Representatives from these stakeholder groups will collaborate with the Los
Baos Times to tell stories of their projects and activities. As with the
network of student collaborators, the Los Baos Times will train community
collaborators in telling their own development stories.

We, at the Los Baos Times, are for facts based, community-centered,
solution-driven, and process-oriented storytelling.

Editorial Policies
Scope
The Los Baos Times Editorial Policies extend to all forms of content or
material published and/or posted in all its community news platforms and
covers all stages of story development, from data gathering to publication.
Ethics
The Los Baos Times strictly subscribes to the Philippine Press Institute
(PPI)s Journalists Code of Ethics, with emphasis on fair and honest dealing
with all parties involved in the material or content development.
The Los Baos Times staff, students, and community collaborators are
expected to observe the code. Content contributions from members of the
community shall be reviewed and/or modified by the editorial board to
conform to the code.
Responsibility
The Los Baos Times editorial board reserves the right to deny publication of
any submitted material deemed as inadequately developed content,
malicious, obscene, and perceived as threat to public order and community
morale and interests
The editorial board will be responsible for ensuring that all content published
are in line with the publications editorial policies.
Content and credits

The Los Baos Times publishes a wide range of stories relayed in various
forms such as articles, photo stories, videos, infographics, and works of art,
among others. Creators of such content shall be properly cited in all Los
Baos Times platforms.
The editorial board decides on the final lineup of articles to be published.
Development-oriented content
All content of the Los Baos shall focus on food security and nutrition,
natural resources and management, education, health and well-being,
entrepreneurship, and local culture.
Research
Research is viewed as an important aspect of its operations for it to be
responsive and relevant to the community. Needs assessment, readership
studies, monitoring and evaluation, including effects to the community must
be periodically conducted to guide planning, management, production, and
distribution.
Writing Principles
We subscribe to Strunk and Whites principles of clear and effective writing in
crafting content for our news platforms, emphasizing accuracy, brevity, and
clarity in our reports.
Community engagement and diversity of local perspectives
The Los Baos Times actively seeks contributions from community members
and experts on various fields. We hold equal regard for various points of view
and present multiple perspectives in an issue.
We make sure that community members can benefit from our expertise,
facilities, and resources. The Los Baos Times publishes community posts
free of charge. Community posts can come in the form of announcements

and invitations for agency activities, pleas for assistance in the retrieval of
missing family members or properties, membership announcements of local
cooperatives and associations, among others.
Student and community collaborators are trained on the basics of
storytelling, production skills, and other skills needed to successfully run a
community news platform.
Sponsorship and external funding
Being a non-profit, the Los Baos Times will accept donations and
sponsorships for the sole purpose of sustaining its operations and in
accordance with the University rules and regulations. Donations and
sponsorships shall in no way hinder the Los Baos Times from realizing its
purpose for the community.