Training cubs, newbies and hopefuls is a forte. Imparted to them is that editors are keenly watching out for any indication of plagiarism, an unforgiveable sin in the newsroom.
A journalist does not have to be "Academically Intelligent." He/she has to have a nose for news, ingenious, practical, productive, resourceful, and novel. The last one, which practically applies primarily to broadcast journos, means creating own and unique style of reporting to mark your existence.
Basically, the old news form is formula writing — 5Ws 1H — and then style it.
Good Old Typewriter
My four decades in the trade made me realize that there is no easy path to each rung in the ladder. Each step must be earned the hard and traditional way: tears and fears!
Having worked with three daily newspapers, I salute my superiors — from Johnny Perez of Manila Times, Eggie Apostol of Inquirer and Ben Rodriguez of Manila Bulletin. Training under them is priceless and beyond compare.
Somehow, from the good old Remington typewriters we each "owned" in the newsroom, the shift to computerization was more than laborious. Typing and composing with "Microsoft Word" was not the predicament.
For sometime, we relied on the hardcopy pasted at the side of each unit for key shortcuts. If the wrong command was keyed in, what we composed or edited for hours will vanish in thin air, irretrievable. Back to Square One!
"Memory" or "back" keys were foreign to us until another program or software was introduced. And then, we had to go through another training to be familiar. Tutorials via YouTube were not yet anywhere near the "information highway". YouTube was created and made accessible in the worldwide web only in February 2005.
The other 'AI'
And came digital transformation from analog. Digitalization is a real wonderful development in the newsroom!
The new tech introduced countless apps to facilitate search and even composition — so-branded as journalistic writing — via another AI, "Artificial Intelligence". Some of these are the Maestra, Grammarly, ChatGPT, SpinBot, etc.
Another wonder of these new creations is that what these add to the kitty shies away what regular employment offers.
Plagiarize 'With Dignity'
At a holiday gathering I attended in Toronto, I met a new-age freelance journo named Linda who I assumed must be of Cuban or Jamaican descent with her accent.
She claims to "be connected" with major newspapers and magazines circulated in the US and earns thousands of dollars a month for published articles. Wow! And Linda never had experience as a true-blue journalist ... not ever! She admitted, though, she started as a travel blogger and Tiktoker. Double wow!
I was stunned when Linda volunteered how she does it. "I plagiarize with dignity!" "Plagiarism is undetectable." Huh?
Already in her late 40s, Linda went on proudly showing me the ropes on her phone. Curiously, she caught my attention.
"Hack and make money," she boasted. "Who cares nowadays!" "It's all for the mullah!"
In short, what Linda does is to "Google search" daily for current news and stories from any site, including blogs. Then, she clicks "SpinBot app," among other apps, to reword. Voila!
Adding her byline and photo, the article becomes "her very own." There are 10 sites in her list to choose from.
An 'Old-School' Journo
Guys, was I horror-struck to the hilt! So this is now acceptable?
Do they earn to be called "journalists" in the real meaning of the word? Goosebumps!!!
I assure my dear readers that — simple as it looks, no matter how crude, outdated, and imperfect the style is — every word in my writings is original and not touched by any AI app.
Times must have turned 360 degrees and, still, I am a proud "old-school" journo!
(email opinyon.luchie@gmail.com.)
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