GANZON. A one on one interview with Mr. Eric Caruncho.
CARUNCHO. I actually entered the newspaper business mid-career na. I already had a….let's see, I graduated 78, I started working 78 also but I only went into newspapers after the Edsa Revolution in '86 nung nag-re-open na yung papers. Before that there were only 4 newspapers what we now call the "crony press". It was The Bulletin, The --- Express, Times Journal and, (what was the other one.. Times Journal, Express, Bulletin…) there was three basically so hindi attractive sa'kin at that time to work for a paper. At the same time, it was also better sa other….sa private sector so that time the journalists were paid very little. If you go into journalism, you start as a reporter, you start from the bottom, so because of those reasons I didn't go to the newspapers until nag-re-open na yung Manila Times, Manila Chronicle. I started writing for Manila Times as a freelance writer, bali contributor. But when the majority of the staff walked out, I joined the Manila Chronicle, that's when I applied and I was accepted as a feature writer.

Q. I see, but otherwise, kung hindi po ganon yung situation dati, would you have applied kaagad?
A. Probably, oo kung mas ano….In fact some of my batchmates, although not as many as you might expect from a journalism class, went into the papers immediately after school.

Q. So yung una po ninyong pinasukan, yung pinaka-regular ninyo, naging feature "ano" (staff) kayo.
A. Ya, oo, that's the thing, I never went through the process of starting from the beats diba and working my way up to the more prominent beats. I started derecho sa features 'coz at that time there was an opening, the feature writer of The Chronicle left and I replaced him.

Q. Could you describe the people you worked with, the publisher, the editors or your colleagues.
A. Since I've already been in the feature section, let's say na mas… usually kasi independent yung features from the news eh, the magazine, the lifestyle pages, the other sections - autonomous 'yan within the newspaper as far as "stunning" stories. So, in all of the papers I worked with, ganon yung set-ups, so there. I've always worked with an editor na like the features editor then in The Manila Chronicle, it was just the features editor and two staff writers.

Q. How about yung hours n'yo, or pag holidays, nababawasan po ba yung holidays n'yo? Salaries? Deadlines?
A. Well, that's the thing about journalism no, in terms of salary scale, mababa yung ano…compared to the private sector. On the other hand, yung demands n'ya yung different from nine-to-five (9am- 5pm)employment. So output oriented yung work, if you're working in editorial. If you're working in the administrative sa papers, it's basically like any other company, you punch in at eight (8am) and punch out at five (5pm). But editorial kasi, it depends on the production of, the printing of the paper. So, normally, your day will start after lunch, mga two or three (2 or 3), then it can go on until seven of eight (7pm or 8pm) or even as late as twelve (12) if you're running late. You have to be flexible with your time so that's one of the compensations of the salary. Sa'min sa magazine, since weekly kami, we have much less pressure than people who are working for the daily. Sila daily deadlines, kami weekly.

Q. So, hindi po siya ganon ka-demanding kumbaga?
A. In terms of your time you can, more or less, schedule your own work. You can even do your work at home and…

Q. ….just submit it
A. Ya.

Q. But when it comes to deadlines…
A. It's the same, pag may deadline, you have to have a story at the deadline. So in a way, mas flexible ka but yung deadline ang hindi flexible. 'Pag sinabing it has to be in by Thursday - it HAS to be in by Thursday.

Q. Sa editors naman po, did you encounter any memorable editor?
A. I've been, more or less, lucky sa mga editors I've worked with. Wala pa 'kong, I haven't been with anyone who's, you might say, is difficult to work with. They've all been very accommodating, understanding, open. I don't know if it's just a matter of luck oh…

Q. So, most of them ganon or can you name one na talagang okay?
A. All of them. My editor sa feature section came from The Manila Times pre-martial law and then when I went to the Sunday Times Magazine, my editor was Rosario Garsellano and in fact, that's how I got into The Inquirer. Kasi while I was in The Times, my editor in The Chronicle, si Lorna, became an editor of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine. Nung nagkaroon na naman ng opening, another lucky break, somebody left and I was thinking of leaving also Manila Times. And since meron na kaming previous experience of working together, it became easy for me to get the job.

Q. Then when it came to accuracy, or ethics, or grammar…
A. 'Di naman. Of course, accuracy, ethics, it's always a concern but one thing, the pressure is less on those things in a magazine kasi feature yung ano mo, so in features, there's more emphasis on writing style then there is in those. That sort of fits in with my personality because I am more of a writer than a newsman, than a reporter. Pero, it's also, still, the things that you need to have in a news story, you still have to have them in a features story. You have to have the right facts, still have to worry about ethics and, of course, writing grammar. The thing is if you're a staff writer as opposed to a contributor, more or less expected na yung level of competence mo is high enough na hindi masyadong magiging problema ng editor yung grammar. For one thing, kung mali-mali yung grammar mo, you're not going to get into the magazine of features.

Q. Sir, was there ever a time na hindi n'yo na-meet yung deadline or…
A. Ya, occassionally may mga unavoidable events like umalis yung source mo, nag-out of town, 'di mo na-interview, usually ganong nangyayari eh. You don't meet the deadline because you miss the interview like wala yung subject na i-interviewhin mo mo - that happens. Again, sa magazine, the pressure is much less. Since you're working on an advanced schedule, especially sa weekly, we do our issues two weeks in advance so mas malaking leeway namin to replace a story with something else kung hindi pumasok. So, it's less of a disaster if you don't meet the deadline. Although, of course, that also reflects on your abilities.

Q. How about the attitude of your editors toward the deadlines?
A. Well, there have been cases na yung habitual …. Writers were habitually late in meeting the deadlines or fail to meet the deadlines on several occasions. I know of at least one or two na who've been asked to transfer to another department. So, ako kasi I seldom miss the deadline. If I do miss the deadline or if I think I'm going to miss the deadline, ina-anticipate ko na and I do something else.

Q. You choose another subject.
A. I do another story. Luckily, sa features, it's easy to do that. You can't interview A then you interview B nalang. Equal naman yung worthiness nila. So, I've never had a major problem with deadlines.

Q. But sir, yung sinabi n'yo kaninang kilala n'yo, if ever hindi nila na-meet, they're transferred to another department?
A. It's a case to case basis. It's not really a written policy, but of course, it factors in the evaluation of the performance of the staff member so I mean, the number one palagi, in any kind of journalist, is you produce a good story but first, you have to produce. Deadlines are actually very important even in features. A writer who's consistent is more valuable than a writer who is brilliant but who is not consistent. Mas importante ang consistency. A writer who's brilliant, maybe you'd want to have him as a contrubutor so you can, you don't have to rely on his output. But, if it's a staff writer na who's being paid a salary, like any other business, production ang importante.

Q. So sir if you're a contributor, you can just submit your story anytime?
A. Well, ya, basically. If you're a contributor then you're paid by the article. If you're a staff, you're paid a salary. So since it's a contribution, you can submit it anytime. Most contributors naman at least talk to the editor before they submit the story. They have an idea whether or not it's going to be accepted.

Q. And then, do you have any memorable colleagues?
A. The thing about newspapers….well, ya memorable. Well, in the weekly, we don't spend very much time with our colleagues. We see each other once a week and only for four or five (4 or 5) hours stretch so it's not like an office na you're together eight (8) hours a day. So, yung relationships mo tend to be different….memorable…ya.

Q. Someone na malakas yung impact sa….
A. Well, hindi, not exactly a colleague kasi people in other departments are influential. I usually hang out with the people in the art department sa Chronicle no'n. Writers tend to be boring. It's memorable 'coz I was able to observe yung creative processes sa art department and in a way, na -- din yung creativity ko as a writer kasi mas intuitive yung trabaho nila. They still produce something na editorial content pero the way they produce it is not s rigid as yung by-the-book news writing. So, ya. I guess you can say na the glory days of Philippine journalism is over. Wala na yung mga, I mean, you don't have people hanging out in the press club anymore except for the senior journalists. In most newspapers, the staff is relatively young. The staff siguro late 20's is the average age so yung culture ng newspapers is not the same as it was before the martial law. Most of the newspaper people ngayon are also graduates of either Journalism, or Communication, or English so it's no longer usual to find someone who starts as a copy boy, the coffee guy tapos mag-ti-tiyaga s'ya, magiging reporter and work his way up. Bihira na 'yon. I mean, it still happens okay. Most newspaper people now are trained so at least yung ine-envision namim no'n when we were in school - that's not what I came in the first time I worked with the newspapers. The stories that our teachers would tell us, we found out na hindi na gano'n pala.

Q. Why? What were you expecting when you were still in college?
A. Kasi our teachers, some of our teachers were mga veteran newspaper men who worked in the papers during the 60's. Yung mga stories nila yung mga barilan, mga kinukulong sila and the wild wild west of the 60's. Now it's more work-oriented. At the same time, na-revolutionize na rin yung technology like reporters usually don't report to the newspaper office anymore. There are more reporters that I haven't actually seen in my seven (7) years at Inquirer and they haven't seen me. Kasi reporters seldom have to go here, they can just fax their story, or email it, or phone it in. So, yung social interaction in the newspaper places very minimal na except for the people who happen to stay here: the desk people, the editors. At the same time since concentrated din yung work to a shorter period during the day, wala ring opportunities talaga for interaction outside other than kung ano yung kailangan mo sa tao so it's very different from any other kind of work.

Q. Can you still recall some of the things na na-share sa inyo ng professor n'yo when they used to write dati, before the martial law?
A. Well, yung mga legends of Philippine journalism like Rod Reyes post a drug addict and some of the war strories ng journalism professor. The point at which was to --- upon the students na you should be able to go to any 'lens' in order to produce a good story - yung mga undercover or like the guy who had himself jailed so he could write about the condition of the city jail.

Q. Were you not discouraged no'ng sinasabi nila 'to?
A. 'Di naman. Romantic idea 'to. Romantic idea of the crusading newspaper but it's, well, actually if you choose to do that, pwede pa rin. There's still the avenue for that. The less romantic aspect of researching and interviewing and writing is actually the main thing. It's really research - write. Para kang 'di umalis ng skwela. And of course, there are certain perks also like…ah, put in your mind that you can inflict yourself on anyone that you choose. You have the right to intrude on anyone, anyone that interests you whether nasa showbiz s'ya or politics, government.

Q. So, did you ever find yourself in that situation na kunyari there's someone na nasa politics and you know na medyo delikado pag ininterview n'yo s'ya?
A. Hindi na rin eh kasi I think most people are very aware of media so it's much less difficult to get an interview now. Everybody wants to be in the papers, everybody wants to see themselves sa paper. Of course it's another matter to get them to say something that they don't want to say. So that also works against you kasi sophisticated na rin yung pagkaintindi sa media. They know that they can put a spin on the story by saying what they want to say and leaving out what they don't want to say. It's really hard to force someone to say something that he doesn't want to say so you're left to having to interview other people who might say something.

Q. What are some of the significant events you covered, or who are the significant people you actually dealt with?
A. The more socially significant events after the Edsa Revolution. The process of consolidating things after the Marcos regime. I got to interview a lot of different kinds of people, like one of the first is Gringo Honasan after the revolution, then I also interviewed NPA's, political detainees - mostly people on the right and on the left. But now, I settled into magazines. It's more on celebrities so, actors and actresses, government officials, but we try to feature also people who are less well known but who are doing work which I think is important like mga environmentalists, people working with the NGO's, working with the poor, mga artists operating outside the mainstream, cultural writers, painters and musicians.

Q. What were some of your best memories as a…when you were just starting, or sabi n'yo after the Martial law you started interviewing people?
A. Dami. The earlier ones I remember public features like Gringo Honasan, underground figures ng NPA, also yung mga strong personalities. People who are well known but whose minds are original thinkers. Even the think pieces are stimulating. It's the discussion that produces the story. In a way, it's memorable to me, maybe not to the reader, the person that I write about is not really a celebrity but the way they think is interesting to me.

Q. Can you tell us three, at least three of the most important things you learned as a journalist?
A. One, always meet your deadline, sa bagay that's basic actually pero… Two, second is working in a newspaper is like staying in school for the rest of your life. You learn something new everyday. Number two is, I guess, you keep learning, don't stop learning, keep yourself open to everything. Three, don't rely on your salary to keep you alive. Look out for other opportunities, that's the third. If you try to live on your salary, you'll never make it.

Q. You think you'll ever get tired of this kind of routine or you think you'll just keep on writing?

Q. Well, you go through periods of boredom with what you're doing. The way to do that is to vary the kind of things you write about, to actually do something different. If you're a writer primarily then you can also be an editor. You can switch between editing and writing. Ako, well, on the side, I'm also an editor. I'm editing a magazine so that fulfills my other needs. I also involve myself in the production of the story. I usually am involved in the photography. That's the other thing I learned. Number four, make sure you have good pictures so kahit pangit yung article mo….

Q. At least yung picture maganda!
A. ….hindi total loss. People are more, over the years I've been working on the papers, parang the visuals have become more important. The writing has become less important, the articels have become shorter. Dati I would write a 5-page article, now I'd write a 3-page article. The literacy level is going down and also the attention span of people. They don't want to focus on one article. I mean, gusto nila mag-browse especially if they grew up on the internet. Nasanay sila sa jumping from one page to another. So the way you produce a magazine is parang ganon. If you want to go deeper into, you can, pero it really has to be something na…parang they can jump on another article and go back to another. Ito na yung habits ng tao.

Q. Among these things na ginawa n'yo - editing, writing and photography, which do you consider the best?
A. Well, writing is still my….that's where my skills lie. I'm not really a very good reporter 'coz it's in the writing that I try myself. Of course you need the material in order to write so I have to do the reporting also. I have to cover the event or interview people, do the research, pero I think of it as getting the materials I need to construct/finish the article. That's one way of doing it. The other way is to work on it from the other side, as a reporter primarily. There are journalists who are more reporters than writers so ang news gathering and forte nila and then the editor will have to, somehow, shape the final story for them. Occasionally, we have people who are good in both. Ideally, dapat gano'n but you at least be competent at it both. Ideally, you're very proficient in both. Some people who are very proficient in news gathering and whose writing skills are not that great, okay din 'yon, they'll still be employed. They'll still get employment kasi the important thing talaga is to get the facts so there's room for all kinds of skills sa diaryo - that's what makes it interesting siguro.

Q. So you never really came to a point na parang nagsawa na kayo and parang…
A. Malapit na!

Q. Malapit na?
A. Hindi, hindi. Well, you know, occasionally you get to a point na …. Sometimes you can transfer to another newspaper or transferring to another department or even within the department doing something else. The thing is yung, the room for improvement including the newspaper is very limited. Of course if you devote yourself, you start as a reporter, you devote yourself, you work hard, eventually, you might be able to become the editor-in-chief and that's how every editor-in-chief started. Now, with the way newspapers are run, there are several specialties within the paper, mas marami na yung choices mo. You can be a test man, you can be an editor of a section, you can be a staff writer correspondent.

Q. You said earlier that nauna kayo sa Manila Times
A. Ya….Sunday Times, ya I was in the Chronicle first, Sunday Times then Sunday Inquirer.

Q. So, can you give us the differences nung magazines. What makes one magazine different from another?…aside from the things they feature?
A. Very often yung personality ng editor is reflected in the magazine. Like my editor sa Sunday Times was serious yung outlook n'ya so we tend to have more serious stories about poverty, conflict. Pero of course ano, bina-balance din yon nang gusto ng publisher. We also have to have more sunny articles about the beauty queens and celebrities. So, any magazine will reflect the interests and personalities of the people who are producing it - both the writers and the editors kasi bihira yung editor na nag-de-determine talaga kung ano yung lahat ng content. It's half and half. The writers also suggest ideas and you tend to suggest always what you're interested in. It's always a mix of what the people bring to the magazine. Dito sa Sunday Inquirer, we're a people magazine eh so we focus on individuals, personalities. But the personalities that we choose, of course, depends on people we're interested in so we have a lot of, we have our share of celebrities also but we include activists, social activists, politicians, environmentalists. Those are the interests of the people in the staff.

Q. For the last question sir. For those of us who are aspiring to be journalists in the future, what is the most important skill that we should have?
A. I think it's the ability to process information quickly and to be able to write clearly about the information. Basically, yun ang ano…that's the job itself. Writing term papers is actually a good practice. Of course yung tone will be different. You don't want to be academic in a feature article pero basically it's a kind of data processing. The thing also is, if you're going to write you have to read. People who don't read, generally, can't write. So if you're going to be working with words, you have to be well read even beyond the requirements of your course. And even if you're not going to be writing per se, if you're going to go into broadcasting, in a way, it's still a kind of writing, it's a kind of story telling. You still have to put things into words kahit papa'no so, I don't think it's….I don't know. I think it works differently if you read from a page than if you read from a monitor. The way you absorb the words, the information is different. I don't know, maybe I'm just old-fashioned. Don't rely too much on the internet. It's good for quick information pero I, myself, still print it out and read it.

Q. You take it more seriously.
A. Ya, maybe.

Q. So, that's it. Thank you very much!