Q: This is Andrea Tonda and I am interviewing Ms. Alya Honasan from the Sunday Inquirer. First Question, so why did you become part of the newspaper business, what made you want to be part of the newspaper business?

Alya Honasan: Uhm… I had never planned to become a journalist. Actually, I studied to be a doctor but uhm… a large percentage of people working in newspapers are actually not journalism graduates. Uhm… what happened was that this was a matter of finding what you really like to do so even if I was a pre-med student I had enjoyed writing and I did very good in the writing field and then eventually I decided to give up what I wanted… what I thought was the good thing to do and I decided to go into writing for a living and that led to magazines and… that eventually led to writing because the best places to write professionally in this country are magazines and newspapers and newspapers give you the most exposure… And uhmm… I’m more of a feature writer than a news reporter. So, I… even newspapers have features so, that’s the field I got into.

Q: So, were there any member in your family that were also part of this business?

A: No! Never. I am the first writer in the family. When I began writing for a living they weren’t sure I could support myself but if you work properly, if you work hard and if you budget your time well you can make a good living as a writer. I don’t mean millionaire but I mean okay.

Q: Uhmm… can you state the newspapers that you were formerly part of?

A: Okay, my professional writing career… Can I include magazines? My professional writing career BEGAN with a small trade magazine in Makati called Marketing Horizons which had one opening for a writer. That was my very first writing job with no experience but that was a very specific trade magazine. From there I joined other glossies. My first writing job for a newspaper was with the now defunct Manila Chronicle IN 1991. Uhm… a very old newspaper but… which unfortunately folded up. I came in as a staff writer for the "SUNDAY PLUS", that was what they called the feature section and then I eventually became assistant editor of that section. And then I went on to join the Philippine Daily Inquirer for the first time in 1994 and then again in 1996. I JOINED THE MAGAZINE AS MANAGING EDITOR IN 1996 AND BECAME EDITOR IN CHIEF IN 2000.

Q: Could you describe your place of work like the office?

A: Uhm… a newspaper is a very… is a chaotic place to work. I mean, there’s no such thing as your private office and your secretary and your little space unless… unless you’re the editor in chief and the publisher. Uhm… all the editors here share the same general space as all the other writers so that you’re within screaming distance of each other because we have to communicate a lot. We’re sort of like cocooned up here on the top floor of the Inquirer building ‘coz we’re the Sunday Magazine. We close weekly, we come out once a week only so, we’re not subject to the same daily deadlines as the news desk which is downstairs that’s more chaotic even than us. So, uhm… its very, its very free for all, its very democratic. We meet every two weeks and then we discuss the issues. Uhm… I don’t have a secretary but we have an editorial assistant who takes care of everybody. Uhm… most of the time we’re out in the field but two days a week we have to be here to close the magazine or to put it to bed. So, uh… we have flexible working schedules but you are expected to be here for press work. Like for example today is the closing day of the Sunday Inquirer Magazine, its Thursday so everybody’s here.

Q: What is the circulation like of the Inquirer?

A: Well, the figures change. Now we’re somewhere around 280,000 okay, and that goes up a little bit on weekends which is when I come free with the Sunday Newspaper. So, I’m not sold independently, I’m the soul of the hard news so I come as part of the newspaper on Sundays. So we hit… we can hit upwards of up to 280,000 people.

Q: Do you know the method of printing that they use for the newspaper?

A: Method? No, I’m not too familiar but the press is right back there. It’s behind us but we work by very strict schedule so I have to give my stuff in by Thursday and then we follow a very strict print schedule, if you miss that, you miss your schedule. Nakaplano yan lahat. It’s just behind us and then uhm… we used to be in a magazine format but in the last…I think since four years we changed back into the broadsheet format which became easier for us to print. When we were in the magazine format we’d have to close two weeks in advance so we’d really… nabubulok na yung news, we would… we would lose a lot of stuff. Now, we close today for this Sunday because we can be printed together with the rest of the newspaper so we’re working on a better schedule but I’m not too familiar with the technical aspects.

Q: Since you’re the editor of the magazine you’re always on top of deadlines and like when is the latest, latest that the people under you have to submit like stories?

A: Okay, so since we’re on a weekly schedule uhm… and we start editing by as early as Tuesday or Wednesday, I expect all the stories to be in by Wednesday. In some cases where hinahabol yung… when they run after people and then uhm… in unforeseen circumstances like the photos have to follow… the very… we close Thursday night, we have to finish everything by Thursday night no matter how late but I would say that I could take something in theoretically, as late as about 7 pm on a Thursday and then just edit for printing.

Q: Who are the people on top of you in the magazine of the newspaper?

A: Okay, I… as the Sunday Inquirer Magazine is directly under the office of the editor-in-chief so, I report directly to LETTY JIMENEZ MAGSANOC, she’s the editor-in-chief of the Philippine Daily Inquirer. So, its her, I’m her direct report so I have to clear stuff with her. Even today, even after everything we’ve closed the issue, we show her the issue, we clear stories with her, she gives us suggestions… she doesn’t tell us how to do our job but she sort of like kicks us in the right direction but I report directly to her.

Q: Were you ever a cub reporter?

A: Cub reporter in terms of the news beat no, because I did not pass the news route but as a staff writer for features I think it was pretty much the same function. When you’re a staff writer you’re fair game, they’ll send you anywhere. In fact, its kind of a little more difficult because reporters have a beat, you stay there, you find the stories, you have regular sources, when you’re a staff writer for a features magazine you go where the story is and that’s taken me you know, to the strangest places and even when I was starting out I would be given assignment like… its different filing a news report on the same day but imagine coming out with a feature story lets day the same day or the day after… so that’s what I was doing for a while.

Q: So what were some of your first assignments?

A: My very first assignment for the Manila Chronicle as a freelancer, before I joined the staff was to interview an artist, his name was ONIB Olmedo, he passed away a few years back… but I had never interviewed an artist before and I knew nothing about art so I researched… loca… I had to find out what expressionism, impressionism was because I assumed that he would be using these terms a lot but I was wrong. And then he gave me this God-awful schedule, 9 am in the middle of Malate and I live in Marikina, so parang can u imagine how… but he turned out... I was blessed because he was a very, very nice guy and he wasn’t mayabang at all. We talked for three hours, which is actually the time it would probably take you to do a good feature story, a good profile and we talked about everything and I came out with a very good story. I submitted it to the Chronicle, it was used and because of that I sort of specialized in artists for a while when I was free lancing. I mean, for a long time I covered Philippine art scene when it was a lot more exciting but that was my first interview and a lot of stereotypes and biases were bashed because of my interview with Mr. Olmedo so I will always appreciate it and I remember him fondly. Uh… well a lot of other stuff, I got sent to Ormoc after the floods, I got to follow THE LATE COMMISSIONER HAYDEE Yorac around for an election feature, a lot of memorable encounters.

Q: What are some of the lessons you learned in your earliest assignments?

A: Hmm… okay… one of the earliest thing you learn is uhh… editorial integrity. Not just… and I don’t mean the most obvious is that you don’t accept money, that’s the most obvious because uhm… you think its, it seems like an immediate advantage to accept gifts and money but, immediate, but in the long run you lose your editorial integrity which means that you cant write what you want, you lose your reputation, you lose you leeway, you lose your freedom so, its not just a matter of the easy way out. So, early on you learn that the more you respect yourself, the more people will respect you. Also, when I say editorial integrity, you protect your copy, you don’t give out advance copies to people, you don’t allow people to meddle with your copy. I used to do that a lot when I was young and I really paid for it, you know. Some people who had no right uhm… meddling with the copy or expressing their opinion before the story comes out will try to. So, before I was… I’d give in, I’d send them copies, advance copies but you never do that anymore. You shouldn’t actually so that’s one of the most important things. Uhh… you meet a lot of people as a journalist, especially in feature journalism. Don’t make the mistake of thinking they’re all your friends because they, they want you for a reason. They’re close to you (pardon my friends), they make sip-sip to you for reason. Of course you make friends along the way and these people stay with you throughout your career but don’t let it get to your head na "Ah, these people are being nice to me because they really like me and they’ll be here forever." No, not true. So, just be realistic about your network, about what you expect and the best bet is really to stay professional because everybody will know if you’re screwing up, everybody will know if you’re corrupt, everybody will know if you’re on the take. You don’t even talk about it but people will know. I guarantee.

Q: So who are some of the most memorable people that you got to work with?

A: Work with… ah okay… I’ve been blessed to have really good female, strong female role model journalists. I’ve worked for the likes of JULLIE Yap-DAZA, Letty Jimenez-MAGSANOC is one of my all time idols, she’s the soul of this newspaper and… we call her "lola" but she doesn’t like that. (laughs) So, its like… I have… and also THELMA San Juan who I worked with in Manila Chronicle and who instilled in me a lot about the standards of you know, writing. You don’t just write crap, you write well. You write and you write well. So, when you have women like these as role models in your work, women who are smart, are funny, are… and more than anything else, after years and years in the business they have constant enthusiasm for the job. You know, they never get bored, they never do anything na "pasang awa" lang, they really do good work. Then you feel that you know, you feel that you should strive to be at the same league but nauso yung term recently na "news hence" you know, all of these female journalists na very opinionated and very powerful. Well, a lot of Philippine journalism I think is run by some pretty good women so, it’s a good place for a woman to work.

Q: Right now you are working for the Sunday Inquirer Magazine so that’s under the editor of the Sunday Inquirer itself, how is the editor about accuracy, ethics and grammar?

A: Uhm… one by one… grammar, she likes to day, and I’m not boasting, she likes to say that the best writers in the Inquirer work for the magazine because we have, she assumes that we’ve got our grammar down pat, you know, we know how to craft a sentence… because a news report of very factual, a feature you can play with your.. diba, you can play with your ambience, you can play with your mood, you can… you have to be an all around better writer to be able to handle a feature. Okay, I’m not saying that reporters are bad but there’s a reason why very young people become reporters and older people get into feature writing. So, given na yon, na we’ve got our grammar down pat, we know our p’s and f’s and stuff like that. So uhm… I’m proud to say that I work with a very literate bunch and all of my staffers are really good. We correct each other you know, they can correct me anytime they want. So it’s a give and take thing and the editor-in-chief, despite everything she does, when she reads our newspaper, she still finds things that we’ve missed, so in terms of accuracy she’s still very good and that’s a very healthy thing to have another eye. That’s why when we edit the paper everybody tries to ready it because the more eyes read the paper, the more you’re able to spot mistakes. And then in terms of ethics, yes… she’s very… she… the entire Inquirer has some kind of a system of behavior for you know, how you’re supposed to carry your… I’m not saying every reporter follows it but it’s an ideal for everybody and I think more often… more than anything else our editor-in-chief leads by example you know, she’s not corrupt, she’s not easy to influence. So you just see that you know, she’ll go by exactly what she feels is right so, you just see that and you see that that’s how she feels and you follow that.

Q: How about deadlines, how is she about deadlines?

A: Oh ya, ya, she’s ano… she’s, she’s a news person so she thinks you can churn out stories over night, which you can, of course we have a more lenient schedule here but uhm… ya, deadlines have to be strict I mean, especially since… not just because it’s coming out the next day but because you have a print schedule to follow. If you miss, if you don’t have the material ready for that printing, you have to wait until the next day so, you lose your issue. So yes, she’s very strict about deadlines and uhh… but you have to be able to think on your feet eh, when you’re a writer or a reporter, you have to be able to do a story here, now. Like I should be able to type a story and when I finish it should be decent diba, hindi pwedeng, "Ah, I’ll think about it, I’ll wait for myself to get inspired." Inspiration has… writing professionally has very little to do with inspiration. You have a deadline. That should be your inspiration. Interwiewer: So in the office do you get to interact with all the people who work under you even including the reporters?

A: Yes uhh… we have a… the Sunday Inquirer Magazine has a relatively SMALL staff. That’s me, I have a managing editor, and associate editor, a staff writer, and art director and an editorial assistant. So we’re six people. I’m responsible for all of their performances. So, annually we sit down and I tell them what I think they’re doing wrong and what they’re doing right. We have a performance objective system here, uhm… so, all the supervisors are subject to that and they get rewards if they get high grades. But yes, I interact with them regularly. On a very regular basis I have to find out what they’re doing but I like to think that we all… we’re all adults so I don’t look over their shoulders when they’re writing a story so I give them… newspapers are very much based on output, you don’t keep looking over somebody’s shoulder to see if they’re doing it, you just expect that at this time, at the deadline time, its got to be there. So "Bahala ka sa buhay mo," but make sure you got the product here which is pretty much what we do here unless they ask for guidance, "What should I ask, what should we do, how will we post the cover story, how will we take a nice photograph?" Ya, I mean of course you’re there to support them but I personally believe na you know, you’re an adult, just give me this on this day and I’m happy and if it’s good quality I’m happy.

Q: Have you had any memorable colleagues?

A: Colleagues? Woah! Ya, you know, naabutan ko pa yung ano eh, remember I finished school in ’86 so a few years after these were the post EDSA journalists. You had people like uhm… dami eh, dami, I mean, I’ve met all of those older people, the ones who died na sina Louie Beltran, sila… sila Max Soliven… they were all in the newspapers. Uhm… one of my first editors was an old journalist named Nestor Mata, I don’t know if you’ve heard of him, he was the only survivor of the Magsaysay crash. As in, the only one. The whole plane, everybody died, the plane popped open, he flew out and he lived to edit another day. So, he was quite a character because he had a voice. He’s really scary, he’d scream "Waahhhdada!" but he’s actually a marshmallow at heart. So, we have all these old journalists here, we have Armando Doronila, you have… ya, sina JULLIE DAZA, uhm… quite a number, only some of whom I’ve worked with very closely but you circulate a lot of these people and they have reputations, and then there are lifestyle editors, there are news editors, there are very opinionated columnists. You know, they all… very interesting guys.

Q: What are some of your best memories in this line of work?

A: A lot eh. Uhm… because we do a lot of profiles so, doing a profile is really trying to get to the essence of a person so you spend a lot of time with the person, so you meet so many different people. I mean, whether they’re celebrities of ordinary folks or… or people who change your like. You know, I’ve sat down with presidents and first ladies and senators and movie stars and they all have their own "dating" diba. They all have their own aura. And then when you’re interviewing somebody and you know if you reach a point, especially if it’s a good interview, when you reach a point where you really talk, where you really talk serious talk, its really, really… you know, it can go on forever. Uhm… in my job I’ve been to… I’ve been all over the country I think because of my work, especially in the Chronicle we would do a lot of exploratory travel stories so you get thrown to Batanes… I remember nga Ormoc after the floods, if you heard about it, there was this big flood in Ormoc, Leyte, everybody was killed. So, I was on one of the first planes that went there after the floods just to see… I was asked to do a mood story, what did it look like… and first it was, it smelled like rotten bodies and you’d still see like shoes on the side and stuff so, it was very, very moving to be there when something happens and then to be able to write about it later on. So, when you can invited to places to write about places or people… I’ve been on grants to France, to Australia, to China. You know, and you’re no just… and this is a different thing altogether because you’re going beyond what your familiar with culturally as a Filipino so you have to adjust to that and really mind blowing when you’re a young writer. It’s the best way to learn, to go out and see that there are more cultures than the one that you’re used to moving in.

Q: So, this is the final question, what significant events did you get to cover? Like the Abu Sayaff or like EDSA or EDSA III?

A: Uh… significant events… I had to go from my perspective eh, kasi uhm… always we featurized things. I’m not, I wasn’t… you know, we’re not usually, we weren’t there during EDSA III reporting on the events but we would have to run after the people there. Like we did stories later on Mike Arroyo, we had to do stories on… so because we slant towards personalities I think the question there would be who are the important people the you got to cover. So, if you say that, in the elections, for the last presidential elections we had to do all of the candidates one by one. So talagang… you know its like you have to sit down and balance their negative and positive sides. I got to sit with Ping Lacson, so can you imagine how… I mean you know, parang it’s a… its interesting to do but you have to do it with an open mind especially if you have bias for or against him, you have to keep your mind open. So, all of us really knew what the issues of the presidents were because we were all assigned to different presidentiables and then we’d have to talk to people who hated them and people who supported them. So we were right there during the elections, we’d… whenever there was an event… A memorable guy I talked to was Didagen Dilangalen, remember that whole "Shut up! Shut up!" thing… they had this congress hearing for the envelopes so there was this congressman from Cotabato, Didagen Dilangalen who… who screwed up everybody’s view of the government because he just kept telling people to "Shut up! Shut up! Shut up! Shut up!" he became infamous for that so, I had to go and ask him why he said that and he turns out to be a very traditional Muslim guy, a lawyer to very interesting background. He’s not really all a villain you know. So its things like that, you find out that somebody who’s supposed to be a good guy has dark sides and somebody who’s supposed to be a villain is not exactly all like that. So, that’s how the magazine aligns itself. We’re not there to cover an event, we’re there to find out about the people who figured in an event so we’ve been able to cover a lot of people over the last few years. So, basically that.