Investor News

Veteran journalists orient campus writers on automotive beat

August 12, 2008, Manila - Sixteen college journalists from various universities in Metro Manila participated in the 1st Henry Ford Awards Automotive Journalism Clinic held recently at the Ford Global office and at the Ford Plant in Sta. Rosa, Laguna. The two-day training was packed with lectures and hands-on training on automotive journalism given by senior members of the Philippine motoring press, providing the student writers an overview of an alternative beat they can pursue when they eventually join the Media workforce.

“This is, so far, the very first writing clinic about the motoring beat which has given veteran journalists the chance to share their knowledge and experience with budding writers. It also afforded student journalists the chance to be exposed to the automotive industry, enabling them to appreciate the value of this growing segment of journalists,” said Cherry Ramirez, Ford Group Philippines Assistant Vice President for Corporate Affairs.

“The purchase of cars is the second biggest investment next to buying real estate, hence a lot of people would like to read about them to make sure they arrive at an informed decision,” explained Jason Ang of motioncars.com to the budding journalists.

The HFA Automotive Journalism Clinic’s first day started with a snapshot of the Philippine automotive industry by Ramirez followed by an overview of automotive journalism by Ron delos Reyes of Auto Review. Ang gave tips on writing a test drive story while James Deakin, C! Magazine editor-in-chief, shared pointers on automotive photography.

The first day’s learning sessions were capped by a discussion on feature writing by Junep Ocampo of Peoples’ Journal, and on effectively managing automotive publications by Vernon Sarne, Top Gear Magazine editor-in-chief.

Day two of the HFA Automotive Journalism Clinic took the students to the Ford manufacturing facility in Santa Rosa, Laguna, where they observed Ford and Mazda vehicles in production and capped the experience with test drives of the Ford Focus and Mazda Tribute. The mixed collegiate group--who came from De La Salle University, Far Eastern University, Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila, Philippine Christian University, Philippine Normal University, College of St. Benilde and the University of Santo Tomas--completed the automotive clinic with a writing exercise where they put the new skills they acquired to a test.

The automotive journalism clinic is part of the Henry Ford Awards (HFA), the country’s premier award-giving body for excellence in this field, recognizing great work in print, broadcast and online media, as well as in automotive photography. Now on its eighth year, a new category has been opened for the best automotive feature story published in a campus publication from October 1, 2007 to September 30, 2008. Qualified to join are college students who are not associated or affiliated with, or employed by, any mainstream media, on either full-time or part-time basis. This category is not exclusive to journalism students. Entrants must be enrolled during the same period and must submit proof of education, an endorsement letter from the college dean and a copy of the entire college or university publication in which the submitted story was published.

Interested students have until October 1, 2008 to submit their entries. Full contest mechanics can be found at www.ford.com.ph or through Ogilvy Public Relations Worldwide/Manila (HFA Secretariat) at 8850001 local 165.