FROM US TO YOU: MERRY CHRISTMAS AND HAPPY NEW YEAR TO ALL!!!
KAREN AP CALIWARA, EXECUTIVE EDITOR
As we approach 2024, one of my wishes is: "Please, no more breakup announcements."
This sentiment goes beyond the emotional strain it brings to those involved; it extends to the disrupted vacation plans for both the writer and me, as the designated editor.
Kidding aside, this is quite a normal occurrence for the team, fondly called The PEP Squad.
When news breaks, we drop whatever we're doing.
During the inception of PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal), I remember Madam—which is how we call our Editor-in-Chief Jo-Ann Maglipon—asking, “Are you sure?,” when she saw me put “24/7” in the tagline of PEP.ph (Philippine Entertainment Portal).
And, for close to 17 years now, the squad has tried living up to this tagline. Even when it means that we would be breaking a PEP Scoop or a First Read or, worse, an Exclusive, after office hours or on a Sunday or Holy Week or Ramadan or Christmas.
Which is what happened to us when KathNiel broke up. We can never forget the date: November 30, 2023.
Read:
Kathryn Bernardo confirms breakup with Daniel Padilla
Daniel Padilla on breakup with Kathryn Bernardo: "Ang pagmamahal ko sayo ay walang hanggan."
It was the PEP Christmas party at Madam's house. We had finished a few games run by Nikko, our TikTok and events guy, but we still had to do our version of the karaoke, which would be fun because there are many good voices in the squad, even among the boys! But Pink, our zealous news person, had just opened her laptop, something she was doing every now and then during the party, when she suddenly announced: "Kathryn confirmed!"
And that was it. The party was over.
There are, of course, stories that we have parked or even shelved.
We could go for the scoop—but if there is any doubt, we will go for the accuracy. We will forego being first to publish—if this means we can get stronger data. And we will give up having that precious exclusive—if there is a promise of getting better sources.
On social media, netizens are quick to share unverified claims even about ultra-sensitive matters, including annulments, suicides, child custody battles, prison sentences.
The PEP Squad likes to follow a process: collect data, verify, validate, interview, source-check, write, edit, and get our lawyers on board.
And, so, the self-imposed delay.
Hence, PEP Special Reports, PEP Exclusives, What PEP Knows, and Only in PEP are sometimes released toward the tail end of a controversy.
Bear with us.
Our assurance, however, is this: If it's on PEP, it must be true!
That, of course, is said with some lightheartedness. Being ordinary humans covering extraordinary showbiz, we can make mistakes. There is always a landmine waiting to be stepped on.
Trust that when it does happen, no matter how rarely, we will make the correction loud and clear.
So, as we usher in 2024, my work-related New Year's resolution isn't about scaling back or changing the way we handle entertainment news.
It's about having MORE:
- Energy
- Sources and interviewees willing to share what they know
- Maritess to appreciate the work we do.
It's about doing MORE:
- PEP Lists
- PEP TV videos
- Content loved by PEPsters and our brand partners
It's about enhancing the site’s aesthetics and making it read better!
And, if at all possible, echoing my earlier wish—may we ask celebrities to make their life-changing announcements during office hours and before the holidays, please?
It will be greatly appreciated.
ERWIN SANTIAGO, ASSOCIATE EDITOR FOR CONTENT
Para sa karamihan ng readers ng PEP.ph, hindi marahil pamilyar ang pangalan ko dahil madalang sumulpot ang byline ko sa mga artikulong binabasa ninyo.
Iyon ay dahil madalang lang din ako makapagsulat—kadalasan ay kapag may namamatay na celebrity nang bigla-biglaan o di kaya’y walang available na writer kaya ako na lang ang gagawa.
Hindi naman kasi pagsusulat ng artikulo ang pinakatrabaho ko bilang Associate Editor for Content ng PEP.ph. Ang talagang trabaho ko ay mag-edit ng mga artikulong isina-submit ng staff writers, columnists, at writers.
Bago mai-publish ang isang artikulo ay dumadaan muna sa akin. Aayusin ko ang flow ng story at pati na ang grammar, dadagdagan ng laman ang artikulo kung kulang, at ilalagay ang mga tamang impormasyong hindi inilagay ng writer.
Unless hanapin mo yung staff box (sa magazine) o About Us (sa website), di malalaman ng reader kung sino ang nag-edit ng artikulong binabasa nila dahil ang tanging byline, na kadalasang nasa ilalim ng headline ng article, ay ang pangalan ng writer.
Walang idea ang reader kung ano ang pinagdaanan ng artikulo bago ito mai-publish dahil finished product na ang nababasa. Maganda man o pangit ang pagkakasulat ng article, ang credit ay napupunta sa writer.
Malas ng writer kung pangit lumabas ang article. Suwerte naman niya kung maganda at malaman ito.
Suwerte naman ng editor kung pulidong magsulat ang writer at halos wala ka nang babaguhin. Malas naman kung tipong transcription lang ng interview ang isinubmit at ikaw na bahalang mag-ayos na tipong puzzle piece.
Hindi nag-e-exaggerate si Karen nang sabihin niyang “24/7” ang trabaho sa PEP.ph, dahil gaya ng tagline ng 24 Oras ng GMA-7 na “hindi natutulog ang balita,” ganoong-ganoong din sa showbiz news.
Hindi man madalas, pero may mga pagkakataon talagang halos isang araw o higit pa ang kinakailangan para tapusin ang isang istorya. Lalo na kung kademanda-demanda o di kaya’y may namatay na celebrity o iba pang balitang kailangang ilabas agad.
Ang kaibahan lang ngayon, kung noong mga unang taon ay inuuna namin ang speed over accuracy—yung tipong ilalabas na namin ang balita kahit kulang pa ng impormasyon para maunahan namin ang iba news sites—ngayon ay inuuna namin ang accuracy over speed.
Mas mabuti nang medyo mahuli kaming maglabas ng balita pero sigurado kaming tama ang mga nakalagay na detalye.
Kadalasan itong nangyayari kapag may pumanaw na celebrity. Hinihintay muna namin ang official statement, o kumpirmasyon ng kaanak ng namatay, bago namin ilabas ang balita.
Marami ring istorya ang PEP.ph na inaabot ng ilang linggo o ilang buwan bago mailabas dahil sa legal implications nito.
Isang halimbawa nito ay ang ginawang exposé ng PEP.ph sa mga alegasyon laban sa dating chairperson ng Film Development Council of the Philippines (FDCP) na si Liza Diño.
Inabot ng humigit-kumulang anim na buwan bago nailabas ang istorya. Kinailangan ng masusing panayam sa mga taong involved at masusing pag-review ng mga dokumentong basehan ng mga reklamo laban kay Liza. Idinaan din muna namin ito sa abugado para matiyak na walang nalalabag na batas ang reporting namin.
Maging ang mga simpleng interview kung saan may binitawang kontrobersiyal na pahayag ang isang celebrity ay kailangan din naming idaan sa mga abugado para matiyak na hindi madawit ang site sa maaaring maging kaso, o kung sampahan man kami—dahil sa bansang ito, kahit sino ay maaaring maghabla sa kahit anong bagay sa anumang panahon— ay defensible ang aming posisyon.
Sa tagal na namin sa trabahong ito ay may instinct na ako kahit papaano sa kung ano ang puwede o hindi puwedeng ilabas, at kung ano ang mga klaseng artikulo na kailangang idaan muna sa legal review.
Noong unang mga taon ng PEP.ph ay naranasan na naming mademanda, kaya mas alerto na kami sa mga patibong sa isang industriyang napakahilig sa demandahan.
Hindi madali ang trabaho ng isang editor.
Pero dahil alam naming seryosong trabaho ang pagiging editor ng isang entertainment website gaya ng PEP.ph, seryoso at buo rin ang dedikasyon namin sa aming ginagawa.
RACHELLE "PINK" SIAZON, DEPUTY MANAGING EDITOR
I attended a workshop for Summit Media editors where we were asked to introduce ourselves on the spot by describing what we do through a haiku. This is what I came up with:
Start with a coffee
Search for truth in a story
Sifting wheat from chaff.
The exercise reminded me of my personal mantra at work, especially when I come across tough assignments as writer-editor.
There were several of these tough pieces this 2023. Just imagine how many times I found myself staring at a blank page, not knowing how to start writing the story.
And that is after sifting through 50+ pages of transcripts of interviews with more than one person, not to mention thick legal documents that I would read over and over, on top of research notes from several days of work—until I understand the story well.
And sometimes that's not enough.
There was this one very complicated report that took more than four revisions before I found the right format and style, so that I could take the density out for PEP readers. Then I started all over again. I wrote, and then revised the draft as many times as I needed—like I said, at least four—to become confident about clicking "save" and submitting it for checking.
And that was only halfway done, since it went through editing and vetting by my editors, with many back-and-forths of little and big questions that needed answering, before the complicated report finally got published.
The process is the same, varying only in length and intensity, for other pieces. For as long as these pieces make new claims or report something not generally known or rebut something that's already out there, there is real labor involved.
We have to get it right!
I am single and have no experience of labor pains, but I will be go out on a limb and say that, perhaps, giving birth to these tough writing assignments is like giving birth to a baby. There is definitely pain involved. Or, all right, to be less dramatic about it, let me compare the writing to the caterpillar trapped in a cocoon that's desperately worming its way out to transform into a butterfly.
Other writers should know the feeling. Maybe they also say, "Hay, sa wakas, nairaos din!"
To be honest—and this is the first time my editors are hearing this—I want these assignments that are hard, complex, sensitive, dense, and libel magnets to be few and far between.
They really take a lot of time, effort, and ubusan-ng-brain-cells moments.
I do get tired even if I always submit on deadline.
But writing these tough assignments is also when I come face to face with why I do what I do in entertainment reporting that so many easily pass off as "tsismis" or a "guilty pleasure."
Here in PEP.ph, I have truly learned from my dear editors (most especially our EIC JQM) to give our feature and investigative stories the time and space.
Our bread and butter is breaking news that are simple and cut-and-dried. These are the staples that entertain, that show the fun side of showbiz, the glamorous side, the rich side, and the easy kilig.
They also, we must admit, give us the quicker byline.
But when we go for the longer pieces—the explainers, the complex narratives, the pros and cons of controversies—what we do is make sense of the real from the reel.
We are able to give the facts that, sometimes, other entertainment sites will not touch. Facts that, we hope, help readers make informed choices about their idols—the very people who are out there shaping our culture in many different ways, whether we are conscious of it or not, whether we like it or not.
We open up showbiz and let people in. We make the industry inclusive.
Still, give me more of those easy-breezy writing assignments any day, hahaha.
Although, believe it or not, the same journalistic discipline applies even to the seemingly easy stuff.
ROMMEL L. LLANES, MULTIMEDIA EDITOR
Bakit mahirap mag-edit ng video?
Well, unang-una, hindi naman talaga ako video editor.
Hindi ko pinag-aralan ang kursong multimedia arts para matuto mag-edit. Saka non-existent pa ang kursong yun nung nasa college ako. Writer ako.
Hindi ko alam ang pagko-color correct, paggawa ng animation sa Adobe After Effects, at iba pang magic na ginagawa ng taong nakapag-aral talaga ng video editing.
Kaya lang, interesado ako.
Mula nang ipahawak sa akin ang section ng PEP.ph noong 2008 na PEParazzi, kung saan puwede akong mag-upload ng videos, nagkainteres na akong mag-edit ng video.
Nakipagkaibigan ako sa mga aktuwal na nakapag-aral ng video editing o kahit na yung nakagamit lang ng video-editing software.
Lahat ng alam ko ngayon sa video editing, galing sa mga nakasalamuha kong video editors talaga. Galing din sa panonood ko ng YouTube instructionals.
Hinasa rin ako ng inputs ng mga kasama ko sa PEP.ph—mula sa staff, writers at editors, publishers, at mula sa mismong boss namin na si Ms. Jo-Ann Maglipon.
Hindi lang kasi technical ang video editing. Meron ka rin dapat alam sa storytelling. Alin ang ilalaglag o imi-maintain? Paano mapapanatili ang interes ng manonood? Ang dami nilang pagpipilian, dapat may mao-offer na kaiba o karagdagan.
Doon usually nagsisimula ang proseso ng pag-e-edit ng video—sa alin lang ang dapat kunin mula sa isang mahabang video.
Ang video editor, parang iskultor—tumatapyas ng piraso ng kahoy o bato, 'tapos magpapalamuti, para makagawa ng kikintil sa interes ng tao.
Sa video editing, ang pagpapalamuti ay yung pagpasok ng mga elementong makakapagpaganda pa ng natapyasan mo nang video.
Unless fan na fan ka ng pinapanood mo, o interesado ka talaga sa nasa video, kailangang may pagbabagong nakikita ang mga mata mo ng at least 30 seconds to one minute ang haba.
Dapat may pagbabago sa anggulo, pagpapalit ng distansiya ng subject sa video, o kaya nama'y may ipinapasok kang footage, clips, o images.
Dito na minsan mas humihirap ang trabaho ng video editor—yung maghahanap ng mga ipapasok sa video.
'Tapos kung makahanap man, iisipin mo pa kung meron ka bang nalabag na batas o kung sino maaapektuhan—content source, owner, subject—ng footage sa video na ia-upload mo sa internet.
Yun din kasi ang problema ng ilang content creators, lalo na sa YouTube. Yung biglang magkakaroon ng copyright strike ang uploaded video na magreresulta sa demonetization, o mas malala, sa pagkaka-block ng video dahil sa copyright issue.
Kaya kailangang alam mo muna kung ano ang mga materyales na puwedeng gamitin sa iyong video at kung paano ito gamitin bago i-upload sa internet.
Kaya nga rin hindi ganoon kasimple ang pagbi-video edit.
Kahit na may phone apps nang available na may magagarang editing features at A.I.-assisted pa (Artificial Intelligence), hindi mo puwedeng iasa sa mga ito ang video editing.
Kakasawaan kasi ng manonood kung naka-template ka na. Sa aktuwal na manu-manong video editing pa rin ang bagsak mo.
Kaya isang patuloy na pag-aaral ang video editing para sa akin. Marami pang dapat matutunan!
NIKKO TUAZON, LIFESTYLE AND SOCIAL MEDIA EDITOR
I've been asked to reflect on the past year, 2023. But to be very honest, hindi ko alam kung paano sisimulan. So I'm just writing my thoughts as they flow.
Our EIC, Ms. Jo-Ann, sent some questions. And dun ko na lang siguro simulan. The first question was: "TikTok, does Nikko have fun while doing it?"
Yes. I do enjoy it.
But it's a lot more challenging than people realize.
If you're covering events, kailangan ready ka to capture everything. Phone in hand, with camera always on. Hindi mo kasi sure kung anong puwedeng mangyari, so dapat lagi kang ready.
Ang dami ring factors na kailangan i-consider. Dapat maganda yung camera ng phone, tapos may space ang memory. This year, nagsubscribe pa ako ng 2TB na iCloud sa sobrang dami ng videos sa phone ko.
Lalo na kapag yung coverage ay big events like the GMA Gala or the ABS-CBN Ball or Preview Ball. Lahat na lang talaga nagpa-ball this year!
Ito rin yata yung taon na nag-ROI yung mga suits ko sa dami ng ball, formal events, at gala na na-attendan ko.
Siyempre, capturing the video is just the first part of the process. After niyan, kailangan mo pang i-edit. And hindi rin biro mag-edit nang mabilisan.
Probably my biggest struggle din, bilang I was trained as a writer first, is kung ano ba ang uunahin ko: Article or TikTok? Until now, nahihirapan pa din ako riyan minsan, pero gaya ng sabi ni Pink, naiiraos din naman.
Siyempre, yung nakikita o napapanood na videos sa TikTok, hindi lang naman ako ang may gawa niyan. Team effort siya. At nagpapasalamat ako sa buong PEP Squad for their help, especially sa mga super sipag mag-upload.
Una na diyan ang news writer ng PEP na si Khryzztine Baylon.
Second question ni Ms. Jo-Ann: "Ano ang mga nae-enjoy at hindi nae-enjoy sa events?"
I enjoy dressing up for events. Siyempre, yung saktuhang outfitan lang. Baka naman mapagkamalang ako na yung artista kung itodo ko pa, di ba? Charot!
Pero dito rin papasok yung isa pang part na hindi ko gusto, yung mga events na ang hirap ng OOTD requirement! Siyempre, bibili ka ng outfit para pasok sa theme.
I also like meeting new content creators and making new work friends sa events.
Ang third question ni Ms. Jo-Ann: "Fun parts? And challenging parts of the job?"
Nae-enjoy ko yung part na I get to know a different side of the celebrities or personalities I talk to. Gustong gusto ko yung kuwentuhang parang magkumare or magkaibigan lang, tuwing PEP Headliner shoots or PEP Live interviews.
It's through those moments kasi na you get to build friendships with them, na you get to know the other side of them.
Sobrang naa-appreciate ko yung celebrities na hindi madamot sa content/interviews.
Maraming celebrities, actually, ang masaya kausap, pero yung iba, may wall, which can be because of their handlers or their bouncers na OA kung makaharang.
As for the challenging parts naman, ang dami: the deadlines, the targets, yung sunud-sunod or sobrang daming articles na nakapilang isulat, at sobrang dami pang iba.
There were so many instances na tinanong ko yung sarili ko: "Kaya ko pa ba? Nag-eenjoy ka pa ba? Masaya ka pa?" Pero sa isip ko, lahat naman ng trabaho may ganitong challenge. So G tayo hanggang kaya.
Sana lang hindi dumating yung time na maubos yung drive or yung passion.
Isa naman rin sa na-realize ko this year, salamat na rin sa MMFF entry na Rewind, is to take care of myself more, and spend more time with my loved ones.
BERNIE FRANCO, NON-CELEBRITY SECTION DEPUTY EDITOR
“The only permanent thing in this world is change,” saksi ako sa katotohanan ng kasabihang ito.
Case in point, my 10 years in PEP.ph, an authority in entertainment and lifestyle news.
In recent years, the site introduced another section, the PEP Non-Celebrity Section. This is made up of the dramatic and the extraordinary, the uplifting and the heartwarming, the strange and the unusual, and everything else that's interesting about ordinary folk.
PEP.ph says: Let it not be said that only showbiz folk are interesting!
During the pandemic, our EIC tasked me to be its gatekeeper. Initially, I wasn’t comfortable with the assignment because it was not in my comfort zone. I wanted to stick to writing entertainment news and features. Our EIC said: Take it precisely because you're not comfortable.
I got that she meant I had to challenge myself. Since she was the EIC, ahh, I couldn't defy her just like that. So, I negotiated. I asked to still be given showbiz assignments. I like showbiz! She agreed.
Three years later, I was promoted from senior writer to the section’s Deputy Editor.
Today, I thoroughly enjoy looking for stories for this section, using my experience, skills, and principles acquired as an entertainment news writer.
PEP.ph trains its writers well. We need to come up with well-written, fair, factual write-ups. There is always feedback. When we slip, we definitely hear about it. When we do good, it's a good thing everyone gets to know about it!
There is a thrill and satisfaction in seeking, and coming up with, human interest stories that readers actually pick up on.
It’s not success at all times, of course.
There are times when the Non-Celebrity Section still feels like an unpredictable wild horse to me. You don't know when it will bolt, when it will pull, or when it will just lie rigid and refuse to budge.
But there lies the challenge that makes it more exciting.
Plus, remember what I negotiated for? Well, I still get to write entertainment news that satisfies my thirst as a showbiz writer.
In short, I get to enjoy the best of both worlds.