An Exhilarating Journey of the Business Journalist—Iris Gonzales

As exciting adult life is, it can also be overwhelming. Iris Gonzales, a Communication Research graduate, braved a path that leads to a whole new realm much different from what she was trained for. College life concludes; leaving her still not knowing what to do as she was thrown into reality not liking the course she took. Iris ruminated her college days as an uncertain point in her life. “I thought it (Communication Research) was similar to Anthropology. On the contrary it was a lot of Statistical work,” she said.

Immediately pondering that she does not want to work for the likes of Social Weather Station when she graduates, she decided to take a break and travel abroad. Across the dunes of Europe, she visited relatives on this part of the globe as she tries to find herself through unwinding. However, her country suddenly became in turmoil and she was hearing little to no news about it.

“Erap began closing down news outlets. He was angry at businesses and I couldn’t find any news about it since the internet was very limited in my aunt’s place,” she said reminiscing the moments. She set off around the village of this rural Canadian area to search for a newspaper covering the happenings in the Philippines at that time, and found none.

“At that moment I swore I would write for newspaper. ‘Yes, that’s what I’m going to do. I want to be able to report what’s happening’ so when I got home, I went back to the Collegian and there I found out that Manila Times has a job opening,” she said.

Starting from Scratch

For Iris, good journalism isn’t something you teach within the 4 corners of a classroom so she felt confident with just the basic knowledge of its principles she learned when she worked as a staffer for the Philippine Collegian. She relied solely on what experience has to offer her.

As soon as she found out about the job opening in the Manila Times, she simply walked in the building and passed her resume all by herself, with no acquaintance at all.

“I said I would apply as a reporter. They told me to return the next day for a test. I’m not a journ graduate so I have no idea if what I’m doing is right during the exam, but I worked for the Collegian so I do know how to write.” This is where things start to take a sharp turn for her.

She received a phone call saying she got the job and must return the next day for a briefing. “They called me and told me that I got the job and that I must return for a briefing. I think it was all in a span of a week,” she recalled.

Her first assignment was a police beat at Caloocan. She was earmarked for a rape story and was told that if she passes the field test, she can already have her own permanent assignment.

With the police officer not taking her seriously because she was still a starter, she went for the blotter, wrote the facts, interviewed some people regarding the rape story and she was good to go. She was officially accepted to the Manila Times and started her career.

Idealism

After some time, she was then moved to the Quezon City beat. “Survival of the fittest,” she calls the crime beat assigned to her for the challenges are higher. However, by the end of the day she still aced it. Nevertheless, a predicament went her way when the superiors who hired her resigned when Manila Times was sold to one of Erap’s crony. She was an idealistic fresh grad, so she resigned as well. She lasted 3 months.

“My bosses went to a newspaper called the Philippine Post and they hired me again. This time, my beat was DepEd. I covered the problems of teachers, corruptions, and mistakes in the textbooks.” However, the Philippine Post closed; leaving her, once again, jobless. She decided apply for a more stable newspaper.

“I did not think I would be hired by the likes of Inquirer or Star because they’re already big so I started with Business World,” she said.

She calls the Philippine Stock Exchange as the police beat of Business. “I got assigned there and I did well. I understood business and there I realized Erap involved himself in stock manipulation. I realized that in Business reporting, you will witness how corrupt they are.”

In her 19-year practice of journalism, and 17 years in Business reporting, she learned that though writing business is difficult as it is, you will realize how overbearing it is. “It’s economy. Everything that happens in Business is the mover of the economy,” she added.

Changes through digital era

As time pass by, technology and digital world is dominating our lives. It is included in our daily routine actually—from your phone’s alarm clock in the morning until the last game you’ve playing before going to sleep. The time where mails take several days before someone receives it, until beeper was made, internet boomed, yahoo, Gmail, Friendster up to the finest facebook messenger magic. Obviously, this up-to-the-minute—modern era instigated its great impact specially in mass communication. Iris Gonzales share her insights on the difference between writing news 19 years ago up to present.

The term “one-chat-away” is not known to the journalists who lived before the digital-era. Searching news through your networks is not a bit useful before. Iris found it difficult to contact individuals who are involved in a certain news article she was working on. She said that the struggle of being a journalist before is challenging, “It is tough. Fax is the easiest way in reaching out people for your reports. Phone and text messaging was not even possible.” Through technology, information dissemination has been made easier.

According to Iris, people before has more time reading clippings, newspapers, magazines etc., unlike now since of social media and other online sites can deliver news in just one click.

“As I can see, audiences before anticipate the release of newspapers. Contrasting now, they choose to read in social media because it is much shorter than those in broadsheets. It is also more updated.”. she explained.

In short, writing news before is tough but readers will definitely wait for the certain news from newspapers. The dissimilarity today is that, carrying and disseminating information is a lot easier but the audiences prefer short news.

Making difference through journalism

As a proficient journalist who’s been working for about 19 years now, Iris has covered many uplifting and heart-warming stories. But what she thinks that outshone above all these, is the series of reports she covered involving children who’s suffering from cancer.

Her blog entitled “A City for Children” is unquestionably life-moving experience and worth reading. This is about the day and life of children who’s enduring cancer in Cancer and Hematology Center in Philippine Children’s Medical Center (PCMC), a government-owned hospital in Quezon City. In 2014, PCMC was said to be removed from where it is because many business companies craved to build a shopping mall on this 3.7

This hospital offers a low-cost medication on cancer patients compared to those private-operated hospitals in the metro. Out of 200-300 patients going there, 100 of them are cancer patients. Imagine those people and the parents who certainly relies their life and their children’s life to this hospital?

Little did Iris know, she is helping thousands of lives who are, in those times are silently hoping—crossed-fingers that the Hospital will stay where it is. Perhaps, through her report, PCMC stayed where it is. She created a condition where public opinion contributed a great impact on this set-up. Luckily, this woman happily shares “The elimination or moving of the Hospital was blocked and cancelled. I’m not sure but maybe, my story instigated series of protest,” she explained. “My story called attention regarding the situation. I am so happy.” she whole-heartedly added.

In addition to this, after her PCMC story, she called the attention and ask help from the internet people in making her ‘Mini Library’ for the children in PCMC.

Who knows, someday, by simply writing a story—we, aspiring journalists, can positively bring change in our world or carrying a revolutionary idea that can make a huge transformation.

Being a mass-media successor

The interview with Ma’am Iris Gonzales is an opportunity to to ask on how she achieved such kind of recognition in life for being a journalist. She gave us tips on how to be competent news providers.

She is one of those who proved the mantra— “The process of learning isn’t just lying around the four corners of the classroom because experience is the best teacher”. As for those who aim to be journalists, studying is the best key. She mentioned that “People don’t really look highly on journalist. So what are you going to do? Prove the society that they are wrong.”.

Journalists don’t have licenses so other people look lowly at them. The thing is, if you disproved these theories, they will find you knowledgeable and competent on the field. In what way? Iris said, “Love your job. Know your job. Leave an impression and be sharp. “

In a cheering tone, she shares, “In the real media world, asking your seniors won’t harm you. In that point, you can certainly do the things they may assign you. “

According to Iris, journalism isn’t about the awards you have been receiving throughout your way. “Having and receiving awards is not your main goal. Remember that.”

She also gives advice about conducting an interview. A journalist must know the background of the interviewee she wishes to talk to. “That’s the difference of being a journalist. Deep-checking and you definitely know the background. Why? Because you need to leave an impression to those people so you can prove your competency and credibility.” She justified.

According to Iris, being a business journalist means entering a business world with too much numbers and stuff. Statistics, economy, currency, negotiations, stocks, investments etc., all these things must be put in mind. “Read books. A lot of them,” she said. “Join your seniors. Be an apprentice. But you should know your principles. You’ll be the one to weed it out and choose between right and wrong. “she added.

For Iris Gonzales, to become a better reporter, you must seize every chance and opportunity. Know how to write. Be punctual, that’s one of the crucial part of the job.

And lastly, the best advice? “Never stop learning new things.”