A Comparative Analysis of Media Viability between Bantay Balita and Dateline Weekly Newspaper in the Digital Age of Journalism
Ann Marie Vera S. Ongue | Rocellen E. Tarrobago | Abigail C. Gomez | Joshua Cabrito
Discipline: social sciences (non-specific)
Abstract:
The study aimed to analyze the survival of two operational community newspapers in Cavite: Bantay Balita and Dateline Weekly Newspaper, amidst the surge of the digital age of journalism. The researchers employed a qualitative method, specifically a descriptive type, through
semi-structured interviews for the research design. Purposive and convenience sampling techniques were utilized in the study. The selected editorial board members of Bantay Balita and Dateline Weekly Newspaper
were the main criteria for participant selection. During data analysis, the
researchers examined the gathered data using thematic analysis. In this
method, researchers interpreted the extracted codes from participants’
responses.
The results revealed that Dateline Weekly Newspaper is more stable
than Bantay Balita due to its long-standing presence, digital adaptability,
additional business opportunities, and strong networks with accredited
partners, substantially contributing to its survival. Dateline maintains a
good reputation, is free from lawsuits and criticism, and actively avoids
competition. However, it faces challenges in the editorial process, production, and distribution resources. It is observed that Dateline Weekly
Newspaper lacks the ABCs of news writing—accuracy, brevity, and clarity—in some of its news articles, often relying on outsourced press releases and encountering issues with operators and delivery systems.
On the other hand, Bantay Balita struggles with digital adaptation but
remains viable due to its quality journalism. Most of its connections are
with governmental sectors, limiting its business potential. Despite legal
accusations and financial distress, Bantay Balita continues to operate by
engaging in friendly competition, contributing to its resilience in the industry.
References:
- Abernathy, P. M. (2019).Why Local News Mat-ters, and What We Can Do to Save It. https://nysba.org/why-local-news-mat-ters-and-what-we-can-do-to-save-it/#:~:text=Our%20re-search%20has%20found%20that,our%20national%20and%20regional%20pa-pers
- Adade, M., et al. (2024). The Power of Public-Private Partnerships. Retrieved from https://knowledge.insead.edu/responsi-bility/power-public-private-partnerships
- Adgate, B. (2021, August 20). Newspapers have been struggling and then came the pan-demic. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from Forbes website: https://www.forbes.com/sites/bradadgate/2021/08/20/newspapers-have-been-struggling-and-then-came-the-pan-demic/?sh=1ccd339f12e6
- Ahmad, Z. (2021). Impact of Facebook and Newspaper Advertising on Sales: A Com-parative Study of Online and Print Media. Computational Intelligence and Neurosci-ence. https://doi.org/10.1155/2021/5995008
- Andı, S., Fletcher, R., Newman, N., et. al. (2020). Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020. Retrieved fromhttps://www.digi-talnewsreport.org/survey/2020/
- Ardia, D., Ekstrand, V. S., Fox, A., et al. (2020, De-cember 22). Addressing the decline of lo-cal news, rise of platforms, and spread of mis-and disinformation online -The Cen-ter for Information, Technology, and Pub-lic Life (CITAP). Retrieved from The Cen-ter for Information, Technology, and Pub-lic Life (CITAP) website: https://citap.unc.edu/news/local-news-platforms-mis-disinformation/
- Aulock, I. (2024, March 18). Fact-checking in digital journalism: A crucial tool for com-bating fake news. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from Penfriend.ai website: https://pen-friend.ai/blog/fact-checking-in-digital-journalism
- Bai, H., Huang, Y., Zhu, L., et. al. (2021). Analysis on the Current Situation and Challenges of Print Media Transformation Taking Bei-jing Morning Post as an Example. (2021). Atlantis Press SARL. https://doi.org/10.2991/as-sehr.k.211220.279
- Barland J., Kalsnes B., Olsen R. (2021).Do Small Streams Make a Big River? Detailing the Diversification of Revenue Streams in Newspapers’ Transition to Digital Journal-ism Businesses. Informa UK Limited, trad-ing as Taylor & Francis Group. https://doi.org/10.1080/21670811.2021.1973905
- Barnes, R., Dugmore, H., English, P., Natoli, R., & Stephens, E. J. (2022). ‘This is ridiculous –I need to start a paper...’: An exploration of aims and intentions of regional print proprietors of post-COVID start-up news-papers. Media International Australia, 184(1), 21-34. https://doi.org/10.1177/1329878X221088047
- Baronowski-Schneider, P. (2019).Why is me-dia coverage important? Retrieved from: https://www.pristineadvis-ers.com/2019/04/29/why-is-media-cov-erage-important/
- Braid, F. R. (2021, May 27). Community news-papers, surviving but with difficulty. Re-trieved from Manila Bulletin website: https://mb.com.ph/2021/03/27/com-munity-newspapers-surviving-but-with-difficulty/
- Cairncross, F. (2019). The Cairncross Review: A Sustainable Future for Journalism [Re-port]. Retrieved from https://kq.freepres-sunlimited.org/evidence/the-cairncross-review-a-sustainable-future-for-journal-ism/
- Casey, P. (2024). Adaptability and innovation are key to workplace success. Retrieved from https://www.tricitiesbusiness-news.com/articles/4951-adaptability-and-innovation-are-key-to-workplace-success
- Cash Flow Inventory (2023). How to Keep Track of Expenses and Profit? Retrieved from https://cashflowinven-tory.com/blog/how-to-keep-track-of-ex-penses-and-profit/#:~:text=Keep%20De-tailed%20Rec-ords%3A,track%20your%20ex-penses%20and%20profits
- Center for Innovation and Sustainability in Lo-cal Media. (2019). What history teaches us: How newspapers have evolved to meet market demands. Retrieved from Center for Innovation & Sustainability in Local Media | UNC Hussman School of Journalism and Media website: https://www.cislm.org/innovation/digi-talstrategy/sdme-chapter-2-the-story-behind-the-numbers/sdme-what-his-tory-teaches-us-how-newspapers-have-evolved-to-meet-market-demands//
- Chambers, N. (2023). Understanding the Ex-penses Involved in Creating a (Tradi-tional) Newspaper. Retrieved from https://www.myfrontpagestory.com/cost-of-making-a-newspaper/
- Chernodubova, E., & Lebedenko, V. (2024). CONCEPTUAL APPROACHES TO THE STRATEGIC MANAGEMENT OF INCOME AND EXPENSES OF AN ENTERPRISE. Mechanism of an Economic Regulation, (2 (104), 96-100. https://doi.org/10.32782/mer.2024.104.15
- Cornelius, J. (2023). Community connections. Retrieved from https://www.nugget-news.com/story/2023/12/27/opin-ion/community-connections/35974.html
- Deselaers, P., James, K., Mikhael, R., et al., (2019). More than money | Rethinking Media Viability in the digital age. Re-trieved from Static.dw.com website: https://static.dw.com/down-loads/47825755/dwa-discussion-paper-media-viabilityweb.pdf
- Deutsche Welle. (2023, April 14). What is me-dia Viability? Deutsche Welle. Retrieved
- Emnace, H. (2023, May 17). Newspaper ad cost & factors affecting how much you pay. Re-trieved from https://fitsmallbusi-ness.com/newspaper-advertising-costs/
- Emrich, S. (2022). The Importance of Print Me-dia and How It Can Benefit Your Brand. Retrieved from https://www.entrepre-neur.com/growing-a-business/the-im-portance-of-print-media-and-how-it-can-benefit-your/426749
- Eric. (2021). Spillovers from Online Engage-ment: How a Newspaper Subscriber’s Ac-tivation of Digital Paywall Access Affects Her Retention and Subscription Revenue. Retrieved from https://www.schel-ler.gatech.edu/directory/research/mar-keting/pattabhiramaiah/pdf/draft_pa-per_submit_r2.pdf
- Esguerra, C. V. (2020). Struggling PH newspa-pers 'barely breathing' amid pandemic [Article]. Retrieved from ABS-CBN official website: https://news.abs-cbn.com/news/09/02/20/struggling-ph-newspapers-barely-breathing-amid-pan-demic
- Faster Capital (2024). The Importance of Busi-ness Connections. Retrieved from https://fastercapital.com/content/The-Importance-of-Business-Connec-tions.html
- Faster Capital. (2024). Outsourced journalism: The Role of Outsourced Journalism in Business Growth Strategies. Retrieved from https://fastercapital.com/con-tent/Outsourced-journalism--The-Role-of-Outsourced-Journalism-in-Business-Growth-Strategies.html
- Faster Capital. (2024, June 4).Outsourced jour-nalism: Outsourced Journalism: Boosting Startup Visibility in the Digital Age. Re-trieved from Faster Capital Website: https://fastercapital.com/content/Out-sourced-journalism--Outsourced-Journal-ism--Boosting-Startup-Visibility-in-the-Digital-Age.html
- Gitnux. (2024). Benefits of print media. Re-trieved June 3, 2024, from Target Print & Mail website: https://targetprint-mail.com/benefits-of-print-media//
- Guanah J. S., Aizek O. O. I. & Ojo G. O. (2019).Perception of Professional Jour-nalists on the Impact, Challenges and Gatekeeping of Online Newspapers. The Nigerian Journal of Communication. https://doi.org/10.17265/21606579/2017.08.001
- .Harman, M. (2024, March 18). 6 common chal-lenges faced by small and medium pub-lishers. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from Kita-boo website: https://kitaboo.com/com-mon-challenges-faced-by-small-and-me-dium-publishers/
- Helyer, K., & Roberts, G. (2024). Challenges fac-ing the Publishing and Media industry in 2024. Retrieved from https://de-ployteq.com/challenges-facing-the-pub-lishing-and-media-industry-in-2024
- Hollifield, A., Jurrat, N., Moore, L., et al (2020) Measuring Beyond Money: The Media Vi-ability Indicators (MVIs) [Discussion Pa-per] Retrieved from https://www.share-web.ch/site/DDLGN/Documents/DW-Akademie_Media%20Viability%20Indi-cators.pdf
- Hossain, A. (2023, June 28). Journalism in the Digital Age: Practice, challenges and op-portunities. Retrieved from https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/jour-nalism-digital-age-practice-challenges-part-01-aftab-hoss-ain?utm_source=share&utm_me-dium=member_android&utm_cam-paign=share_via
- Hutton, J. (2020). 4 strategic ways companies keep their media relationship positive. Retrieved from https://www.agili-typr.com/pr-news/public-relations/4-strategic-ways-companies-keep-their-media-relationships-positive/ In press article:
- Infante, L. (2023). Is print journalism dead? The Paisano -Independent Student News-paper for the University of Texas at San Antonio. Retrieved from https://paisano-online.com/35532/opinion/commen-tary/is-print-journalism-dead/
- Jenkins J., Nielsen R.(2020).Preservation and evolution: Local newspapers as ambidex-trous organizations. https://doi.org/10.1177/1464884919886421
- Ketterer, S., McGuire, J., & Murray, R. (2019). The price of outsourcing: A content analy-sis of the effects of early deadlines on the sports section in The Oklahoman. News-paper Research Journal, 40(1), 51-68. https://doi.org/10.1177/0739532919836154
- Kimani, R. N. (2020).Negotiating context as a survival strategy: The case of Mugambo Jwetu FM. Journal of Alternative & Com-munity Media, Vol. 5 (1), pp. 87-102. https://doi.org/10.1386/joacm_00076_1
- Li, Y. (2023).The Development of News Inter-view and Writing in the Era of Media Inte-gration. Probe-Media and Communication Studies 5 (2). https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&as_ylo=2020&q=poor+writing+skills+of+journal-ist&btnG=#d=gs_qabs&t=1722830885206&u=%23p%3DhvpNGHmWvs4JLink/URL
- :Madu, B. N. (2021).Analysis of Grammatical Er-rors in Three Selected Nigerian Newspa-pers. Ansu Journal of Language and Liter-ary Studies 1 (5). https://scholar.google.com/scholar?as_ylo=2020&q=one+of+the+common+prob-lems+of+newspapers+are+the+spell-ings,+grammatical+errors,+the+composi-tion+of+the+text,+and+punctua-tions.&hl=en&as_sdt=0,5#d=gs_qabs&t=1722831600074&u=%23p%3DT6wkIzQ0Ch8J
- Markou, H., Squires, C. An Ecosystem Model of Small and Medium Sized Enterprises Pub-lisher ‘Tiers’: Publisher Size, Sustainabil-ity and Cultural Policy.Pub Res Q37, 420–438 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12109-021-09811-y
- Mattelart T., Papathanassopoulos S., & Trappel J. (2019).Information and news inequali-ties. https://scholar.google.com/scholar_lookup?title=Information+and+news+ine-qualities&author=Mattelart,+Tristan&au-thor=Stylianos+Papathanassopoulos&au-thor=and+Josef+Trappel&publica-tion_year=2019&pages=215%E2%80%9318
- McCall, J. (2024). Government has no business trying to ‘save’ journalism. The Hill. https://thehill.com/opinion/congress-blog/4689246-government-has-no-busi-ness-trying-to-save-journalism
- McKenzie, M. (2024). Tips for Creating Original Content to Grow Your Audience. Re-trieved from https://www.crowdcon-tent.com/blog/writers-hub/how-to-cre-ate-original-content/
- Media Council of Tanzania (2019). State of the Media Report, 2017-2018. Dar es Salaam. Retrieved from: https://mediainnova-tionnetwork.org/wp-content/up-loads/2021/08/Media-Vibility-in-Tanza-nia-4.pdf
- Mentis, C. (2021). The Benefits of Digital Com-munication in the Workplace. Retrieved from https://www.claromen-tis.com/blog/the-benefits-of-digital-com-munication-in-the-workplace/
- Meyer-Joiner, R. (2023, May 24). How to place legal notices in newspaper. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from My Classified Ads website: https://www.myclassifiedads.net/how-to-place-legal-notices-in-newspaper/
- Moreno-Gil, V., Ramon-Vegas, X., & Mauri-Ríos, M. (2022).“Bringing journalism back to its roots: examining fact-checking prac-tices, methods, and challenges in the Med-iterranean context.”Profesional de lain-formación, v. 31, n. 2, e310215. https://doi.org/10.3145/epi.2022.mar.15
- Mukhiyatdinova, T. (2021).Linguistic Analysis of Newspaper text. Current Research Jour-nal of Philological Sciences 2 (10): 82-85 ISSN 2767-3758. https://doi.org/10.37547/philological-crjps-02-10-168
- Murschetz, P.C. (2022). Government Subsidies to News Media. Theories and Practices. In: Krone, J., Pellegrini, T. (eds) Handbook of Media and Communication Economics. Springer, Wiesbaden.
- National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (2022). State of Legal Safety of Filipino Journalists. Retrieved from https://nujp.org/lawfare-study/
- Nerone, J. (2021). The Labor History of News-work from Industrialization to the Digital Age. Retrieved from Taylor & Francis Group an informa business website: https://www.taylorfrancis.com/chap-ters/edit/10.4324/9781003057376-4/labor-history-newswork-industrializa-tion-digital-age-john-nerone
- NewsLab. (2019, November 20). How gram-matical errors affect perceptions of news articles. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from NewsLab website: https://newslab.org/how-grammatical-errors-affect-perceptions-of-news-arti-cles/
- Norton, C. (2023, May 3). A definitive guide to writing a product launch press release, with benefits and examples. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from Agility PR Solutions website: https://www.agilitypr.com/pr-news/public-relations/a-definitive-guide-to-writing-a-product-launch-press-release-with-benefits-and-examples
- /Onwuliri, E. C. (2019).A look at the major chal-lenges facing the newspaper today. Inter-national Journal of Social, Politics, and Hu-manities 4 (1), 58-62, 2019. https://scholar.google.com/scholar?hl=en&as_sdt=0%2C5&q=Newspa-per+faced+funding+problems&oq=News-paper+faced+fund-ing+prob#d=gs_qabs&t=1722843944526&u=%23p%3D3_9CD4Z6DM0J
- Pacaldo, M. A. C. (2019).STUDENTS’ JOURNAL-ISTIC WRITING SKILLS: BASIS FOR TRAINING IN JOURNALISM WRITING. LAMDAG Journal of the Graduate School 2019, Vol. 10 No. 1. https://ejour-nals.ph/article.php?id=22847
- Patzer, T. (2023) Unlocking the power of press release archives: Your endless repurpos-ing tool. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from IL-LUMINATION website: https://me-dium.com/illumination/unlocking-the-power-of-press-release-archives-your-endless-repurposing-tool-1ed590d20eb
- Perreault, Gregory, The Problem of Churnalism and Being First (January 9, 2023). Digital Journalism and the Facilitation of Hate. Routledge. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003284567, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=4384455
- Philippine Press Institute. (2020, June 24). Travails of the community press. Re-trieved from https://philpressinsti-tute.net/travails-of-the-community-press/. Published abstract:
- Puri, K. (2023). What is Delivery Delay? Top 8 Reasons for Late Delivery. Retrieved June 3, 2024, from FarEye website: https://far-eye.com/resources/blogs/what-is-deliv-ery-delay
- Quickonomics (2024). Cross-Subsidization. Re-trieved fromhttps://quickonom-ics.com/terms/cross-subsidization/
- Rai, S. S. (2023).Quality of Work Life and Job Satisfaction among Journalists of Televi-sion Newsrooms in Kathmandu: Vol. VII–XI. People’s Journal of Management. https://doi.org/10.3126/pjm.v11i1.63159
- Revise Sociology (2019). Churnalism and the News. Retrieved from https://revisesoci-ology.com/2019/08/16/churnalism-and-the-news/
- Rivera, A. (2020). Newspapers as a Source: Types, Sections, and Objectivity. Re-trieved from https://open.library.ok-state.edu/internationalcomposi-tion/chapter/newspapers-as-a-source-types-sections-and-objectivity/
- Rogers, T. (2019). Are Newspapers Dead or Adapting in the Age of Digital News? Re-trieved from https://www.thoughtco.com/adapting-in-the-age-of-digital-news-consumption-2074132
- ROI Marketing (2023). Exchange Deal Agree-ment. Retrieved from https://roi-market-ing.consulting/exchange-deal-agree-ment/
- Ruth Owino, & Boniface Kirema Karani. (2022). Conflict Sensitive Journalism and Elec-tions: Analysis of the media coverage of the 2017 Elections in Kenya. Kabarak Journal of Research & Innovation, 11(3), 299–307. https://doi.org/10.58216/kjri.v11i3.74
- Santos, V. (2022). How Inconsistency Can Ruin One’s Career. Retrieved from https://in-stincthub.com/blog/how-inconsistency-can-ruin-ones-career
- Schmidt, B. & Maharaj K. (2021). UNESCO Me-dia Viability Indicators Research Study JA-MAICA: The Media Institute of the Carib-bean for UNESCO [Book] https://www.mediainstituteofthecarib-bean.com/downloads/study-unesco-me-dia-viability-indicators-research-study-jamaica
- Smith, A. (2023). The Strategy of Self-Competi-tion: A Path to Business Success. Re-trieved from https://www.franig-nite.com/how-to/the-strategy-of-self-competition-a-path-to-business-success/
- Social Weather Stations Survey. (2019). First Quarter 2019 Social Weather Survey: 1 of 5 adult Pinoys use Facebook daily as a source of news. Retrieved from https://www.sws.org.ph/sws-main/artcldisppage/?artcsyscode=ART-20190629182313
- Svärd, P. (2019). The archivists’ understanding of new public management and outsourc-ing of government information : the case of Sweden. Vol. 37, No. 1. Sabinet African Journals. https://hdl.han-dle.net/10520/EJC-1a946e95d2
- Teal (2024). Journalist education requirements -do you need a degree? (2024). Retrieved June 3, 2024, from Tealhq.com website: https://www.tealhq.com/educa-tion/journalist
- The National (2019). A strong relationship be-tween media and government is vital. Re-trieved from https://www.thenational-news.com/opinion/comment/a-strong-relationship-between-media-and-govern-ment-is-vital-1.825297
- Thompson, R. (2024). Top 5 Ways to Improve Stability in Business. Retrieved from https://www.invensis.net/blog/how-to-improve-business-stability
- Totum Research. (2019).2019 Research: Local Newspapers: Engaged and Connected. Ndws Media Canada. Retrieved from https://nmc-mic.ca/ad-resources/local-newspapers-engaged-and-connected/
- U.S. Mission Kazakhstan(2024). LEGAL SUP-PORT, ETHICS AND MANAGEMENT FOR MEDIA PROFESSIONALS. Retrieved from https://kz.usembassy.gov/legal-support-ethics-and-management-for-media-pro-fessionals/
- University of Hull (2024). Public Communica-tion: Newspaper Article. Retrieved from https://libguides.hull.ac.uk/public-comm/newspaper-article#:~:text=Pur-pose%20of%20a%20Newspaper%20Ar-ti-cle,about%20the%20world%20around%20them.
- Venturini. A. (2023). Printed newspapers still generate revenues and profits for publish-ers. Retrieved from https://www.fast-markets.com/insights/printed-newspa-pers-still-generate-revenues-and-profits-for-publishers/.
- Vreede, C. (2024). Flexible Working Definition & Types. Retrieved from https://www.shiftbase.com/glos-sary/flexible-workin