Where We Are Going
After 35 years, where are we headed?
I can still remember clearly that day in July 1986 when then President Corazon C. Aquino visited The Philippine STAR editorial office and printing plant in Port Area, Manila. President Aquino was the guest of honor at the inauguration and christening of our newborn newspaper.
I recall that my late mother and founder of The STAR, Betty Go Belmonte, had prepared a red carpet at the small front lobby of our office building. But at the printing area, the carpet was replaced with rolls of newsprint laid on the ground just like a carpet for President Aquino to walk on.
I don’t know why that image is still so vivid in my mind, but for sure, I’ve never seen anything like that since. It’s hard to imagine that the scene in my mind already happened 35 years ago. Oh, how time flies!
As one can guess, so much has happened from that time ‘til now — so many ups and downs, challenges, and triumphs.
In the newspaper business, the roller-coaster of emotions from being in the front row of day-to-day happenings can be quite unnerving, but seeing how the years went by as if without notice, I can say that it’s been fairly entertaining as well.
After 35 years, one would have stored enough memories for throwbacks and nostalgia.
Early this year, when we broke ground at our future office in Parañaque — the pandemic still hanging over everyone’s head — my mood shifted from excitement one moment, to sadness the next. I couldn’t help asking, “Where did all the time go?”
I sure can go on all day, traveling down memory lane, but I am tasked to share what I can about our company’s future. Now that we are turning 35, where are we headed?
I have actually been giving this subject a lot of thought for some time, and the question is not easy to answer.
Under siege
Even before the pandemic hit us in March 2020, the publishing industry had already been “under siege” with the emergence of digital media. This includes the various social media platforms whose growth can only be described as phenomenal.
Although we, as with other newspaper and magazine publishers, had been wary of this impending threat for so many years, it was only in 2015 that its impact on our business started to be more pronounced and felt.
We have so many young and talented people in our company. They will be the ones to take The Philippine STAR to the next level, whatever that may be.
The rate at which digital and social media had been growing, especially among millennials and Gen Zs, was truly mind-boggling. Not to mention that those from the “older” generation have also been learning to adapt to new media formats for various purposes, including the consumption of news.
As some of our regular readers and advertisers migrated to digital media, naturally The Philippine STAR, like other newspaper publishers around the world, embraced the reality that was happening to our industry and joined the digital bandwagon while still maintaining our print operations.
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My job aside, I personally am a print reader and a news junkie, and I know many others like me who appreciate the printed format for the way it curates and presents content. This is why our editors have to meet daily to determine which stories deserve banner treatment.
However, the ongoing pandemic only sped up the process and highlighted the need for us to explore and develop new revenue streams via a variety of new media platforms and packages.
I am quite proud of what The Philippine STAR and our entire Philstar universe has accomplished in terms of our offerings to readers and advertisers. Through these products, we provide more options to get accurate news and reaching target audiences.
Just to clarify, the Philstar Media Group consists of our flagship The Philippine STAR, our highly-respected business paper BusinessWorld, tabloids Pilipino Star Ngayon and Pang Masa, Cebu papers The Freeman and Banat News, and our online business Philstar Global, which operates our website, Philstar.com. We are also involved in the management of the popular PeopleAsia magazine.
With our first semester performance as a gauge, the Group is poised to post a healthy income this 2021, and we expect to be back to pre-pandemic levels by 2022.
Aside from the constant upgrading and expansions of our online business, our media group also has a strong presence on Facebook and other social media platforms. We have produced numerous webinars and virtual forums on various topics that have been very successful and have attracted considerable and quality viewership.
We also continue to develop new niche websites with more targeted audiences, such as our very successful Philstarlife.com.
And, at the end of the day, The Philippine STAR still maintains a big circulation for its print edition and has the lion’s share of the advertising pie, making The STAR the most successful print media organization in the country for the past 10 years running.
With our first semester performance as a gauge, the Group is poised to post a healthy income this 2021, and we expect to be back to pre-pandemic levels by 2022.
It is very difficult to predict what the future has in store for us. One thing we’ve learned is that we live in uncertain times and to some extent we just have to take things a day at a time.
Yes, we obviously still plan for the future; after all, we will be moving into our brand-new (multimillion-peso) offices in Sucat, Parañaque by 2023. We also have so many young and talented people in our company. They will be the ones to take The Philippine STAR to the next level, whatever that may be.
To all our beloved readers, advertisers and partners in the business, let me assure you that The Philippine Star Media Group is here for the long haul. Thank you very much for sticking it out with us all these years.
And to my staff, especially the young ones, just look where we started in 1986, and see what we have achieved the past 35 years, then you will believe that even in real life, we can reach for the STARs!