Opportunities. Communication Department Chair Severino Sarmenta Jr. gave a speech during the inauguration of the Lopez Center. Photo by Aih Mendoza
HOPING TO immerse students in real-world communication training, the Ateneo de Manila University had tied up with the ABS-CBN Corporation to construct the Eugenio Lopez Jr. Center for Multimedia Communication. The Center, located at the third and fourth floors of the Social Sciences Building, was inaugurated last January 31. Network executives, school administrators and faculty attended the afternoon inaugural ceremony at the Ateneo Art Gallery.
University President Fr. Jose Ramon Villarin, SJ and ABS-CBN Chief Executive Officer Eugenio Lopez III unveiled the commemorative marker, while Fr. Nicasio Cruz, SJ and Fr. Antonio Pabayo, SJ led the blessing rites at the Center.
Communication Department Chair Severino Sarmenta Jr. said in a speech that the partnership with ABS-CBN is rooted in the vision of both the university and the corporation to develop “creative, skilled, ethical and globally competitive media practitioners.”
Non-exclusivity
In 2008, representatives from ABS-CBN asked the university if they were open to a partnership involving a donation in honor of Eugenio Lopez Jr, ABS-CBN founder and Ateneo alumnus. Center Director Mark Escaler, then chair of the Communication Department, said that the donation’s initial form was unknown. “There was no real indication of what that partnership would look like. Was it a building? Was it a room? Was it a center?” he said. “There was just this intention to actually do it.”
Months of talks led both sides to agree on a center, a concept proposed by Ateneo. “The idea for the Center actually came from us, because we do operate with centers. The Department has the [Konrad Adenauer Asian Center for Journalism]… That is a separately funded project that we felt is kind of similar to what the Lopez [donation] could do,” Escaler said.
Escaler clarified that the donation does not mean exclusivity with the network, and that as a university Ateneo is still open to tie-ups with other media organizations.
State of the art facilities
Communication department audio-visual technician Antonio Gallano, who has been with the department for 30 years, said that compared to the old analog system, the Center’s new equipment made work easier and more fun for students.
Multimedia Information Resource Laboratory (MIRLab) Chair Alexis Dy, a senior communication major, explained that the new equipment will help students get practical experience before work. “They’re state-of-the-art as of now, so it’s about as close as you can get to what big companies like ABS-CBN use, and I think… it’ll be an easier transition [to] when they do have their first job,” she said.
Dy said that MIRLab, the department’s student-run production house, is now under the Center, and that they have been helping in its setting-up. The studio was already used for shooting projects like Fr. Villarin’s welcome address and the Blue Eagles’ public service announcement encouraging donations for the victims of typhoons Pedring and Quiel.
She added that they will start pre-production of a digital lecture series this summer and will hopefully launch a pilot by June.
In the summer of 2011, trainers from ABS-CBN and the Center’s equipment supplier, Solid Video, came to orient students, staff and faculty about the new facilities. The Center has been in use by some production classes since June.
Photo by Aih Mendoza
Academe and industry
Sarmenta said in his speech that such initiatives in multimedia communications also involve cross platform production trainings and the envisioned production of the Lopez digital lecture series.
According to Escaler, the Center is an integration of a physical entity and a curricular center, perpetuating Lopez’s legacy through a dynamic set of initiatives. “There [are] now inroads to have a more integrated approach to some of the communication classes,” he said.
For her multimedia-inclined news writing classes, Associate Professor Chay Hofileña said that the facility will help students become at par with professional standards.
“I think it’s very helpful because [ABS-CBN] is mainstream. It’s one of the biggest networks, so if you see a marriage of academe and industry, then the preparation of students would be better aligned with what the industry needs,” Hofileña said.
One advocacy
ABS-CBN Chief Operations Officer Charo Santos-Concio said that the Center is a means for encouraging students to go into broadcasting. “I noticed [that] most of the graduates of the communication arts still have advertising [at the] top of their minds as their career path,” she said. “This Center will open your minds to the creative and endless opportunities that media and other platforms can offer the students.”
Lopez said that the Ateneo was not their first choice, and though initially considering the University of the Philippines for over a year, he said that “divine providence” intervened and that his father still “[had] the last word.” He added that the Ateneo’s pursuit of molding “men and women for others” is similar to ABS-CBN’s mission statement (“in the service of the Filipino”). Three generations of the Lopezes went to the Ateneo for their education.
Santos-Concio added that with the academic foundation and competence of Ateneo professors, both parties can strengthen their advocacy and develop future storytellers.
Escaler said that the Center provides for more opportunities to engage with the communication field. “The Center, if used just for classes—which of course is still the primary objective—will still underutilize the Center… There’s a tremendous opportunity for Loyola Schools to come together and use the Center to bring Ateneo to the world.”
Editor’s Note Alexis Dy wrote for g, the online magazine of The GUIDON.
