CMU PRIO learns new techniques in writing for online publications

Ten Communications Specialists from the Public Relations and Information Office (PRIO) joined the interactive workshop on writing for newsletters and online publications especially tailored for state universities held at the University Homestay Boardroom on Dec 5.

As stipulated in the University Code, the office is mandated to promote its achievements in its four-fold functions through Annual Reports, News Bulletins, Online articles, and announcements published via the University’s official FB page, and website.

Calibrating the communications specialists’ skills is vital in delivering these services.

One of the communications specialists, Ms. Julie Anne P. Bago, shared how life-changing the writeshop was. She learned about the template the resource speaker developed to guide writers in writing stories.

“This writeshop gave me an idea of how important having an angle is in creating a story. Now I have learned how an angle can guide me. It gives me focus on where to go with my story,” she added.

The workshop was designed by a journalist with more than two decades of experience and a faculty of the Development Communication Department at another University.

Prof. Walter I. Balane, the resource speaker, shared how the template helped his students develop a story. He created the template to give perspective to young writers that one event can be written from many perspectives and angles.

He said writers should explore the thematic approach of writing more than the usual episodic.

Meanwhile, he evaluated the learners through an activity where writers were tasked to re-angle any published story into a thematic one. Writers were amazed by the metamorphic transformation of the re-angled story. Moreover, the group was assigned to write about the training and later presented and critiqued for improvement.

PRIO Director Ms. Mayflor D. Prantilla-Arambala asserted that the new techniques learned in the writeshop were of great help to the writers and are necessary for disseminating important stories about the university.

“In this way, our team will be able to provide quality and efficient service to our university, our stakeholders, and the public,” she added.

Since 2014, the PRIO has provided information on different platforms to stakeholders. It plays a crucial role in disseminating important milestones and information about the university in its four-fold functions: Instruction, Research, Extension, and Production. _{[Iyren Dalipe Neri]}