[Be The Good] Kumustahan with community journalists

Hello,

Happy Human Rights Day! And belated International Anti-Corruption Day, which the world commemorated yesterday, December 9.

It’s fitting that today, we mark these two important dates with a special briefing about our flood control corruption investigations, open to Rappler+ members. If you are unable to attend the event, you can still catch the recording of it by becoming a Rappler+ member (just email plus@rappler.com if you aren’t one yet!).

But for this newsletter, I want to celebrate community journalists — frontliners witnessing and reporting both human rights violations and corruption in our villages, municipalities, and cities.

Last Thursday, December 4, we had a community chat with the reporters and editors of Daily Guardian, SunStar Cebu, and Philippine Press Institute, and regional correspondents and fellows of Rappler.

This kumustahan with community press was a peek into the challenges and joys of being a local journalist. One highlight for me (apart from this comment by Joey Marzan of Daily Guardian!) was when the professional journalists were asked to share tips or advice to the campus journalists in the chat.

“Stay curious and always verify facts. Don’t be afraid to ask questions you think are stupid. Also, be teachable and stay humble,” says Jerra Librea of SunStar Cebu.

I loved the answers to Rappler civic engagement specialist Joan Alindogan’s question about what is most rewarding about being a journalist.

“’Yung feeling na binabasa ‘yung reports ko. Sarap makarinig noon from friends and family,” says Joey.

(The feeling that people are reading my reports. It’s great to hear that from friends and family.)

“When readers don’t sleep on it (your report), but think about it — and it bothers them,” says PPI executive director Ariel Sebellino. But the challenges remain. Some reporters in the chat mentioned legal threats they faced due to a story, or taking a leave to deal with the mental health toll of pursuing a story.

There was consensus that journalists need mental health support, and debriefing. Such support after traumatizing coverage, like disaster coverage, is ideal.

“But a lot of newsrooms do not do this because it often gets buried by deadlines,” says Rjay Zuriaga Castor of Daily Guardian.

Do journalists have a life outside journalism? They sure do! Some in the community chat confess to being certified Swifties or BINI fans. Others mentioned cooking, traveling, or playing with their dogs. These details may seem small, but I believe it helps us all to see journalists as humans, and not just bylines. 

It’s never too late to join this conversation and meet the community press with chat rooms on the Collab Community platform! Join the PPI chat room, and the chat rooms of Daily Guardian and SunStar. You can backread this specific kumustahan here.

Thank you for standing with us in our fight for truth. In 2026, let’s raise our voices even louder. Support Rappler’s independent journalism today and make a one-time contribution: support.rappler.com.

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Be the Good is a newsletter that comes out every other Wednesday. We deliver updates straight to your inbox on how journalism and communities can work together for impact.

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