WE ARE 15.
The point is not that we even survived this long – spinning off the four-page centerfold of an eponymous Metro Manila daily tabloid, Punto! Central Luzon came into its own in the latter part of 2007, immediately laughed at as Puntod! at its inception, inscribed with the epitaph “Volume I, Only 1.”
The point is how we survived, and wow!
Two Punto contemporaries – with their own modern printing presses and enough corporate backing to last a lifetime – were launched with the proverbial big bang, only to fold up with nary a whimper, falling miserably short of getting their own Volume II.
Whereas, it was sheer subsistence for Punto! from the early years, and adaptation to the needs – mostly economic – of the moment, hence: from coming out every working day of the week, reduced to M-W-F, and later to T-Th. Just to keep our masthead afloat, so to speak.
Then came the Covid-19 pandemic. Its economic impact hitting hard at all media, so hard that not a few in the print sector diminished their frequency of issues, if not ceased publication altogether.
Faced with the prospect of closure, it is true grit and determination of Punto’s every man and woman, not to mention their keen sense of sacrifice, that not only sustained the paper but steeled its very core.
Top-to-bottom – publisher-GM, editor, columnists and correspondents, admin staff, down to the newsboys – halving of all salaries and allowances plus further reduction of frequency to weekly pulled Punto! through the worst of the pandemic. Sans any compromises to editorial independence and ethical reportage.
Adhering to what the paper stands for: Pananaw ng Malayang Pilipino.
No fear, no favor. Straight to the point.
With the essence of journalism – as Pulitzer himself articulated – at the core of our being:
“…fight for progress and reform,
never tolerate injustice or corruption,
always fight demagogues of all parties,
never belong to any party,
always oppose privileged classes and public plunderers,
never lack sympathy with the poor,
always remain devoted to the public welfare,
never be satisfied with merely printing news,
always be drastically independent,
never be afraid to attack wrong,
whether by predatory plutocracy or predatory poverty.”
Thence rises the character of its people that defines the integrity of Punto! There lies our point of pride at this our 15th anniversary. That pride we owe foremost to you who have kept faith in us.
