Seven students from De La Salle–College of Saint Benilde’s Student Publications Unit (SPU) participated in the two-day PressPlay 2024 conference on Mar. 16 to 17, where they also won in a case analysis competition against seven other collegiate publications.
PressPlay is an annual journalism conference and competition for collegiate publications in the Philippines, co-organized by The GUIDON and The LaSallian, the official student publications of Ateneo de Manila University and De La Salle University respectively. The 2024 iteration of PressPlay was held at Ateneo de Manila University, with a theme “Upholding Truth in the Age of Artificial Intelligence.”
On Mar. 17, participating collegiate publications presented their case analysis on the prompt “The role of AI in information dissemination.” Rizal Technological University's The Guardian publication clinched the title for Best Case Analysis, with Adamson University's The Adamson Chronicle coming in second. Ad Astra and the Benildean Press Corps, sister organizations under SPU, placed third.
The Benilde team was represented by BPC students Sofia Agudo and Mikaela Amira Barrosa, and Ad Astra students Gabrielle Almirol, Prince Chris Jayzmier Balaoro, Rodick Batan, Gillianne Ysha Lim, and Richard Harry Limbo.
Throughout the event, participants attended seminars to gain insights on the topic and hone their work.
Mr. Jaemark Tordecilla of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism discussed data literacy and the future of AI in society, alongside its drawbacks such as misinformation and truth distortion. On day two, Ms. Mara Cepeda, a multimedia journalist from The Strait Times, talked about the importance of responsible AI tool usage in journalism. Both speakers provided thorough analyses of AI's implications for maintaining journalistic integrity, further enriching the discourse on this field.
Other participating collegiate publications included The Adamson Chronicle (Adamson University), ThePILLARS Publication (Ateneo De Naga University), Letran SHS Fourth Estate (Colegio de San Juan de Letran), LAVOXA Group of Publications (De La Salle-Lipa), The Plumage (Pateros Technological College), The Guardian Publication (Rizal Technological University), and The Philippine Artisan (Technological University of the Philippines).
