PIA sets stage for COPRE ‘05

The Philippine Information Agency, Area Management Office (PIA-AMO) 6 is now gearing up for the holding of the yearly College Press Conference (COPRE) and Awards for the year 2005.

PIA Asst. Director General for Visayas Janet C. Mesa said that the COPRE is conducted to recognize and award outstanding school publications, departmental publications and individual writers in the on-the-spot writing contests.

She also said that the COPRE is a way of evaluating the performance of student writers and their publications in the application of development communication principles, taught to them during the series of basic journalism workshops facilitated by the PIA.

In Region VI, it is only the PIA that conducts a yearly College Press Conference and Awarding ceremony, which so far has become an institution by itself, Director Mesa added.

This year’s COPRE will be held at the Iloilo Grand Hotel, on November 17, 2005.  Participating schools and their publications are required to submit their publication entries not later than November 3, 2005 at the nearest PIA office in their respective provinces.
Best publications in various categories, like for Best Magazine, Best Newspaper, Best News Page, Filipino Page, Literary Page, Feature Page, Editorial Page, Best newspaper Layout, Best Magazine Cover will be chosen. Grand Slam Awardee for three consecutive years will receive the Graciano Lopez Jaena Award, which is COPRE’s Hall of Fame.

On-the-spot writing contests will also be held, to include news writing, editorial writing, column writing, feature writing, editorial cartooning, sports writing, headlining and copy editing and also photojournalism.

The COPRE is not limited only to journalistic contests but also to forums and dialogues on various issues confronting campus paper writers, including thrusts of the government and issues on the implementation of Journalism Act of 1991.  for this year, COPRE will include a Forum on the latest journalistic writing trends, to be discussed by a resource person from Manila.

More details about the COPRE can be obtained from the PIA-AMO 6 regional office, Iloilo City, telephone numbers 3377301 and 3376303 c/o Ms. Elsa S. Subong, COPRE In-charge. (PIA 6)