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| Photo by Marchel Espina |
This is the weekend that we are saying goodbye to the longest running daily newspaper in Bacolod and Negros - The Visayan Daily Star.
For a few months back, I was hearing stories of the Visayan Daily Star closing, and then to go on again, and then close. Throughout that time, I felt like I wanted to write something about the beloved Star but couldn't come around to it, knowing that it could still weather the storm. It's a good thing I did not write anything then.
Today, as I write this, I know already that this is the end of the line.
I am also part of the Star. I once wrote for the Visayan Daily Star in a column entitled Artspeak, focusing on Art and Culture.
Apart from that, my late dad was an original shareholder, as was my late grandfather, Dr. Romulo V. Ramos, who was also a writer and pressman, being once a President of the Negros Press Club, ages ago.
The Visayan Daily Star was started in 1982 by a group of journalists and civic leaders who boldly launched into the publication of a daily newspaper, never imagining the struggles and challenges they would go through even before reaching their first anniversary.
By God's grace and through the leadership of Tita Ninfa R. Leonardia, the Visayan DAILY STAR, starting without any "sponsor" to fund it grew and persisted through 38 years! That's close to four decades of serving the information needs of our people.
My late father designed the first masthead of the Daily Star. I had a hand in tweaking that masthead in 1992 when I came back from my studies abroad. It was also then when three of us, graphic designers who go by the names of Julie May Calderon, RJ Saison, and yours truly, worked on revamping the advertising look, with the direction and assistance of VDS Associate Editor Eli Francis Tajanlangit.
I also worked on special projects of the VDS such as the VDS yearbook wherein we did a feature of Negros Navigation's new online ticketing system. That's where I met the girl who would eventually be my wife and love of my life.
The Visayan Daily Star has really come a long way from where it started publishing in the printing office of Albert Lim, with only two desks and two typewriters, and some journalism students as reporters. There was also a literal baptism of fire when the printing press caught fire when the VDS was only a week old.
At this point, I would like to honor someone who has really helped me a lot in our advertising work in the Daily Star, and that is Ms. Maja Dely. She was the person we would call whenever we would have to reserve ad space for a client. She would take our call and log the reservation on the log book.
I would also like to recognize the strippers and platesmen who burnt the midnight oil pasting up the layouts and making plates for printing. They are the heroes we do not normally see.
This 12th of April, 2020 was the last anniversary of the Visayan Daily Star. I'll be missing reading the Twinkling column of Tita Ninfa and Carla Gomez's news. I'll also be missing the chronicle of what's been going on in Bacolod. After all, the Daily Star is also The Daily Star because of Edouard Garcia's column!
I still hope to see the Daily Star around through its online edition. Hoping indeed that doesn't go away.
Kudos Visayan Daily Star, Tita Ninfa, Carla P. Gomez and the VDS team! It was a good four decades of shining bright!
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