Mindanao news, views, message board, travels, hotels and jobs » Liza Amarga http://northernmindanao.com Mindanao news, views, message board, travels, hotels and jobs Sat, 12 May 2012 16:48:44 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.3.2 Splitting from Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro http://northernmindanao.com/2010/02/20/splitting-from-sun-star-cagayan-de-oro/ http://northernmindanao.com/2010/02/20/splitting-from-sun-star-cagayan-de-oro/#comments Sun, 21 Feb 2010 04:05:01 +0000 admin http://northernmindanao.com/?p=166 ONLINE: By Lizanilla J. Amarga

Comments and questions continue to hound me as to why I suddenly shifted from being head reporter of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro to a correspondent of Mindanao Gold Star Daily.

Honestly, I didn’t know I have more than a handful of readers who actually read the stuff I wrote during my almost seven-year stint with Sun.Star. All I know is that I just love my job as a reporter and get that feeling which Sir Herbie describes as “orgasmic” every time a reporter writes something, get it published and be proven right.

I didn’t know a number of people were riding on my “orgasmic” waves as well. But now I do. In fact, I met some of them and they made me feel bad (read: an understatement) that I offered no explanation that those adrenalin-filled thrill rides were suddenly over when I left Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro effective February 1, 2008. So, I hope this article fills in the blanks once and for all.

Last January 2008 when I was on my fourth year as a law student at Xavier University-College of Law with three subjects to go, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro asked me to choose between working with them still and pursuing my degree in law school. It was a no brainer.

But the decision to split from Sun.Star was somehow made for me as early as January 2007 when my doctor told me I have to slowdown or my heart enlargement problem would mean I only have two more years in this planet. He said running around as a full-time reporter and a full-load law student at Xavier University-College of Law with my heart condition was “full-lish.” I need to “not stress things out” and give my medicines some devotion until my heart problem is no longer “progressing abnormally.”

So, I rested and got a part-time job as an outsource writer with Google Gurus Joel Comm and Dan Nickerson and, with their encouragement, I started my own online newspaper website http://www.northernmindanao.com and soon my own weblog http://www.lizanillajamarga.com that costs only P5,000.00 a year each.

But the photojournalist in me yearns to experience those “orgasmic” kicks again and there was the standing offer from Sir Herbie, with special thanks from Cagayan de Oro Press Club Jerry Orcullo and other beloved colleagues, to join the Gold Star Daily family.

I weighed my options and their consequences from the monetary aspect (yes, even we single people need to be practical these days) to what I discern to be God’s will for me.

In Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, my salary was always pegged at what is referred to as the current “minimum wage” along with the “minimum benefits.” And with my transportation and communication allowances, I receive a total of around P7,000 to P8,000 a month exclusive of salary deductions. It’s not much which is why I still owe Xavier Univ. some debts from my previous semesters.

Now with Mindanao Gold Star Daily, it all depends on how hard I work for my stories. It pays P500.00 per banner story – almost twice the amount that I get when I was still with Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro . And when I don’t get the banner story, I get paid P100.00 per story which is still somehow equal to Sun.Star’s three-story a day P300.00 rate plus benefits already.

Although, it does not have Sun.Star’s other benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-Ibig, 13th month benefits, still, it gives reporters more. It give correspondents a full-page honorarium monthly which is worth around P10,000 without discount. I have been advised by Sir Herbie to just sell my full page to my fellow colleagues and I did. So, although I receive only around P3,000 something for my whole free page this month with most of the cut going to the one who hooked the ads deal. Still, it is something I am grateful to Sir Herbie and Mr. Ernesto. Chu among others.

Also, Gold Star Daily does not require me to punch a bundy card everyday but understands that being a reporter who gathers stories fresh from the field is hard enough. It is not always easy exacting the truth from politicians, criminals and what-have-yous for your stories. So, health-wise, I am not so exposed to the hard elements or really forced to write three stories each day.

Furthermore, what I love about Gold Star Daily is it does not have a very super ultra-strict copyright policy as Sun.Star Daily did when I was with them. Though, I know my copyright and other intellectual property laws with my brains-beauty professor Atty. Ma. Caridad San Jose, still, I respected Sun.Star’s company policies on this matter.

Now with Gold Star Daily, Sir Herbie told me that I can even apply to be a correspondent for national papers or go international with my website http://www.northernmindanao.com and pursue everything I want except contribute stories and photos to local newspapers.

Then there is the matter on preparing for the bar examinations next year 2009 and the whole-month long absence it would take. Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro does not allow such long absences unlike Gold Star Daily which respects me if I do not email any story for the day.

All in all, I am convinced that my Daddy God in Heaven looks after me and everything that happened – the shift from Sun.Star to Gold Star Daily – is part of His Divine Plan. And day after day, I come to appreciate the reasons why He has taken be to this path. I just hope that I don’t take my own path again and He has to take me to another U-turn.

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]]> http://northernmindanao.com/2010/02/20/splitting-from-sun-star-cagayan-de-oro/feed/ 1 Splitting from Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro http://northernmindanao.com/2008/05/24/splitting-from-sunstar-cagayan-de-oro/ http://northernmindanao.com/2008/05/24/splitting-from-sunstar-cagayan-de-oro/#comments Sat, 24 May 2008 11:47:08 +0000 admin http://northernmindanao.com/?p=167 ONLINE: By Lizanilla J. Amarga

Comments and questions continue to hound me as to why I suddenly shifted from being head reporter of Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro to a correspondent of Mindanao Gold Star Daily.

Honestly, I didn’t know I have more than a handful of readers who actually read the stuff I wrote during my almost seven-year stint with Sun.Star. All I know is that I just love my job as a reporter and get that feeling which Sir Herbie describes as “orgasmic” every time a reporter writes something, get it published and be proven right.

I didn’t know a number of people were riding on my “orgasmic” waves as well. But now I do. In fact, I met some of them and they made me feel bad (read: an understatement) that I offered no explanation that those adrenalin-filled thrill rides were suddenly over when I left Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro effective February 1, 2008. So, I hope this article fills in the blanks once and for all.

Last January 2008 when I was on my fourth year as a law student at Xavier University-College of Law with three subjects to go, Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro asked me to choose between working with them still and pursuing my degree in law school. It was a no brainer.

But the decision to split from Sun.Star was somehow made for me as early as January 2007 when my doctor told me I have to slowdown or my heart enlargement problem would mean I only have two more years in this planet. He said running around as a full-time reporter and a full-load law student at Xavier University-College of Law with my heart condition was “full-lish.” I need to “not stress things out” and give my medicines some devotion until my heart problem is no longer “progressing abnormally.”

So, I rested and got a part-time job as an outsource writer with Google Gurus Joel Comm and Dan Nickerson and, with their encouragement, I started my own online newspaper website http://www.northernmindanao.com and soon my own weblog http://www.lizanillajamarga.com that costs only P5,000.00 a year each.

But the photojournalist in me yearns to experience those “orgasmic” kicks again and there was the standing offer from Sir Herbie, with special thanks from Cagayan de Oro Press Club Jerry Orcullo and other beloved colleagues, to join the Gold Star Daily family.

I weighed my options and their consequences from the monetary aspect (yes, even we single people need to be practical these days) to what I discern to be God’s will for me.

In Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro, my salary was always pegged at what is referred to as the current “minimum wage” along with the “minimum benefits.” And with my transportation and communication allowances, I receive a total of around P7,000 to P8,000 a month exclusive of salary deductions. It’s not much which is why I still owe Xavier Univ. some debts from my previous semesters.

Now with Mindanao Gold Star Daily, it all depends on how hard I work for my stories. It pays P500.00 per banner story – almost twice the amount that I get when I was still with Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro . And when I don’t get the banner story, I get paid P100.00 per story which is still somehow equal to Sun.Star’s three-story a day P300.00 rate plus benefits already.

Although, it does not have Sun.Star’s other benefits such as SSS, PhilHealth, Pag-Ibig, 13th month benefits, still, it gives reporters more. It give correspondents a full-page honorarium monthly which is worth around P10,000 without discount. I have been advised by Sir Herbie to just sell my full page to my fellow colleagues and I did. So, although I receive only around P3,000 something for my whole free page this month with most of the cut going to the one who hooked the ads deal. Still, it is something I am grateful to Sir Herbie and Mr. Ernesto. Chu among others.

Also, Gold Star Daily does not require me to punch a bundy card everyday but understands that being a reporter who gathers stories fresh from the field is hard enough. It is not always easy exacting the truth from politicians, criminals and what-have-yous for your stories. So, health-wise, I am not so exposed to the hard elements or really forced to write three stories each day.

Furthermore, what I love about Gold Star Daily is it does not have a very super ultra-strict copyright policy as Sun.Star Daily did when I was with them. Though, I know my copyright and other intellectual property laws with my brains-beauty professor Atty. Ma. Caridad San Jose, still, I respected Sun.Star’s company policies on this matter.

Now with Gold Star Daily, Sir Herbie told me that I can even apply to be a correspondent for national papers or go international with my website http://www.northernmindanao.com and pursue everything I want except contribute stories and photos to local newspapers.

Then there is the matter on preparing for the bar examinations next year 2009 and the whole-month long absence it would take. Sun.Star Cagayan de Oro does not allow such long absences unlike Gold Star Daily which respects me if I do not email any story for the day.

All in all, I am convinced that my Daddy God in Heaven looks after me and everything that happened – the shift from Sun.Star to Gold Star Daily – is part of His Divine Plan. And day after day, I come to appreciate the reasons why He has taken be to this path. I just hope that I don’t take my own path again and He has to take me to another U-turn.

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