The Manila bureau chief and Asia environment editor of Agence France-Presse yesterday congratulated the Visayan DAILY STAR on its 30th anniversary and called it “a trusted source of local news for more than a generation.”

Karl Malakunas’ speech was read for him by DAILY STAR columnist Modesto Saonoy at the newspaper’s anniversary celebration at Planta Centro Hotel in Bacolod City.

Malakunas apologized for having to cancel his trip to Bacolod at the last minute, explaining that, “with the Philippines' biggest warship locked in a standoff with Chinese surveillance vessels, it is a major global story for AFP and I have to man our ship in Manila to ensure we provide accurate and fast news of the developments.”

He said it is no small achievement for the DAILY STAR to have survived and prospered for three decades.

“As you know the technological revolution around the world is making it harder and harder for newspapers. In the past five years alone, at least 15 newspapers have closed in the United States,” he said.

However one of the other more positive trends is that as the global village becomes smaller, and news from around the world becomes more accessible to all, so too does the demand for local news, he also said.

People want to know about what's happening in their own communities, he said.

“In Australia, where I come from, the newspapers that are thriving are the ones that focus on their own communities. In this vein, I congratulate the Visayan DAILY STAR on also serving its communities of Negros for the past three decades. You have been a trusted source of local news for more than a generation!,” Malakunas said.

Meanwhile, he also said, “Agence France-Presse has been your proud partner and supplier of news from further afield for more than 20 years.”

He recalled that it was in 1991 that AFP's then Bureau Chief for the Philippines, Jacques Boyer, signed its first contract with Ninfa Leonardia, DAILY STAR president and editor-in-chief.

Back then, one of the conditions of the contract was that AFP agreed to send news items to the DAILY STAR by fax between 2 and 5 p.m. every day, Malakunas said.

“How times have changed! Today news is delivered almost instantaneously. But in whatever format, whether it be via mobile phone, super fast wireless Internet connection or a technology we have not even heard of yet”.

“I hope that AFP can continue to help you deliver news, for many more years to come,” he further said.*CPG

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