Daily Fel
Journalist Joel Pablo Salud has come out with a new book entitled In the Line of Fire: Lectures.
The book, published by San Anselmo Press, is a collection of talks and lectures delivered in the span of six years in colleges and universities all across the country. The author is a seasoned newsroom editor and journalist who formerly sat for 11 years as editor-in-chief of the Philippines Graphic, the country’s longest-running political and literary magazine. Briefly, he also sat as chair of the Writers in Prison Committee of the Philippine Center of International PEN.
The lectures deal with subject matters as diverse as they are relevant, from journalism ethics and the role of journalists under authoritarian regimes, to the function of literature in the age of fake news.
These lectures hope to remind campus journalists of the profession’s timeless principles, more so now that university papers are extending their coverage of the news from school grounds and immediate communities to the nation at large.
San Anselmo Press Executive Publisher Marvin B. Aceron said of the book, “We’ve designed it to be as handy as phones, because its target audience, the young and aspiring journalists, should be carrying it around with them wherever they go as they journey into the world of media and politics. As we’ve always said in San Anselmo Press, ‘To be truly great, ideas should be in hard copy.’”
Included also in this volume are lectures the author delivered during the Philippine Center of International PEN Conference in 2015, the Unyon ng mga Manunulat sa Pilipinas Convention in 2017, and the 10th Philippine International Literary Festival in 2019.
It’s a companion book to Salud’s earlier collection of essays, I, Journalist, and Other Newsroom Introspections published in 2020 by the University of the Philippines Press-University of the Philippines Communications Book Series.
Salud was a member of the Manila Critics Circle, and recently joined the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines. He likewise sat as juror for prestigious journalism and literary awards, including the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Awards for Literature, the Nick Joaquin Literary Awards, the Bright Leaf Journalism Awards, and the National Book Awards, among others.
The San Anselmo Press publication team includes seasoned author and novelist Mr. Danton Remoto as editor (author of the internationally-acclaimed novel, Riverrun), Ms. Malou Buenconsejo, copy editor, Mr. Mark Nilo Odiaman for back cover photo, and MK Segundo for page design.
As Salud wrote in the Author’s Preface: “I believe, above all, in a journalism that is intelligent, emphatic, and resolute in bringing some semblance of common sense into the world. I also believe in a journalism that is compassionate, empathetic, and concerned for the conditions of others. More than anything, I believe in a journalism that fears neither retribution nor persecution, one that speaks to power without flinch or pause. This thin volume tells you why and how it’s done.”
To order In the Line of Fire: Lectures, visit the San Anselmo Publications, Inc. Facebook page.
