Editor's Note

Is a weekly club bulletin still needed by Manila Rotarians? Would RCMers be missing out if they do not read or at least browse the contents of the club newsletter?

With all members already linked to RCM’s various social media chat groups where announcements and photos of events and meetings are posted in real time, is a weekly newsletter still a necessary tool to keep everyone abreast? In this digital age where reliance on social media is rapidly growing, where online posts of on-going events are instantly available and devourable, where chat groups enable one and all to get quick updates of the events and news of the day, and where there is growing preference for bite-sized messages rather than long and kilometric articles, one may be prompted to ask: is a newsletter publication still in vogue?

As we all know, every Thursday, in time for the weekly regular meeting, the Rotary Club of Manila publishes a newsletter that seeks, among others, to update members about all the exciting things that are going on in RCM and with its members.

BALITA, first published regularly 102 years ago in the form of a bulletin consisting of a few pages, was passionately nurtured, developed, and eventually hailed as the most complete club newsletter in the Rotary world. In other words, the first Rotary Club in Asia takes pride not only in its being a centennial club, but also because of many other feats, among them the sustained weekly publication over all these years (except during the Second World War) of its weekly club newsletter. Today, after more than 100 years of regular publication, BALITA continues to serve as the Rotary Club of Manila’s diary and chronicler of activities, programs, institutional events, and various milestones. If one wishes to know the RCM’s mood and activities in, say, October 1958, he can be assured that the pages of BALITA published during that time will provide such information.

This is why the weekly publication that we have today always features the highlights of the week, including a recap of the recently held regular membership meeting. It also features the President’s report which, as currently formatted, features photos and a short narration of his (and the Club’s) activities in the past seven days. Moreover, committee meetings, contract signing, courtesy calls, planning sessions, as well as activities and projects that touch the lives of beneficiaries are included.

The program and participants of the current week’s regular meeting, as well as the profile of the invited speaker, are likewise featured in the newsletter. Activities done in tandem with other Rotary Clubs, including the projects and initiatives of the District are always reported. Also featured are write-ups of its members. Currently, BALITA’s Contributing Editors VPE/VP Reggie Yu (Vice-Versa) and Rtn. Senen Mangalile (On Distant Shores) share their thoughts through their columns. Other light materials are likewise included, such as the individual milestones and achievements of RCMers.

True. We now live in a different world, an era that is vastly different 102 years ago. But the virtues and values that Rotary represent remain the same. Chronicling the Club’s activities as a service and humanitarian organization remains an imperative. Celebrating each Manila Rotarian’s act of service and sacrifice is still very much worth the pages or the digital space on which they are featured. Surely, it is a worthwhile task to publish a weekly newsletter that assiduously collates, records, features, and acknowledges what RCMers do today, not only because of its impact on these projects' direct beneficiaries, but also because of the inspiration it will bring to future Manila Rotarians who will hopefully get to read about these service-above-self activities many years from now.

So yes, the Rotary Club of Manila never had any doubt about the wisdom of continuing and pursuing the weekly publication of BALITA.