Seven Wins Put Ozamiz Back in the Conversation
OZAMIZ CITY - The results gave Ozamiz plenty to celebrate. After more than seven hours of announcing results, Ozamiz recorded seven first-place finishers and 11 top-five winners across individual writing and non-writing events, according to The Monitor Mindanao Today. Those numbers matter because campus journalism is not won by one strong performance; students have to think quickly, write accurately, and perform under competition pressure across different categories. The showing gives the division a fresh reason to look toward the next level of competition. For the students behind those results, each placing represents hours spent practicing headlines, stories, photographs, broadcasts, editing, and the careful use of information.
A Competition Built Around More Than Winning
The DSPC's theme, “Mapanuri, Mapanindigan at Mapanagutang Pamamahayag,” places three qualities at the center of student journalism: being critical, principled, and accountable. That emphasis mirrors the wider direction of campus journalism in 2026. At the National Schools Press Conference earlier this year, DepEd likewise highlighted press freedom and ethical journalism while student journalists competed in areas including photojournalism, sports writing, and science writing. For Ozamiz participants, the division contest therefore offered more than a scoreboard. It gave young writers a demanding exercise in deciding what matters, presenting information clearly, and standing behind the work they produce.
The Road Back Starts With the Next Generation
There is also a longer story behind Ozamiz's performance. The Division of Ozamiz City had already conducted 2026 training in campus journalism for selected school paper advisers and coaches, followed by an official list of participating campus journalists, showing that preparation for competitions was part of the division's work well before the September DSPC. The latest results now give those preparations something tangible to build on. Whether Ozamiz ultimately reclaims the championship tradition its journalists are aiming for will be decided in future competitions, but the current crop has already supplied an encouraging sign: the division continues to produce students capable of competing strongly across several journalism disciplines.
