fbpx

Execs resign as Inquirer.net folds back to PDI

Based on accounts from several reliable sources, the operations of online publication Inquirer.net will be folding back and joining the Philippine Daily Inquirer publication anytime now.

inquirer netThe site Inquirer.net will not be closing down, contrary to earlier rumors but will be consolidated with the operations of the print publication. Although the Inquirer.net team has not yet moved offices, the status of this consolidation is still “on hold”.

Yugatech 728x90 Reno7 Series

Several key people have already resigned from the team, including Editor-in-Chief JV Rufino and VP & Executive Editor Leo Magno, a couple of weeks ago.

Apparently, the online advertising business model that Inquirer has been swimming on in the last decade didn’t really pan out. While operations grew and content creation expanded to web videos and a blog network, the ad money wasn’t enough to sustain the business. Some part-time bloggers in the Inquirer Blog Network were also asked to stop writing a few weeks back.

Inquirer.net used to be Inq7.net which is a joint venture between PDI and GMA 7 until the latter bolted off of the partnership to put up its own website, GMA-News.tv. Inquirer.net is the top online destination in the Philippines and this development could have a huge impact in the online publishing industry in the Philippines.

Subscribe to Blog via Email

Enter your email address to subscribe to this blog and receive notifications of new posts by email.

Join 976 other subscribers
Avatar for Abe Olandres

Abe is the founder and Editor-in-Chief of YugaTech with over 20 years of experience in the technology industry. He is one of the pioneers of blogging in the country and considered by many as the Father of Tech Blogging in the Philippines. He is also a technology consultant, a tech columnist with several national publications, resource speaker and mentor/advisor to several start-up companies.

43 Responses

  1. Avatar for Millerlite Millerlite says:

    Actually, may problem talaga tong website nato e. Pano nyo nasabi na the best ang mga nagwowork dito? Super bagal nitong site nato.

    Wait nyo na lang sa NEWS mga katoto kung bakit hindi na malaman dito kung ano gagawin. Lalabas na within a couple of days. And you will know na related sya sa topic dito. Someone messed up and ayun na nga, malaking scandal ito.

  2. Avatar for angelo_a angelo_a says:

    on the contrary, i just stumbled upon “The Ten Major Newspapers that will fold or go digital” at http://247wallst.com/2009/03/09/the-ten-major-newspapers-that-will-fold-or-go-digital-next/

  3. Avatar for Randy Randy says:

    I also noticed their web site is getting slower and slower.

  4. Avatar for Randy Randy says:

    If the problem of inquirer is tech related, why is this so? Wala na bang top notch developers ang inquirer? Is this the reason they are aggressively trying to hire new developers. This is surprising.

  5. Avatar for Mike Abundo Mike Abundo says:

    Meanwhile, publications abroad are going Web-only.

    The Philippines exists in a time warp. Trends here go backwards.

  6. Avatar for John John says:

    If the comments above praising the staff and execs of inquirer.net were true then we could have seen a site better than CNN. The fact is somebody has fucked up and now they are suffering the consequences.

    They have put too much importance on Tech that they have more than five reporters covering this beat, this section however is the most failure among all the sections it gets only less than 10% of the traffic. Entertainment section gets 90% of their traffic.

  7. Avatar for Gina Tan Gina Tan says:

    Contrary to most of the comments I read below, the article above says “Inquirer.net WILL NOT BE CLOSING DOWN but will be consolidated with the Philippine Daily Inquirer”. This might be the best move for Inquirer.net to have a cost-efficient operations.

    I’ve always thought that articles on this site were from PDI and/or GMA7 when they still had that partnership with GMA7. That way, the costs would have been less and advertisements would worked to their advantage. In other printed news companies, they have online publications at hand … meaning they manage their own people and own website. The news they print are the same news they publish online. How can you pay more with that kind of set up?

    Inq7.net then, Inquirer.net now, never ceased to update me for a period of 4 years when I was still working in Hong Kong. It may have been due to my loyalty to where my sister, one of the junior programmers mentioned by Leo Santos, was working at that time or it simply became very “handy” as compared to buying newspaper from the stands which would cost at least 2x its regular price.

    Lastly, may it be mismanagement of people or misappropriation of funds, let the new “owner/s” do their thing in bringing Inquirer.net right back on track. Continue to patronize your favorite online publication, as long as you’re happy with the contents. :)

  8. Avatar for Marlon Marlon says:

    I ve been reading news in this site for 5 years. Its sad that it will all come down to this.The site served as the link between Filipinos abroad and our country. The contents were rich but lately the site became like an online GUADALUPE BILLBOARDS. Instead of improving they have gone backwards, design wise and features wise.

    Just a side comment who is this marvin guy keeps on posting? Is this the culprit who took this once great company into its fall? It seems some people here knows him well.

  9. Avatar for Yao Yao says:

    Wow, this is really a big blow in the internet industry and ang dami pala issue na lumalabas sa organization na ito. Pati utang na kalkal na. tsk tsk. Anyway its a tragic day for all of us.

  10. Avatar for marvin marvin says:

    the grapes are sour when i tasted them.

  11. Avatar for Kumander Robot Kumander Robot says:

    “Let be by-gots be by-gots.” – Anonymous

  12. Avatar for manu manu says:

    Whew! This is really one huge news!

  13. Avatar for Liza Caña Liza Caña says:

    When I heard that JV Rufino have already resigned from INQUIRER.net, this is really a bad and sad news for the company. I’m formerly intern and Editorial Assistant for almost 5 years at INQ7.net (known now as INQUIRER.net).

    JV Rufino, our EIC, is a very dedicated man to his work. Not only in Editorial dept but also for the whole company. With the help of our editors, from morning, mid and night shifts, I can say that no one can ever beat the team and will satisfy your knowledge on news in any part of the world using your computer and cellphones.

    I guess, this is a BIG trial for the company. And I hope, from my former colleagues and friends in INQUIRER.net, is to find a way again to have the success for the company. I agree with Leo Santos, the company had tremendous potential. Don’t let the company down as many are wishing it to fall.

  14. Avatar for artist_ako artist_ako says:

    HAHAHAHAH si MARVIN may pa internet 101 pa nalalaman akala mo sino magaling. bayaran mo na muna yung mga utang mo sa mga credit card company bago ka magmagaling dyan. Hanggang ngaun may tumatawag dito sa office hinahanap ka :P

  15. Avatar for Angelo Panares Angelo Panares says:

    When I was still with Sun.star, Inq7.net was one of our benchmarks, we would continually strive to match their traffic and the speed of their news delivery as well as quality. Having the best as the leader of the pack and a direct competitor brings everyone to higher level. It would be ashame if quality of service will degrade with the folding back to PDI.

  16. Avatar for marvin marvin says:

    btw, the first marvin’s comment is an impostor, wla na bang available n pangalan and website na magamit at pati un sakin ginamit pa para manira?

  17. Avatar for Twinkle Tuason Twinkle Tuason says:

    I was with INQ7 as a senior developer for over 6 years. In that time, I got to work with such great people. I got to work closely with the editorial team. JV Rufino and Leo Magno have always been years ahead in terms of visions and plans for the web site. I remember getting emails or calls in the early morning for updates and changes and plans :) The editorial team worked in shifts, 24/7 to make sure that the latest news be available to everyone. On those times like the Impeachment or Edsa II, some worked even longer than that, not just because they were asked, but because they WANTED to cover it.

    The tech team shared the same spirit in pulling all-nighters, as well as hours of research, just to make sure that the readers who have no access to local tv or radio, get the news on time and as it happens. The goal was to have a site up hours or even minutes after an event happens :) It was exciting stuff.

    I remember that the Marketing and Sales team’s biggest challenge in the first few years was explaining to prospective clients, not just what INQ7 was or why it was a good idea to put up ads, but what the internet or web site was. They did a great job at getting advertisers and coming up with promos.

    Though this is a truly sad development, I do hope that for the next incarnation of the Inquirer news site, for whatever mistakes or missteps were made in the previous one, that the current team be successful in managing it, not just for their sake, but for all the millions of Filipinos who patronize Inquirer.net.

  18. Avatar for marvin marvin says:

    Or maybe because those times, INQ7.net has no “real” competition, so everything they do is a real success.

  19. Avatar for Michelle Morelos Michelle Morelos says:

    I feel very sad to learn about this too… INQ7.net was my first ever job after college…thanks to Leo Santos ^ who took me in as intern for his multimedia team in 2003, and then to JV Rufino, Leo Magno and Joey Alarilla who became my 3 “bosses” when I moved to the the editorial team after =) I have nothing but good memories from INQ7.net and will miss visiting the office whenever I’m in the area =(

  20. Avatar for Productive Pinoy Productive Pinoy says:

    They already have the traffic.

    The best move is to streamline the operation.

    Keep only the best people (or whatever is left of the best).

    Improve the website appearance — a little less clutter will make it easily readable.

    Get advertisers who will pay for a premium. (Most of their advertisers now are real estate companies)

    Bring back that start-up entrepreneurial spirit as described by Sir Leo Santos.

Leave a Reply
JOIN OUR TELEGRAM DISCUSSION

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *