CEBU CITY, Philippines — Cebu’s only independent digital news portal, Cebu Daily News Digital (CDND), marked 2024 with three of Cebu’s iconic landmarks lit in blue to join in celebrating CDND’s fifth anniversary on New Year’s day.
On the evening of January 1, the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway (CCLEX) Bridge, Nustar Resort Cebu, and SM Seaside City Cebu’s tower, Cube, and facade, were illuminated with CDND’s corporate color – blue.
Additionally, Nustar’s 3D LED billboard also flashed CDND’s banner with its new tagline: Cebu and beyond.
This simultaneous lighting served as another milestone in CDND’s history, after it conquered the digital realm for the past five years, with the vision to continue providing quality and engaging storytelling to the public.
CDN Digital’s milestone
In a statement sent to CDND, the Cebu Cordova Link Expressway Corporation (CCLEC) congratulated CDND for its fifth year and said that CDND is among the media “who have been instrumental in putting to light significant milestones.”
“CCLEC is one with you in celebrating your successes over the past half-decade. With that, we are lighting CCLEX in blue for CDN Digital to mark this milestone,” they said.
NUSTAR Resort Cebu’s 3D LED billboard flashes CDN Digital’s banner with its new tagline: Cebu and beyond. CDN Digital photo | Christian Dave Cuizon
The SM Prime Holdings, Inc. through its Vice President Marissa Fernan also extended their greetings for CDND’s anniversary.
“In the last 5 years, CDN Digital has been very dedicated in bringing accurate and timely news and information to the Cebuanos and the growing social media community that covers a worldwide audience,” Fernan said.
Moreover, she said that SM looks forward to seeing CDN Digital achieve greater heights in the coming years “may it offer to the public more innovations in the timely delivery of information to an increasing online audience”
Nustar Resort Cebu, in their message, commended CDND’s dedication to journalistic excellence and commitment to keeping the community “well-informed.”
“NUSTAR Resort Cebu is grateful for the invaluable partnership over the past year and eagerly anticipates another year of successful collaboration in 2024. Cheers to five years of achievements and many more to come!” Nustar said.
The CDND Editorial Team witnessed the momentous event to capture the proofs of support coming from these three entities.
CDN Digital, Inquirer.net
In this milestone, some of the pillars behind CDND and Inquirer.net, its parent company, congratulated CDND and expressed their gratitude for the media outlet’s performance and achievements throughout the years.
The Cebu Cordova Link Expressway with blue lights to mark CDN Digital’s 5th anniversary on January 1, 2023. CDN Digital photo | Christian dave Cuizon
“As Cebu Daily News Digital turns five on the first day of 2024, I cannot help but look back with a grateful heart for the unceasing support we have been getting from the management and the Cebuano community whose need for factual information we vowed to serve… this time in the vast digital space,” Enrico Gabuya said, CDND’s managing editor.
In its fifth year, Gabuya recalled the challenges that CDND have faced such as the COVID-19 pandemic, the constant shift in technology, and the poaching of its staff. But despite that, he acknowledged the hardworking staff of CDND for sticking true to its commitment to be the go-to news organizations for Cebuanos.
“As we turn five, we collectively say our heartfelt ‘Thank You’ to our readers and followers, the Cebuano-speaking community whose struggles and triumphs continue to be CDN Digital’s goldmine of inspiring stories and narratives. A massive chunk of our gratefulness also goes to our advertisers and industry partners, whose support enabled us to not just survive but thrive in the digital landscape,” Gabuya said.
For 2024, he said that CDND would like to assure its readers, followers, and advertisers of its commitment to excellence in continuing to uphold the truth “no matter the price.”
The pivot to digital, CDN Digital achievements
Abel Ulanday, Inquirer.net’s publisher, and editor-in-chief, praised CDND for conquering all the challenges from print to pivoting to digital.
He said that the decision to pivot Cebu Daily News to digital in 2019 provided a tough and challenging situation for both the management and staff.
“The print version after all had kept a good share of Cebu’s media pie so a shift to another platform then seemed unlikely. Also, the newspaper has already a digital presence thru a website the staff updated and maintained daily,” Ulanday said.
He added that the pivot was aligned with “CDN’s vision to be the go-to news and information source on all things Cebu and reach out to Cebuano-speaking provinces and places.”
SM Seaside City Cebu turns blue for CDN Digital’s 5th anniversary. CDN Digital photo | Christian Dave Cuizon
With this, he said the management thought and believed a full digital version of the product can best serve this goal and objective, hence the beginning of Cebu Daily News Digital.
“Fast forward to today. CDND celebrates its 5th anniversary with a very good batting average. Its site traffic is rising, its social media keeping up with, if not leading, the competition, its sales and marketing operations doing well,” he said.
Meanwhile, Imelda Alcantara, chief operating officer of Inquirer.net, said that the pivot was a bold response to the challenges faced by the print industry.
“As we celebrate our 5th-year milestone, we are proud to communicate our new tagline, ‘Cebu and Beyond,’ encapsulating our commitment to credible journalism and our spirit as digital trailblazers,” she said.
And while Cebu remains CDND’s core focus, she said that it also is expanding its horizons, reaching readers globally who share a keen interest in Cebu and its surroundings.
“In the ever-evolving landscape of AI and emerging technologies, CDN Digital remains agile and resilient, adapting fast while staying true to its Cebuano roots,” she said.
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