GMA News’ prized broadcast journalist Jessica Soho underscored the value of “The Story” upon accepting her Gawad Plaridel Award for Journalism conferred on her by the University of the Philippines recently.
GMA News Pillar Jessica Soho was conferred the Gawad Plaridel Award for Journalism by the University of the Philippines (Photo from University of the Philippines)
Soho said it is the reason she is in media.
“The Story is what we’re really here for; the reason for our being, if you will, and what we should all continue working hard for—to get it right,” she shared.
“Some people may think there is a dichotomy or a difference between being a Filipino and being a journalist but I don’t. I am both: I am a Filipino journalist and I am not torn between public interest and the truth.”
She is the first UP College of Mass Communication alumna to receive the said award. Soho is the 14th person to receive it, joining the ranks of Eugenia Duran-Apostol (2004), Pachico Seares (2008), and Jose Lacaba (2013).
She urged the audience to fight fake news by being more discerning. “Don’t believe anything just because it’s been repeated or retweeted or liked a million times. It is never a popularity contest. The Truth is determined NOT by algorithms but by facts and facts alone.”
Soho anchors GMA News TV’s flagship newscast “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho (SONA).” She also hosts the top-rating magazine show “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” on GMA-7 and is the chief correspondent/ host of the investigative news magazine program “Brigada” on GMA News TV.