Week 03 – sixtyfifty2021

Reminder: You are a work in progress!

No one starts as a master or an expert. Everyone has to start from the bottom to arrive at the top. Not everyone also has the same set of qualities and skills they’re good at. We all differ but what makes us the same is that, when we want to be good at something, we work harder. Indeed, “no pain, no gain” but it doesn’t have to be literally blood and tears behind every success, it can also be losing one’s sense of purpose and passion. At some point, our creative minds are nowhere to be found and lose sight of our goals and aspirations. It’s not the end of the world already, it’s not yet the end of your journey. Remember, this is only the beginning. The start of something new. To rediscover yourself and explore your potential. To learn about new things, new skills, and to consider new qualities. It may take you days, weeks, months, or years, but this is the time to remind yourself that you are a work in progress. You don’t have to rush things. Just run at your own pace. We all have our timelines.

Now that I am taking Development Communication, it’s time to set things straight as more learnings and more opportunities await and this includes practices I have to unlearn and relearn. It may take quite some time but the process will be worth it. We all have our skills and qualities, some of which are caused by influence while some we only learned on our own through our experiences and habits. The same thing with devcom, as a field of study and an area of practice, it also has its own set of skills and qualities that media writers and development communicators-in-training should assess themselves if they’ve already possessed this or they should never stop practicing, committing, and learning towards betterment.

As for the qualities and skills of media writers, there are a lot of qualities that should be possessed and observed and skills that should be honed or shaped more by everyone in the field. Moreover, I believe the most critical quality I need to develop would be putting premium on accuracy and truth. Why? Among all of these qualities, it’s not enough that we are service-oriented or someone who is interested and loves the people. Thus, we also have to be credible and by default, someone who puts premium on accuracy and truth/facts. Remember the tagline of most broadcasting stints, “We deliver nothing but the truth,” and that should be our mantra as media writers. A media writer puts prime importance on fairness and resourcefulness to be able to deliver or publish quality stories or contents.

Everyone starts from scratch until someone immerses in the field and later on becomes effective as a media writer or media practitioner in particular. On the other side of the coin, there are two skills I would greatly consider as most important or crucial as a media writer should have. These skills would be the ability to write clearly and effectively and proficiency in the operation of communication tools and devices. As someone who writes a lot, the most critical skill I should develop and practice more in on writing clearly and effectively and invest more time and effort on what will help me become an effective media writer in the field. While, one should also consider to be proficient enough in the resources available and be knowledgeable on how to utilize or troubleshoot these media tools or devices. Enhancing the quality of your content or devcom story could be easy if you focus on what will help you improve and be fully equipped with the proper knowledge and skills.

“Consistency is the key,” as they always say and it should always be. Moreover, the photos below are self-assessments consisting of the qualities and skills of a media writer and after a thorough evaluation, these are the ratings I have for myself:

I still have a long way to go to further develop, practice, and hone these qualities and skills. Thus, first things first, I have to be familiar with all of these to be guided and to be effective in the field, to give nothing but quality works and writings. Knowing all of these is already an edge in the career path I will pursue in the future. Keep learning, work smarter, and try harder! You can do it and you can still be better. Just take your time, trust the process, and all will be well. Again, you are a work in progress!

The Deal with Starting Somewhere and Competency

Renowned Japanese writer Haruki Murakami once said…

“Everybody has to start somewhere. You have your whole future ahead of you. Perfection doesn’t happen right away.”
Haruki Murakami

And indeed, it is true. It is applicable to media writers and development communicators—whether they are still training or established.

Being the former, I must say that I honestly find the discipline of development communication a little difficult. Even though I grew up writing a lot, I seem to always struggle to put the words down. I often catch my train of thought stopping, and there are times that I just do not know how to explain a certain message that I want to say to people.

But, I guess that is normal.

Being in the field of development communication certainly takes a lot of patience, practice, and understanding. It does not solely depend on one’s fluency and literacy—its core orbits around qualities and skills.

As we aim to be efficient communicators serving the people, there’s a huge necessity for us to do our best to be understood, first and foremost. Therefore, we must know our objectives and communicate clearly. Honestly, if I were to rate myself in this matter, I certainly wouldn’t be giving myself the highest score.

But, I believe that having known my deficiencies as a media writer and development communicator-in-training gives me the prospect to improve and work on my abilities. Learning the specific areas I should work on, which for instance are being resourceful and being adept in gathering data, shows where I should spend most of my time and efforts on.

A self-assessment of my qualities and skills as a media writer

As I take my time to assess myself, I realize that my judgements would not be the most accurate—given that I haven’t really seen nor gathered much feedback from others. However, I conclude that the most important quality that every media writer and development communicator must possess is the love and interest for people.

I believe that this quality is unsurmountable knowing that it is the heart of service for people, and it is the reason why one even does the work to help people.

As for the skill, I regard writing clearly and effectively as the most crucial one to master. Writing is a delicate thing that when done clearly and effectively, it brings efficiency and knowledge to people which allows them to be independent—empowering them to make informed decisions. It is a powerful thing encompassing the other four qualities which are namely: gathering data, validating and clarifying information, organizing information, and proficiency in the operation of tools and devices.

But, I think that the top quality and skill of a media writer and a development communicator-in-training would be worthless without putting a premium on accuracy and truth.

In a time where disinformation and misinformation are just as easy to be seen as news, we, media writers and development communicators-in-training must seek and let the truth prevail. As elections approach this year, we must do our best to debunk false and misleading information to prevent people from having perceptions that lead them to choosing undeserving candidates.

With that being said, I conclude that possessing the qualities and competence in skills determine my effectivity as a media and development communicator-in-training; therefore, I will do my best to improve myself to serve people.

A Must for the Mass

First week proper, first lesson.

As we go through our topic about the characteristics or qualities of a media writer, I once again have second thoughts about going through this course. Is this the right course for me? Honestly, I’m not a good writer and have no experience in the journalism field. I was intimidated by my classmates because most of them have experience in the journalism field, and here I am, a freshie whose afraid to get out of her comfort zone and explore something new about her.

Honing the media writer skills of a DevCom student is one of the goals of Development Communication. If you don’t have one of those qualities, probably you’re going to have an existential crisis why you’re taking DevCom as a course. Kidding aside, among those qualities and skills that we discussed, being service-oriented and writing clearly and effectively are a must for a media writer during their study and practice of development communication.

Service-oriented

DevCom students will always be for the masses, to provide accurate and relevant information that will help people to make better decisions. Especially now that we are in a society where people are easily fooled by a single piece of information, made by a non-reliable source. People defy logical and well-presented facts just to feed their egos. We, media writers, should continue feeding them truthful information with truthful evidence. Imulat ang ating mga mata sa katotohanan! Opening the minds of people is crucial for development and true change to happen.

Writing clearly and effectively

As I assess myself, this skill is the one I should practice more. Writing clearly and effectively makes your writings more understandable and serves their purpose. Omitting needless words is one way to write clearly and effectively. Before, I thought that the more information you share, the more the audience will learn. But, it’s not the case anymore.

Understanding is as crucial as writing. Without delivering your message clearly to your intended audience, your effort is useless.

For this weekly writes, we are tasked to self-assess ourselves of our qualities and skills as media writers.

Practice makes perfect.

All qualities and skills that we discussed are vital for a development communicator, specifically, for a media writer. As I self-assess my qualities and skills, I still have a lot on my plate to learn. I hope that throughout my whole journey in DevCom, I will be able to hone all those skills and qualities needed to serve the people and make TRUE CHANGE.

Communication is a powerful key to achieving planned social change through empowering communities and giving voice to them.

chicken feet

I am writing this in commemoration of my late grandfather’s memories, the “Lucky Pepe.”

*The only photo I found that my lolo smiled for. Taken 2010. (Photo by: Cristy Lomibao)*

Lolo Peps grew up in a farm-shaped life in our province. As a child, he would wake up at 6 in the morning by default, fix his part of the papag, cook rice good for the whole day, take a bath, then finally proceed to his favorite part of the routine: feeding the chickens. The obnoxiously loud, two-legged, and randomly aggressive creatures—and I say this with contempt as I am a very recent victim of their sharp beak. Lolo loved chickens, so much so that he brought them here to Las Piñas. Even he was no longer living in a farm, he continued having and taking care of them as if they were his children. However, when it finally hit him that he is getting weaker physically day by day, he taught me everything I must know to tend to them. I had a hard time, especially with the ever so hostile roosters often attacking me even when I had food for them. When I got frustrated with the chickens, I told my Lolo, “Ang sakit naman nila manuka, ayaw ko na lumapit!” He laughed and replied, “Ganiyan talaga Apo, kahit ako rin tinutuka ng mga loko na ‘yan. Eh… tyaga lang, saka malalaman mo rin ‘yan paano sila lapitan.”

Tyaga lang, malalaman mo rin ‘yan paano sila lapitan. This can be translated to the quality perseverance and skill proficiency in the operation of communication tools/devices.

Perseverance

It is indeed true, “’Pag may tiyaga, may nilaga”. We always hear in successful people’s interviews that one of the major keys to success is perseverance and to keep going on. The perseverance in a media writer is important because we will and are bound to face a ton of setbacks that will hinder our improvement and make us shy away from work, ultimately rendering us unable to fulfill our purpose which is to serve the masses. Hence, we must stand up no matter how hurt we are from falling—but remember that there is no problem with staying still, and it is as important as rising. Also, to be better we need practice, and practice needs to be accompanied by perseverance. After all, no person can predict their results; one can only speculate, and to speculate this more accurately, practicing to enhance ourselves is essential.

Proficiency in the operation of communication tools/device

In Pangasinan, our townspeople had this saying: Panun kon salkeren tan ta epel so pansasargel mo? Which translates to: How are you going to slice when you have not even whetted what you are going to use for slicing? and I believe this can be applied to media writing. As media writers, we will use these communication tools/devices for the entirety of our careers, hence we must know their ins-and-outs and how they function. By doing so, we can unlock their full potential and use it to our advantage—for seeking reliable information, disseminating content more effectively, building rapport, and many more. Moreover, it helps us to prevent technical mishaps on our end, as such is seen as unpleasant and disrupts the flow of work.

While I picked these two to be the most important ones, the other skills and qualities are just as essential when it comes to media writing.

Time for some (harsh) self-evaluation!

Whew. Clearly, someone still has a lot of practicing to do! All jokes aside though, I indeed still have a long, long way to go. I admit that just looking at the seemingly endless road ahead of me makes me tired already… but hey, one step at a time, amirite? One step at a time. Even if your steps are just as wide as a chicken’s.

Baby Steps

Becoming a Development Communication student is harder than I thought, at first I think of it as a light job, something that I feel like I can do great things and such. I was fooled, it isn’t as easy as I thought, it bears a lot more responsibility and it really hones you to become a much more critical person and better than before. I was not a student that studied and specialized in media writing, the last time that I got to learn about it was in my elementary days, and it has been almost 6 years. Most of the teachings about skills, techniques, and other technicalities are not really that familiar to me now.

So as I walk the journey of becoming a development communicator, it feels like I’m walking to a new and refreshing path. As I go on, it was discussed to us the qualities and skills needed to be an efficient development communicator. There are a lot of qualities and skills to consider but it was narrowed down to ten most important qualities and five most important qualities.

Out of these qualities, I consider myself to be an imaginative and people oriented person. I’m just an average person, knowing things through the standard way and learning things at a not so advanced level. Now that I am embracing the life of a Development Communication student, I am slowly adapting to how things work. It takes much more curiosity and perseverance to be able to acquire what you really intend to focus on. Digging in information and studying for a specific topic requires you to be much more passionate and industrious so you could produce a project worthy of the people you are serving.

Alongside the qualities, one must also have the skills needed to completely incorporate the lessons in real life situations. Just like in everyday life, we unconsciously gather data that can be useful or not, that alone is already a skill. Being able to know what to search for and having the ability to identify if that information is valuable and important is very helpful to a media writer. The main purpose of a media writer is to write, and to effectively write you must have the attitude and mindset of a media writer as well as the skills to help you create the news or story that will satisfy your readers. After all we are doing this, we are studying not just for our own benefit but for the good of the people we are serving and which are our fellow Filipino people.

Pen pen de saraPen

Ang pagiging isang manunulat, mapadyaryo, tebisyon, radyo o pelikula man ay kinakailangan na magtaglay ng mga kalidad at kasanayan na magagamit sa pagsulat.

Ang isa sa mga kalidad ng isang media writer na sa aking palagay ay dapat na pinakaunang taglayin ay ang pagkakaroon ng interes at pagmamahal sa tao. Bilang isang development communicator at media writer in training, ito ang dahilan kung bakit tayo sumusulat. Ang pagsulat natin ay para sa tao, magsilbing lakas ng kanilang mga boses upang maiparating ang kanilang mga hinaing, upang ang mga ito’y maipamulat sa ating lipunan at sa mga nanunungkulan kung ano ang nararapat na kanilang natatamasa.

Self Assessment: Qualities of a Media Writer

Sa mga kasanayan naman, ang pagkakaroon ng malinaw at epektibong pagsulat ng mga news story ang sa palagay kong isa sa pinakamahalaga. Ang malinaw at epektibong sulatin ay ang susi upang maiparating nang maayos ang paksa at maipaunawa ang nilalaman nito. Ang tungkulin ng isang media writer ay ang maglahad ng mga impormasyon sa masa kaya’t nararapat lamang na ang kasanayang ito ay kanyang taglayin at hasain.

Self Assessment: Skills of a Media Writer

Makikita sa binigay kong rating sa aking taglay na kalidad at kasanayan na marami pa akong kahinaan na dapat palakasin. Marami pa akong kalakasan na mas dapat pang hasain at pagtuunan ng pansin.

LACKING BUT STILL PRACTICING

The Introspect

Being a media writer entails a variety of qualities that one must possess. It is a menagerie of self-giving attributes to produce quality work in the field. Hardly anyone can easily slip into the personhood of a writer, but it is a decision one should make to make themselves better.

I, for one, feel that some attributes feel like a second skin to me, but some remain a challenge. It takes work to be everything at once, to be a well-rounded person. It is important to keep ourselves in check, acknowledge the parts where we find ourselves stretched, and take steps in growing in those areas.

With these qualities in mind, I have come to terms with what quality and skill I find principal in the practice of being a media writer. These two are perseverance and validation and clarification of information. Perseverance is everything that we do, so that we may continue to work despite the challenges and excel above and beyond. As for validation and clarification, it is a prerequisite even to our day-to-day lives. We must do this as part of being accountable, our responsibility for those we encounter and our work.

As I take a look into my strengths and areas for improvement, I have evaluated myself.

“ME?!” – dia Writer

Me? Media writer?

As one of the campus journalists who entered the world of Press Conferences at a young age, I grew up idolizing our mentors who are media practitioners too.

“Nasa fact sheet ‘yan? Kailangan nasa fact sheet sabi ni Sir Robert!”
“Napanood niyo ‘yung report ni Miss Ces kagabi? Ang talino talaga!”
“Grabe, ang dami na namang tinanong sa’min ni Sir Julius!”

Puts a premium on accuracy and truth, curious, intelligent – these qualities that our mentors showed us belong to the key qualities of a media writer discussed in our DEVC 11 class. I believe that among all the qualities, these three require more priority. Media writers are responsible for delivering accurate and truthful information to their audience. With the dissemination of false information in our society today, this responsibility seems to be more critical than it has ever been. Also, media writers must fully understand their assignments to produce comprehensive stories, which will be easier with intelligence. Curiosity, on the other hand, drives media writers’ desire to know more about their stories, and offer more to their audience.

Aside from these qualities, skills are also important for media writers. As a media writer in training, I see the need to hone my skills even further, particularly in data gathering, which I consider as the most critical, but also my weakness. In our generation, collecting information from various sources is easier. However, the real challenge is ensuring that these data are reliable. A good story starts with a good data set and to create one, data gathering skills are vital.

After all, I am aware that my journey to becoming a media writer will be a long and bumpy one, but what matters most is that it has already begun. I grew up idolizing our mentors and now, it’s time to bring out the “me” in “media writer.”

[TIKTOK] ✨ Qualities of a Media Writer Check ✨

Here’s a TikTok video that I made assessing my qualities and skills as a media writer-in-training. I acknowledge that, somehow, I already have a background in media writing but I believe that learning is a never-ending process. My goal is to solidify and refine my foundations, so that when it is challenged, it won’t turn into rubbles.

As I continue my JOURNey here in DevCom, I am hoping to hone my skills, improve my weaknesses, invest on my strengths, and even go beyond my comfort zone. I always believe that growth sprout when we choose to step out of our boxes.

I am not really into TikTok, but as I have said, I want to go out of my comfort zone hence here is one.