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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.

Swimming in Cold Water

“You can make anything by writing.”

C.S. Lewis

I describe myself as a person who likes to think logically. I write but no matter how much I love to, I don’t think it will ever be easy. It’s something that we should take seriously. It’s not something you can just dip your toes in and back away when the water is freezing. You have to dive in and learn how to swim despite the cold.

To be a media writer is to be open-minded—we have to remember that there is always room for improvement and if we think that we already know everything, we don’t. I, as an aspiring media writer for development communication, already possess a few qualities and skills (that also reflects my personality) that one should have. I’m a very curious and attentive person. I can listen to a person talk for hours and still be interested in what they have to say. Whether it’s about their pet rock or themselves. I’m the type of person who would rather ask questions than to answer them. The people closest to me always call me ‘a good listener.’ Another quality that I possess is that I love to read. Even though I am quite a picky book reader, I don’t mind spending days reading a 1,000 page book. Books used to be my escape realm. Whenever I was feeling down, I would always read a good book that would temporarily take me to a different world. Until now, I have books that are 10 years old still sitting on my shelves. As a media writer, it’s important to read on a daily routine to enhance our grammar and expand our vocabulary for our writing.

Apart from the qualities that I have, I also have skills that would benefit me in the long run. I’m a person who has a habit of multi-tasking. It’s such a familiar thing for me to do. I can do three or more simple things at once when my mind is at its peak because I always thought that time was precious. I want to spend every moment with the people I love because one day, they might not be there anymore. This led me to think that I should finish the things I need on time and efficiently. Another skill that I have is being literate. I’ve had many foreign friends in the past with all kinds of nationalities: Mexican, Egyptian, African, Muslims, and Americans. They have all made me realize that English is the only language that can unite us all; people from different parts of the world. For that reason, I’ve become very fluent in English and even some of the accents because I was exposed to it at such a young age. The last skill that I’m confident about is my skills in editing like Photoshop. When I was a kid, I would take pictures of the real world and then add mythical creatures, like it was here on earth, with us humans. As a person with low self-esteem, I never really thought that I was skilled in Photoshop until senior high. I won 2nd place in an infographics contest at the UP Rural Sci-Math Fair and that was one of the few moments that I allowed myself to boast about my award to my peers and family.

If I were to rate my qualities from 1-5, with 1 being the highest, I would rate myself 4. Even though I already possess a few qualities, I am still nowhere near a good media writer. To be frank, I am not a very sociable person, as I like to spend most of my time alone. With that being said, I will have to engage in social events and talk to new people for my confidence to improve.

As for my skills, I would still give myself a rating of 4. Indeed, I can speak English fluently and I can edit pictures and videos but that doesn’t mean I’ve already mastered them. I must keep on practicing a skill in order to master it. As of the moment, I only know how to use editing apps out of curiosity and entertainment. They have become my hobbies, but mastering such skills is a different story. I should have commitment, maintain a schedule for training, and stick to it. It’s not just something I can learn out of boredom.

Though I am aware of the hardships that are yet to meet me in this course. I know it will be challenging but I hope, at the same time, fun. I like to challenge myself and see what I can manage to do under pressure. Without challenges, we wouldn’t know what we are capable of. Maybe soon, I can swim in cold water and perhaps float for a while before going back to shore with a smile on my face.

switchblade

Media writer’s qualities are like a switchblade, the knife springs out when a button is pushed. I was able to say this because a media writer is only just another normal, ordinary person, however, when they are working, all these qualities comes out. When their service is called upon, whether it is out of boredom or out of desire to help society, their qualities shines brighter than the sun.

To rate both qualities and skills that, for me, are important, I made a table that I will add below:

There are a lot of skills and qualities that media writers usually have. And despite ranking them based on their importance, all of these usually go hand in hand together with each other in order to make the best media writer there is. As it was discussed in our lessons, I’ve come to realize that there are things that I still lack even though I have been writing novels for years now.

As an aspiring writer, I’ve come to understand what qualities I have, but more importantly, what I lack. These are the qualities that I think I possess:

Imaginative, I would say, would take the highest rating when I conducted a self-assessment of my quality and skill. I am not saying this because I am originally a fiction writer (though it does contribute a lot), but because I know that I like taking paths that usually others wouldn’t. I am adventurous when gathering facts, and I think that I like to do a bit of a spin on what story or paper I am writing.

Loves to read. I am an addict when it comes to collecting and reading books. It doesn’t matter if it is fictional or non-fictional, I would read it if I find myself interested. Though I don’t particularly fancy reading academic related books, I still do read them if I have to.

Interest in and loves people. Despite suffering from social anxiety, I do like looking into people and getting to know them more. I am very interested in helping them and understanding them, and I do hope that one day my actions would one day help them live rather than survive in this cruel world.

As for skills, I think that I possess proficiency in the operation of communication tools, and also I am able to gather data. For the other skills and qualities that I lack as of now, I am doing my best and hardest to possess them, and I am very determined to become a very skilled media writer.