Touching and inspiring the Filipino viewers

Easily, it could be a dream for every broadcast journalist-winning an international award. And Kara David, with her award-winning documentaries Buto't Balat and Selda Inosente, not only did she live that dream but more importantly, she was able to inspire her countrymen and bring honor to her country.

What began as a network gamble is now one of GMA Network's longest running public affairs shows: "I-Witness."

A pioneer in local programming, "I-Witness" was the country's first full-length documentary program. When it launched seven years ago, few believed local viewers had the patience to sit through hour-long documentaries. But "I-Witness" proved them wrong.

"I-Witness" touches the audience in a unique way because it is able to tackle issues more extensively than any other program. The quality of the people behind it allows for depth of perspective. As GMA's flagship program for its public affairs department, "I-Witness" has always been led by the network's most senior journalists. "I-Witness" is currently hosted by award-winning documentarists Howie Severino, Kara David, Jay Taruc and Sandra Aguinaldo.

This week, Talking Sides features "I-Witness" host Kara David, whose documentaries are known for touching the viewers through her emotional connection with her subjects.

At 32, Kara personally knows that expertise, though it can be honed through years of experience, is not, by any chance, entirely dependent on one's age. By bagging the Asian TV Award for Best Social Awareness Program for the documentary Buto't Balat and the UNICEF Child Rights Awards 2003 for Selda Inosente, Kara has definitely made her mark. She was also a finalist in the 2002 CMMA Awards for Best Television Documentary for Gamu-Gamo sa Dilim.

Biggest Break

Already in her 11th year with GMA Network, this U.P. Mass Communication graduate first wanted to be a public school teacher. Her first exposure to the world of show business was during her On-the-Job-Training with German Moreno's "Super Show." She started in the network in 1995 as a production assistant.

When asked what her biggest break was, she recalls an incident during her PA stint with Emergency when she was asked by Jessica Soho to cover the MV Kimelody Cristy tragedy in Lipa. It was not for any other reason but because there simply was no field reporter available at the time. It was during that time that she wrote her first script.

The incident served as her entry port to being a reporter. Then, in the latter part of 1997, she was given her first reporting stint via "Huling Hirit," the then feel good portion of "Saksi," which was the primetime newscast then. Here, the adventurous Kara was at full display. She recalls having her eyebrow pierced while doing a report on body piercing, and having a tattoo while doing a tattoo episode. It was the "Extra Challenge" of old, with Kara as the only challenger. And the rest, as the cliché goes, is history.

Inspiring the Filipinos and Making the Country Proud

Easily, it could be a dream for every broadcast journalist-winning an international award and besting the top journalists in Asia. And Kara, with her award-winning documentaries Buto't Balat and Selda Inosente, not only did she live that dream but more importantly, she was able to inspire her countrymen and bring honor to her country.

For Kara, "it is more than winning the award, it is inspiring the Filipinos to be better people." And she could have not chosen a better medium than television.

Case in point is her Selda Inosente, a documentary on the plight of children born and living in Philippine prisons, which was the winning entry that bested 37 other programs submitted by 18 broadcasters from 10 countries in the Asia-Pacific region.

No less than acclaimed Hollywood actor and UNICEF Ambassador of Goodwill Roger Moore presented the award to Kara and "I-Witness" executive producer Lloyd Navera during the awarding ceremony at the Conrad Hotel in Hong Kong.

The annual Child Rights Award seeks to encourage broadcasters to play a more active role in promoting and protecting the rights of children by providing quality television programming. During the awarding ceremony, part of the winning "I-Witness" documentary was shown and was well applauded by an audience comprised of representatives from Asia's largest networks.

Presenting the Issue from Different Perspectives

In the process of presenting a sensitive issue, it is vital for a journalist to present the issue from the different perspectives concerning it-from the smallest and simplest of components going to the most complex part of the story.

Bitay, another I-Witness documentary, exemplifies this. Here, Kara presented the story by featuring the family of a death row convict who were desperately attempting to save the convict from the death sentence. But her story was not limited to the convict and his family; she also discussed the much controversial and sensitive issue of human rights violation. Even the voices of the people who are usually unnoticed were heard-the victim's family, the resident priest, and even the guards manning the lethal injection chamber.

It has, by far, given the sensitive issue the most sensible treatment.

Kara David, as a result of motherhood, may have mellowed down a bit, the wild adventures and other out-of-the-box ideas might have quite softened. But the class act remains and the promise of more eye-opening documentaries keeps on.