Kara David: The eye witness to Filipinos' remarkable stories

Journalism Skills, Blog Entry No. 1

"Ako po si Kara David, at ito po ang i-Witness."

I can never forget how our 10th grade teacher made us watch "Kawayang Pangarap" back in 2015. I remember finishing the documentary with so much curiosity.

That specific i-Witness episode made me watch the said program in the wee hours. However, what kept me visiting GMA News TV and i-Witness was Kara David’s impeccable storytelling. She usually starts with a compelling question which she later answers at the end of the documentary.

More than the sheer effort to traverse ravines, rivers and uncharted territories, Kara David’s masterful script writing sets her apart from other broadcast journalists that I know. She invites her viewers and immerses them into the lives of the people and the community that she features. Moreover, she never fails to provide the context of the story.

With her YouTube channel slowly gaining popularity especially among Communication students, Kara David embarks on a new mission to raise a new breed of future storytellers through short tutorials. With nearly two decades of documentary experience and as a professor at the esteemed University of Philippines Diliman, she definitely has more stories to tell and lessons to impart. On this note, I am elated to meet her and learn from her through her YouTube channel.

Documentaries might be overshadowed by the monotony of vlogs by some social media "influencers", but one thing is for sure. The excellence of Kara David’s well-written documentaries oozes from the screen and flows through the hearts of the people.

Empowerment is the true potential of [broadcast] journalism. Kara David goes beyond influencing people. She empowers them through her brilliant reportage and storytelling, touching peoples’ lives along her way.