Micaela
Papa is known to have been in the business for only four years as a senior
correspondent for GMA News, yet she has already gained recognition for her work
in the documentary program Brigada
entitled “Gintong Krudo”, earning her an award at the prestigious New York
Festival. With all the credits she has garnered, she maintains her goal as a
journalist: to educate people about what happens.
During an interview with her at the
University of the Philippines Diliman campus, she recalled on how journalism
took a toll onto her: “I have been writing for as far as I could remember,
though that was always a passion that took a backseat to my true love, which
was acting. It never completely went away though, & throughout high school
and college I was a member of the student publications, which felt like perfect
platforms for my natural stubbornness & tendency to be outspoken when it
came to things I truly believed in. In college, I took up Broadcasting, which
still gave me a lot of leeway to be in both acting AND journalism. The
definitive moment came when I realized I was exhausted with all these acting
gigs on the side, and for what? I realized if I had an advocacy, if I wanted to
change society, I would be better able to do it through journalism,” she
quoted.
Currently studying at the university
for a M.A. degree on Women and Development Studies, she believes that this will
help in her profession in the sense that she will give a fair representation of
women due to her belief that media has built a misogynistic role for women by
featuring more perspectives of men. Citing prostitutes as her example, she
tells that they are blamed as suspects but they are also victims of the trade.
“It also helps me in the sense that it will help me understand more of the reports
that I am assigned to when I do my coverage,” she added.
When asked on who was the most
intimidating person she interviewed, she answered UP Political Science
professor Clarita Carlos, saying “I don’t really get intimidated when it comes
to interviewing celebrities nor do I get star strucked. I’ll have to say it’s
her because she knows her stuff. She research and studies everything in her
profession.”
The temptation to make a news story does
has never crossed her mind, saying that those who do and saying that she knows
one but she said it off the record. Adding to her first statement, she said
that one must interview the two sides of the story in order to get fair and
balanced news without being biased. It also serves the “regularization” of the
scoop without negativity being shown it.
“Nasasaktan din ako when it comes to
criticism. Di talaga maiiwasan ang ganyan, especially if you are always shown
on [television]. The most widely flak that I get is how I pronounce words
having the letter R. Sa totoo lang, hirap talaga ako when it comes to its
diction. When reading, nakaka-ilang repeat ako dahil ‘di talaga nila
maintindihan yung pagsabi ko ng ganoong words,” she quoted when asked on how she
deals with criticism. Asking me on how many followers do I have on social
media, she warned me about the possibilities when it comes to having too much
and without knowing most of them. “You have to be careful when it comes to
social media and the number of followers that you get, especially if you don’t
know them. They can “troll” you and join in the trend of bashing you on your
account. When it comes to those deals, you just have to ignore them or don’t
open your account nalang,” Papa added.
While answering my questions during
the encounter, I noticed that behind the seriousness she brings into reporting
her assigned stories, she includes her wit when it comes to the time to share
her query. “Di porket you’re a reporter, my ideal is that you have to be
yourself off cam. Not all the time that you have to shoulder all the
professionalism that you have when you report. Make time for yourself. It may
be hard to do, but it gives me the fulfilment that I need,” sharing her
insights with me.
Journalism takes the risks of
consequences. Time and one’s life is on the line is a factor when it comes to
taking on the role of being the watchdog. Sharing her perspective on how easy
and how hard the job is at the same time, she said that 8 hours is not enough
for a journalist’s job, having to be there 24/7 because it is a requirement and
a necessity for the work. “It does not stop when you are done with the
assignment, but it gets harder and harder overtime. Meticulous research needs a
lot of time and effort. Hindi madali ang trabaho hindi porket may internet
where one click you can get the information you need, in fact, there are some
sites na not reliable. In our case, we can use it naman din, mostly government
web sites and other news sources. It is important to cite them or else you can
get accused for plagiarism,” Papa quoted.
On
the issue of bribery, she said that she already experienced the idea, telling
that she received bribe from a certain politician (preferably a congressman)
because of a story, but declined saying that the story is what she is for, not
for the amount.
The
achievements she received did not change her, despite the recognition of her
works. The humility is still there, and with all the stress she gets from her
job, she said that it was fulfilling in the end. “Young journalists like you
should keep the notion of idealism when conducting your stories. Look at the
two sides of the story and never be biased when reporting them,” telling me as
our conversation ends with stories often shared.
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