Jessica Soho champions truth and the power of stories as 2018 Gawad Plaridel awardee

Another laurel was added to Kapuso journalist Jessica Soho’s collection when the news industry stalwart received the prestigious UP Gawad Plaridel at a ceremony at the University of the Philippines on Wednesday.

Soho is the 14th person to receive this distinction — the highest honor given by the University of the Philippines System to a media practitioner — joining the ranks of Eugenia Duran-Apostol (2004), Pachico Seares (2008), and Jose Lacaba (2013).

UP Diliman Chancellor Michael Tan celebrated Soho for carrying on the tradition of journalism with integrity and with innovations in storytelling that speak both “to the heart and the mind.”

A champion by accident

In a video by colleague Kara David, Soho revealed that she initially wanted to practice law.

“Kaya lang, bokya ako sa Math!” Soho joked.

Instead, she found herself taking up journalism and in 1985, found herself taking on assignments without question.

“I didn’t have the luxury of planning,” she said.

Senior Vice President of GMA News and Public Affairs Marissa Flores testified to Soho's dedication to work.

Melchor Quintos, a senior cameraman at GMA, also spoke of Soho’s trust in them and respect for what they do.

“Congrats and sana marami pa,” Quintos said in the video.

Soho the storyteller

The story is the story. It is never about you. These are the words that Soho shared with the students present during the awarding.

“The story is powerful ... the story can never be changed and revised. What happened, happened. Kahit pagbalibaligtarin mo ang mundo,” she said.

Journalism is under constant attack by people who want to gain and maintain power by discrediting the watchdogs of society—and while some may try and equate dissent with being unpatriotic, Soho declared that she is proud to be a Filipino journalist.

“Some people can’t handle reality, so they make their own ... The scary part is that fake news has been weaponized,” she said.

Truth is not determined by algorithms, but by facts and facts alone, Soho stressed, saying that the only way to combat the spread of lies is to be more discerning.

More importantly, she emphasized that every story is important.

Awards are a consequence of good journalism and a good journalist does not wake up thinking “today I will write a story that will get me a trophy,” Soho said, reminding the students that “failure is a prerequisite to learning.”

Soho was commended for her groundbreaking work in GMA-7 shows such as “Brigada Siyete” and “I-Witness”, as well as for her work as a young journalist covering the EDSA Revolt of 1986. She continues to appear on the network, anchoring the newscast “State of the Nation with Jessica Soho” and hosting the public affairs programs “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” and “Brigada.”

Soho has received six Readers Digest Asia Most Trusted News Presenter award and is the first Filipino journalist to receive the prestigious George Foster Peabody award. — BM, GMA News