Setting the bar high

For someone who was initially a reluctant journalist, GMA News Pillar Jessica Soho has come a long way.

Back in college, Soho had no plans of becoming a media practitioner but all that changed after an inspiring lecture given by her journalism professor, the late broadcast journalist and STAR columnist Luis “Louie” Beltran at the UP College of Mass Communication.

After graduation, she joined the GMA News team as a reporter in 1985. Despite her lack of training in broadcasting, she quickly learned how to tell stories through video and excelled in her field assignments. Her first voice-over report was the inauguration of the Light Rail Transit from Baclaran to Monumento.

She eventually learned the ropes as she covered different beats from military-defense to man-made and natural calamities as well as political coup attempts and high-profile hostage situations. From being a news reporter, Soho moved from the ranks to become a production news manager in 2000, acting news director in 2002, VP for News in 2004, VP for News Programs in 2008 and finally, to First VP for News Programs in 2013.

And after 30 long years of loyal, dedicated and outstanding service, Soho recently announced her retirement as an employee and First VP for News Programs, but she affirms that she will remain a Kapuso.

“I am a Kapuso through the core of my being. I have worked with only one network throughout my entire career because I truly believe in the network’s independence and professionalism. Although I am retired from my position, I will always be a proud member of GMA News and Public Affairs,” declares Soho, who will still continue to banner the top-rating weekend news magazine program Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho on GMA 7, as well as the highly-acclaimed primetime newscast State of the Nation and the weekly public affairs program Brigada, both on GMA News TV.

Indeed, she has set the bar high for quality reportage in the Philippine broadcasting. She has gained the public trust as a broadcast journalist for her straight-to-the-point interviews and fearless in-depth analysis and insights on local and international issues. 

Soho is regarded as the country’s most-awarded broadcast journalist. Both international and local award-giving organizations have recognized her excellence and dedication to her profession.

For four straight years, Soho has been voted by consumers in a survey conducted by Reader’s Digest Asia as the Most Trusted News Presenter. GMA Network, meanwhile, also received the Gold Award for being the Most Trusted Television Network.

According to the magazine, the award aims to recognize a trusted brand that “is genuine, reliable and consistent” and that is able to “fulfill the promises made to the consumer.”

“Trust is a very big honor in itself but I know that it is also a major responsibility,” says Soho during the Reader’s Digest Asia Most Trusted Brands awarding ceremony held recently.

While the veteran broadcast journalist is quite grateful for the award, Soho discloses that the award humbled her as a media professional serving Filipino audiences. “Being honored several times in the Reader’s Digest awards challenges me to not only sustain excellence in my work, but to take it to higher levels in the years ahead.”

Her latest achievement in the Reader’s Digest Trusted Brand Awards is just one of the many awards under her belt.

Just recently, Soho and the GMA News team received the George Foster Peabody award — the fourth for both the network and the Philippines — for the special coverage on the assault and aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda (international codename: Haiyan). The Peabody is acknowledged as the equivalent of the Pulitzer Prize for electronic media.

This is the second Peabody for Soho. In 1999, she earned recognition for being one of the first Filipino broadcast journalists to win the prestigious award for her I-Witness documentaries Kidneys for Sale and Kamao.

She was also the first Filipino broadcast journalist to win in the New York Film Festival for her comprehensive reportage on the hostage crisis in Cagayan Valley under the Coverage of a Breaking Story category in 1991. In this year’s New York Film Festival, GMA News TV’s Brigada took home the Silver World Medal in the Community Portraits category for its Gintong Krudo and Sipa ng Pag-asa stories. 

Soho also received the Finalist Certificate for the Best News Reporter/Correspondent category for Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho’s Photographs of Typhoon Pablo special report, which captured the pain and suffering of Filipinos in the wake of Typhoon Pablo.

Brigada’s Gintong Krudo also brought home the One World Award in this year’s US International Film & Video Festival on top of it winning the Gold Medal Award. This marks the first time that the prestigious One World Award has been given to a Philippine TV network.

GMA News TV’s State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, on the other hand, has earned recognitions from the US International Film and Video Festival for three consecutive years already: A Silver Screen Award for its coverage of Super Typhoon Yolanda last November; a Silver Screen Award for The Wrath of the Monsoon, its coverage of the disastrous habagat rains that swamped Metro Manila and nearby provinces in 2013; and a Certificate for Creative Excellence for its episode on the aftermath of Typhoon Sendong (international code name: Washi).

Indeed, in an environment as tough and competitive as the media industry, Soho keeps on challenging herself to provide Serbisyong Totoo to Filipinos around the world.