Born with a mission
Ang malasakit ay nakakahawa…(the capacity to feel other people’s pain can be contagious…)
Broadcast journalists enter the profession for different reasons and motives – fame, exposes, scoops, fortune, even power. The mission, for Kara David, has always been to use the mass media as a vehicle to cultivate solidarity, to deepen the capacity to empathize with the powerless, the oppressed and the hopeless.
She began in GMA7 as a production assistant and researcher in Bantay Boto, a special on the 1995 elections. She became the writer and researcher in the programs “Emergency” and “Saksi”. Kara rose from the ranks to become the youngest reporter for the award winning magazine show “Brigada Siete”. It was in this show that Kara developed her niche in the industry and her life-long advocacy for children’s rights.
In 2001, Kara was promoted news producer of two major newscasts, 24Oras and Saksi. The next year she was given the chance to become part of the prestigious team of “I-Witness” the first ever full-length documentary program in the country. She also hosts OFW Diaries a weekly public service program for Filipinos overseas.
It is in “I-Witness” that Kara maximized her training as host, researcher and writer. She is one of the few TV hosts who pursues her own research and single-handedly writes all her scripts. Her documentaries have received overwhelming feedback from critics and viewers because they touch the heart with the truth and uplift the soul without preaching. Many have said that Kara’s gift for writing is unparalleled among broadcast journalists of her generation.
It is her documentaries on children that have had the most impact. In a span of 8 years, Kara has garnered 10 international awards and 11 local awards for her outstanding documentaries. She has been recognized in several countries for her work and advocacy. Among the awards she has won internationally are the UNICEF Child Rights award, Best Social Awareness Program at the Asian Television Awards, Silver Medal at the US International Film Festival and Finalist at the New York Festivals.
Awards won
- Unicef Child Rights Award (2003)
- Investigative Journalist of the Year (2004)
- Best Social Awareness Program, Asian TV Awards (2005)
- Silverscreen Award, US International Film & Video Festival (2006 & 2007)
- Broadcast Journalist of the Year (2006)
- Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) of the Philippines (2007)
- Finalist, New York Film Festival (2008)
- Ani ng Dangal Award for artistic excellence (2013)
- Golden Screen TV Awards for Best documentary program host (Iwitness “Silong” episode, 2012)
- Manila 40 under 40 awards for outstanding work in social development (2012)
- Kara and her I-witness team for “Alkansya” were nominated in 2013’s prestigious International Emmy Awards for News and Documentary.
- Locally, she has been named Broadcast Journalist of the Year by the Rotary Club. Kara was the only woman who made it to the list of 2007’s Ten Outstanding Young Men (TOYM) award.
- George Foster Peabody Award
TV Programs
- Power House (host)
- iWitness (co-host)
- 24 Oras & Saksi (field reporter)
- News To Go (news anchor)
- Pinas Sarap
- Brigada
- She has more than a hundred documentaries to her name. Some of her documentaries have been released on DVD — I-Witness Vol. 1, 2, 3, 4 and the Best of Kara David DVD.
- But Kara is indeed more than a teller of tales. She matches her documentaries with a deep passion for change and a commitment to action. “Gamugamo sa Dilim” resulted in bringing solar power to the community. “Selda Inosente” became the vehicle for the release of an NPA prisoner together with her five year old daughter. “Buto’t Balat” gave rise to a feeding program in one of the most malnourished towns in Bicol. Indeed, ang malasakit ay nakakahawa
Please contact Kara at karapatria@gmail.com to support Project Malasakit.