“Practice makes perfect. Pursue what you really want to do. Don’t rest on your laurels. Go one step after another; then go towards another level…” said Henrylito Tacio, 2015 GMEA winner for Explanatory and Investigative Story of the Year for Print, when asked to give an inspiring message to all aspiring broadcast media practitioners and professionals alike.
Originally, Tacio wanted to become an illustrator during his high school days but since he could not compete with those from Manila, he turned to writing instead. It was during College, when he started writing for magazines such as Expressweek and Women’s Home Companion, and then newspapers later on.
Tacio had two winning entries at last year’s GMEA. “The one on Davao City: from being a murder city to one of the safest cities in the world… I am sure, will inspire other cities to do the same [and] the other one: on AIDS. I am interested on it since I am the first journalist to win an award on writing AIDS for the AIDS Society of the Philippines… AIDS is growing and so Filipinos need to know about it” he said.
GMea has been a venue for journalists to bring their features to a bigger audience and inspires journalists to come up with good stories relevant to the times. “By pursuing excellence, journalists will further hone their craft. With the awards, journalists will be inspired to write more because they know that at the end it may win them an award. But winning or being nominated is besides the point; writing the story is what makes it more interesting” he added.
