Are journalists equipped with the right skills?

(From left) Global Center for Journalism and Democracy executive director Kelli Arena, former Reuters COO Stuart Kale, Rappler CEO Maria Ressa, ABS-CBN senior VP for integrated news and current affairs Ging Reyes, IndieVoices founder and North Base Media co-founder Sasa Vucinic, Inquirer director for mobile JV Rufino. RAPPLER PHOTO

MANILA, Philippines – With thousands of people aspiring to work in the media industry, getting hired and being part of it is not easy. But being equipped with the right skills will help you.

So what’s the ideal journalist hire and what skills should he or she need to be able to stand out among other applicants?

JV Rufino, director for mobile of the Inquirer Group of Companies, said aspiring journalists should be comfortable in multiple platforms if they really want to be part of the media industry.

“Journalists who are comfortable with multiple platforms will not have a problem getting hired,” Rufino said during the Social Good Summit in Taguig City.

Rufino said the emergence of new technologies has helped harness social media and news gathering.

“With the new technologies, we can basically send one-man armies,” he said.

Global Center for Journalism and Democracy executive director Kelli Arena, meanwhile, said that aspiring journalists should be “curious and flexible.”

“You have to be curious and change. Technology will change,” Arena said.

“The one thing that I wholeheartedly back is the notion to be able to critically think about issues,” she added.

Asked if non-journalism graduates were okay to become journalists, Ging Reyes, ABS-CBN senior vice president for news and current affairs, said that journalism degree was not a requirement in entering into media.

“All you have to do is have an open mind, have a thirst for learning, be open to learning, have a mentor who will teach you the ropes, have unending curiosity, a commitment to truth-telling, and a commitment to serving the public,”  Reyes said.

“That’s what journalism is all about. It’s not about us. It’s about telling stories, informing people, enlightening them, and somehow making sure that these stories would enlighten them,” she added.

Maria Ressa, chief editor of Rappler, backed the statement of Reyes.

“It doesn’t matter if you studied journalism. What’s important is you learn how to think,” Ressa said.

The Social Good Summit or the PH+Social Good: Manila 2030NOW is a forum about the changing landscape of journalism, social media, and disaster reporting.

Resource speakers include media practitioners from various media outfits who share their insights on the changing landscape of journalism.

The summit was organized by Rappler.