By Eden-Jan Dangla
You are good, but never good enough to brag.
If I were facing Carl Balita right now, these would be the words I would say to him as a response and reaction to the speech he delivered at the 7th Annual Conference for Journalism and Mass Communication Students of the Philippines held at Crossroads 77 in Quezon City on Aug. 4 where he, described as a life coach, did some life “coaching” for the attendees of the one-day event.
He talked about seeing the good in all things, even in bad events and experiences that trample people’s lives. Pointing out that the media always report bad news and feature little or no good news at all, Balita stressed that focusing on negative issues contributes little or nothing at all in the country’s development. Why not report more good news to brighten up one’s mood? He also tackled appreciative inquiry as a good tool in mass communication to promote positive change.
Words like these coming out from the mouth of a rich and successful person like him may be inspirational and worth keeping in mind. People, especially those who do not think they are capable enough, need motivation to take a step toward their goal.
But, the moment (those moments) he started talking about (and flaunting) his achievements and awards was the moment he lost credibility as a life coach. He bragged about being a Catholic Mass Media awardee despite his lack of units in Mass Communications (that explains why he does not understand the term “watchdog”). He bragged about being featured in a Wall Street Journal article. He bragged about his book being a best seller and “para sa mayayaman at matatalino lang.” He bragged about being a favorite interviewee of Korina Sanchez.
At one point, he chided the audience when they were not listening and said that businessmen invite him to speak before them and pay thousands of pesos just to listen to him. “People who know how to listen are intelligent people. Show me that you are intelligent people.” He, however, did not deserve intelligent people to listen to him.
While he had a lot of good ideas to share during the event, he manifested an attitude that defeated the purpose of his topic which was to inspire and motivate and which, apparently, was not his purpose. As a motivator, you need not flaunt your awards and achievements because people will eventually get to know those things when they Google you, or when they start asking other people about you. As a life coach, you need not talk about how much you have achieved. Instead, talk about how you achieved those awards and distinctions, the undertakings you went through and the challenges you surpassed.
Maria Ressa was a better speaker. She had her own wide array of achievements as a media practitioner, one of which was working as CNN correspondent, yet she never mentioned any of those in her speech. She only focused on her topic and remained humble onstage. Her modesty in front of her spectators was proof that she is a better person than Carl Balita. The latter was never good enough to be applauded and put on a pedestal.
It saddens me, though, that there were many in the audience who were not intelligent enough to discriminate a good speaker from a bad one. Many cheered and clapped their hands for him which he did not deserve after all the bragging moments. I just don’t understand why COMGUILD invited him, a person without a comprehensive background in the education of a media practitioner, to speak in front of future journalists. Yes, he is a TV host, but that does not establish his credibility to speak about mass communication. The audience deserved someone who rightfully belongs to the world of media practitioners and not someone who keeps on pushing his way to a world he does not understand.
With awards and distinctions, Carl Balita may be good. But with his attitude, he will never be better.
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