Text by Immanuel Jay Avelino
As the world turned on their TV sets on May 1, 2002 to watch the political siege in Malacañang, a 24-year-old man stood up in front of the cam to relieve a co-reporter who was hit by a stone in the forehead by the angry protesteres. In his usual polo and pants, Ivan Mayrina nervously held the microphone tightly in his hands.
“It was my baptism of fire. I have never done a live report prior to that and there I was, reporting history at its finest,” GMA News anchor Ivan Mayrina said.
Ivan Mayrina has been a household name after being one of the regular anchors of GMA News Live (now GMA Flash Report). As an agent of news and public affairs, Ivan reconstructs the issues of the day by subjecting them to a series of queries, and then serves his viewers a dose of truth, dedication and reality.
“I treat this as a mission at its purest. I simply want to tell a story. Journalism is about storytelling. Stories should inspire, should influence people’s decisions and should affect people’s lives everyday. I want to be part of the people’s decisions,” he said.
Backed up with his own poetic style in his scriptwriting and storytelling, Ivan differentiates his journalistic approach through his passion for work and his commitment to the people. Being one of the society watchdogs, Ivan sees to it that credibility comes first before anything else. And to earn this, one has to learn from personal mistakes to develop the awareness of oneself which includes talents, gifts, and aspirations. He said that constant hunger for learning brings personal and professional growth.
“With a few mentors, I believe I learned everything on my own. Ganun ka talaga matututo, you learn from all your mistakes. You can not have someone to do things for you all the time,” Ivan said.
Ivan admits that his cool intellectual demeanor on TV cause others to see him as an intellectual snob. Thus, he tries harder to reach out to people to be able to send his message in a way that they can understand it more thoroughly. “Sometimes, my TV persona seems to betray my real self that’s why, I always try to see everyone eye to eye para mag-meet kami nung mga taong nakakausap ko.”
During off-camera, Ivan tries to balance his time between his career and his family. Although Ivan admits that he’s not doing a good job balancing his time, he still tries to spend some moments with his kid.
“I wear different hats depending on the situation. When I’m at home, I’m not Ivan Mayrina, the TV personality, I’m just Ivan Mayrina, the person, the daddy, the husband. But when I’m a journalist, I try to be professional and credible. I take things as they come, may role akong ganito kailangan ko ‘tong i-fulfill.”
Although Ivan may seem to have a deck of new cards up his sleeves all the time, he still sees to it that when he lies down these cards he’ll “somehow make a name as a journalist with a genuine heart for people.”
Ivan is a proof that “nothing worthwhile comes easy.” His success was brought by the firm foundation set for him by his “perfect family and the environment he grew up with. His family particularly his dad taught him to be the genuine person he is right now.
“He (my dad) often tells me, nothing worthwhile comes easy. If you really like it, go for it! Do not be afraid to suffer. If you think there’s something that you really like, you really want, you really deserve, pahihirapan ka talaga, but it’s worth it.”
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