Just to be clear, this is not a political post. Read through to know what it is about.

Let’s face it, mistakes are inevitable especially when you’re a newbie in a company.

In my 7 years in the broadcast media industry, I’ve committed so many faults along the way. Some of them almost got me fired!

Here are the top 5.

1. I Designated Vice President Leni Robredo as the 14th Philippine President

5 years ago, during the oath-taking ceremony of President Rodrigo Duterte and Vice President Leni Robredo in June 30, 2016, I was assigned to type the downstream during our rolling breaking news coverage.

Just so we're on the same page, here's a crash course on broadcast journalism.

When watching a live news program, can you notice the text on the lower part of the screen? That's called the downstream. That's where we write the headline or the summary of the news story so viewers can easily catch what it's all about. It changes depending on the topic.

Now, going back to my story.

During the oath-taking of Duterte and Robredo, a lot was happening in the control room. Everyone was talking loudly. It was chaotic!

Since the President and the Vice President took their oath in two different locations, we had to interchange their live shots in the TV screen. As the writer assigned for the downstream, I had to write as fast as I could whenever their showing the President or the Vice President.

The downstream for Duterte was "DUTERTE IS 16TH PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES". I was right when I wrote it.

But when they shifted to Robredo, I only changed the name and the number. What was shown on live TV was "ROBREDO IS 14TH PRESIDENT OF THE PHILIPPINES". I didn't immediately notice the mistake. It was there for 8 seconds! Even the other people in the control room had no idea.

So I just pretended that it didn't happen. I just went on writing the downstream for the rest of the coverage. I thought that I was off the hook.

Until it went viral online! Yes, you had probably seen it already. Of course, netizens went berserk. They posted it on social media and called us out for being "biased". The complaints reached our bosses.

It was an honest mistake for my part. I didn't intend to call the VP our President.

So the next day, the executive producer talked to me about my fault. It was a calm conversation. She only reminded me to be careful next time. Luckily, I didn't get fired.

2. I Misspelled A Downstream Right After We Broke The News That Pia Wurtzbach Won Miss Universe 2015

It wasn't only Steve Harvey who made a blunder in December 21, 2015. I was too.

While the entire Philippines celebrated our third Miss Universe crown, I was in the corner of our office desk pitying my self for a typographical error on the downstream.

Right before Pia Wurtzbach was announced the winner, a fellow writer and I were preparing for our hourly news update. We had to air two stories - Pia's Miss Universe journey, and the holiday rush in bus terminals since Christmas was approaching.

I was assigned to write about the holiday rush. I was just about to finish my script when Pia won the crown. I was rushing to write because we had to break the news immediately.

So we aired earlier than usual. I had no chance to double check my script and downstream. Breaking the news about Pia's win went smoothly. But when my holiday rush story aired, it felt like I lost the universe. The downstream was "ASSENGERS HEADING TO PROVINCES FLOCK TO BUS TERMINALS". I misspelled the word PASSENGERS!

This time, the company president talked to me. Guess what? She also reminded me to be careful next time especially that the Philippines was celebrating.

3. I Credited The Wrong Person In An Exclusive Video

When the pandemic hit, everyone was shocked. Even our company didn't know what to do because we have no videos of the newly discovered coronavirus. It was a challenge for us to source for video materials.

Until our very own company president found one from a university in the U.S. It was a video illustration about how the coronavirus can spread in an enclosed space. It was shared to us exclusively after our president spoke to some university officials. They granted us permission to air it on our shows under one condition, embed the name of the university on the video.

So I instructed our associate producer, who's responsible for all the material we broadcast on air, to download the video and put proper credit.

To cut the story short, after we aired the show, I received an email from the company president. She asked me what happened to the courtesy.

I didn't immediately understand what she meant until I saw the screenshot of the video. It was credited to a wrong person! She also said that the university was disappointed and wanted us to correct it immediately.

Again, it was my fault. My instructions to the show's associate producer were not clear and I didn't preview the material before we aired it.

I just explained and apologized to the company president what happened which she immediately accepted.

4. I Misunderstood The WPS Moratorium Of Duterte

As mentioned in my article about how journalists work from home, I hated writing about sports, business, and legal issues.

One of them was about this moratorium of President Duterte on the oil exploration in the West Philippine Sea.

I couldn't clearly remember what it was all about but it had something to do with the lifting of the ban on exploration in the contested territories in South China Sea.

To make it more complicated, there were two moratoriums issued by two different presidents. One was by President Duterte while the other one was under the administration of the late President Noynoy Aquino.

I wasn't privy about this issue. When I wrote it, I based it on the moratorium by President Aquino which was entirely wrong!

We aired the news story without knowing that it was erroneous.

On the same day, the head copy editor messaged me. I was clueless when I saw her name on my phone because she rarely reached out to me. Her message sent chills all over my body. She wanted me to explain what happened and why we aired a wrong story.

Right that moment, I felt that I was going to get fired! I was preparing already to pack my office stuff and leave.

So I tried to explain what happened. I admitted that I didn't know what the story was all about and I didn't seek guidance from senior members of the company.

Lucky me, the head copy editor forgave me! She said that I was a victim of an old system that needs improvement. She also pointed out that at least, no one complained about the erroneous story.

5. I Wrote A Story That Disappointed The DSWD Secretary

This was my biggest mistake on national TV because a member of the Cabinet of President Duterte demanded a public apology from our company.

It was a report about Social Welfare Secretary Rolando Bautista missing an important event for his department.

I wrote that he was a "no show". We aired it upon approval of the show's executive producers and copy editors.

But the good secretary didn't like how I wrote the script. His office emailed us and pointed out that he was not a "no show" in the event and he only came late. He demanded for a public apology.

This time, it wasn't entirely my fault because the script was approved by the executive producer and copy editor. The story was also based on the advisory sent by our reporter on the ground.

What happened to the public apology to Secretary Bautista? It never happened. I didn't know why.

Wrapping Up

These are just 5 of the countless mistakes that I make everyday. A journalist is prone to typographical errors, and sometimes, mistakes in decisions.

But despite all that, especially all the major blunders I've committed, I've already forgiven my self. I have moved on and learned my lesson.

I'm also lucky to have kind, understanding, and forgiving bosses who appreciate all the best in me instead of the worst.

How about you? Tell me about the major mistakes that you did in your job and what you've learned from it. Send a comment below!

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