This is an excerpt from The Movers and Shakers feature in MEGA June 2025 issue
Broadcast journalist Karen Davila is as clear, direct, and no-nonsense in real life as she is on the television screen. She walks into the room or to a stage ready for whatever it is that she came there to do—be it to report the news, to interview a public figure, cover a significant event, or to give a key- note speech at a gathering. Her voice resonates with authority, even in casual conversations. It’s the same voice that delivers news and information to generations of Filipinos through radio, television, and the internet.
RELATED: MEGA Ball 2024: The Tastemakers
This kind of gravitas and command of the room is something that Davila has worked on and pursued throughout her 32-year career. “You just keep going to work and keep at it. You don’t give up. And you need to have the humility to know that you don’t have all the answers. And you’re not the best, but you have to do your best. And I think that’s why I lasted this long in the industry—that each and every day is a learning process.”
“I believe it’s a calling,” Davila says of her career, “I’m really passionate about my work. I love telling stories. I like sharing information. I like letting people know about what they need to know… I love having a front seat in history.”
Davila doesn’t just have a front seat in history, she is part of it too. She has long used her voice to draw attention to critical issues and the role of women in nation-building in all platforms. In 2023, she was appointed as the first UN Women National Goodwill Ambassador for the Philippines in recognition for her long-standing advocacy for women’s and children’s rights.
“I think women empowerment is being able to choose your destiny and your future,” Davila says. “And it starts with being educated.” She brought this conviction to life through Her Legacy Project, a foundation she started that works to elevate women and girls through education, empowerment and advocacy.
Davila recognizes that the world continues to change. Mainstream media continues to face challenges that make her profession difficult to commit to these days. There may be a future where independent journalism may thrive. She plans to keep growing and learning to see where it takes her.
Read more of MEGA’s Pinoy Pride Awardees in MEGA June 2025 issue now available on Readly, Magzter, Press Reader and Zinio.
Photography by JERICK SANCHEZ. Creative Direction by BRIE VENTURA. Fashion Direction by ROKO ARCEO. Fashion Associate ERICA TEROL. Editorial Assistant THESSMAR LECTURA. Photographer’s assistants KARL RIMANDO, BUDDY REYES, and DAVE ORPILLA. Makeup ARIA ORTEGA . Hair NICOLE ELIZALDE. Shot on Location at The Manila Peninsula.
