It would help, but it's not necessary. It helps because you can understand the language better and know what questions to ask. The hospital I used to work for had a number of strikes. The union was presenting the hospital in a way that was very detrimental to the hospital itself. What I had to do was deal with the public as much as possible.
Every bad story takes almost three good stories to turn around.
When events turn out right. You open a new department. The press shows up. Your VIPs show up. What's also very satisfying is when you get a call from a TV station and they have a breaking news story and they want an expert.