‘The World Tonight’ celebrates its 50th anniversary, with a documentary commemorating the milestone to air soon on the ABS-CBN News Channel. (Logo courtesy of ABS-CBN)
‘The World Tonight’, the Philippines’ longest-running English newscast, is 50 years old.
The gold standard among local newscasts, ‘The World Tonight’ has been on the air since November 21, 1966. The newscast became a witness to some of the country’s greatest moments, having covered the beginning of Martial Law, three EDSA People Power revolutions, seven Philippine presidential administrations, and other notable events.
Over the years, journalists such as Orly Mercado, Loren Legarda, Ces Drilon, Dyan Castillejo, Tina Monzon-Palma and the late Angelo Castro Jr. have become synonymous with ‘The World Tonight’. These days, lead anchor Tina Monzon-Palma, co-anchors Tony Velasquez, Cathy Yang and TJ Manotoc, and commentator Teddy Locsin Jr. continue to uphold its tradition of journalistic excellence.
‘The World Tonight’ endured four different stops during its 50-year run (technically 36 years thanks to Martial Law). They are:
- ABS-CBN Channel 9 (1966-67)
- ABS-CBN Channel 3 (1967-72)
- ABS-CBN Channel 2 (1986-99)
- ABS-CBN News Channel (1996-present)
While ‘The World Tonight’ lost 14 of its years to Martial Law, there is no denying the impact the newscast has had on the Filipino nation. And, like ABS-CBN’s golden anniversary celebration in 2003, the network decided to honor the 14 lost years of ‘The World Tonight’ in commemorating its 50th year, since it remains an important part of their history.
As announced during the second ANC X event in Rockwell, Makati, a documentary commemorating ‘The World Tonight”s 50th anniversary will air on ANC very soon. It will feature interviews from some of ‘The World Tonight”s past and present anchors, producers, and even ABS-CBN’s braintrust led by chairman Eugenio ‘Gabby’ Lopez III.
ABS-CBN Integrated News and Current Affairs head Ging Reyes paid tribute to ‘The World Tonight’ during the ANC X event, saying:
“’The World Tonight’ and ANC are one in keeping the Filipino audience informed and enlightened through all these years; two institutions that keep pushing for public enlightenment – the very foundation of any democracy. May these two strong institutions outlive us all.”
Indeed they are. And after 50 years, ‘The World Tonight’ is still going strong.
From the Tube 
But i hope it will also aired on Channel 2, since dyan kasi nagsimula ang TWT.
Hoping for a return? I don’t know, unless Julius Babao, Karen Davila and Ces Drilon would consent to that.
If I headed the News & Current Affairs department, I would consider that with that but in reality, the airtime will be the hassle. Kung itatapat sa oras ng competing English evening news programs, they’ll be in the midpoint of Primetime Bida.
What i pointed out it is the documentary special, not TWT.
Well, let Mr. Sunday determine the date. AFAIK, it cannot be done on Decembers 18, 25 or January 1.
It will be up to ABS to announce the airing date, so stay tuned.
Ralph speaking of this tingin ko kaya ng channel 2 na ibalik ng the world tonight if tv networks follow this style of schedule : an early evening engligh newscast at 6pm (TWT at yung kung ano ng itatapat ng kapuso), mga lifestyle or youth oriented programs pag dating ng 7-8:30pm then isang daily drama ng 8:30-9:30pm then may tatlong drama na i-air kada week ng 9:30-10:30 pm in this format : monday-tuesday drama, wednesday-thursday drama at isang weekly na friday drama similar sa ginagawa ng Korean TV Networks sa pag-schedule ng TV Dramas nila tapos pag dating ng 10:30-12midnight saka ipapalabas yung tagalog na flagship newscast (TV Patrol or 24 Oras) para may variety or may iba’t ibang palabas araw-araw parang noong 90s
That suggestion you made no longer makes sense. May cable, satellite, online streaming at TVPlus na tayo. Let’s face it, we live in the world na may maraming options para manood ng mga paboritong programa. Hindi na ‘to 90s na paiba-iba ng genre gabi-gabi. Masyado nang formulaic ang sistema ng 2 at 7 which caters to the masses.
Traditionally, The World Tonight has always been a late-night newscast, para mapanood ng marami lalo na yung mga galing opisina. Kung na-miss nila ang TV Patrol dahil stuck sa traffic, there’s always The World Tonight. However, they moved to ANC in 1999 because the target audience of free TV networks was changing at that point, and eventually they targeted the lower classes. The last straw came when GMA Network News overtook The World Tonight in the ratings, all because of their change to a Filipino-language newscast and a more tabloid-like style ala TV Patrol and Saksi. Kaya ngayon, The World Tonight is exclusive to cable, while late-night newscasts on free TV are delivered in Filipino.