News5 Loses Another Reporter to Duterte’s Staff, Plus Luchi’s Staying

Former News5 reporter Mia Reyes (third from left) will join President Rodrigo Duterte’s staff as its assistant secretary for media relations. (Photo credit: Mia Reyes)

The losses continue to pile up for TV5.

Recently, Media Newser Philippines reported that TV5 reporter Mia Reyes will join President Rodrigo Duterte’s staff as the assistant secretary for media relations. Prior to the hiring, Mia was a beat reporter who covered the news within the Malacañang Palace.

Reyes joins Martin Andanar, Cherie Mercado, Ina Zara and Jun Loyola as former News5 talents-turned-Duterte staff members. News5 also lost DJ Sta. Ana, Benjie Felipe and Deah Regacho for various other reasons.

The departure of Mia Reyes is another huge blow to TV5’s embattled news division. With so much losses in the talent front, not to mention the many criticisms that the division has faced, it is clear that News5 is living on borrowed time.

To make matters worse, Media Newser Philippines also reported that News5 chief Luchi Cruz-Valdes decided to stay on amid rumors of her impending departure. Obviously, many were not happy with her decision to remain.

Despite her award-winning reputation in the documentary department, Luchi’s inability to lead News5 to greener pastures puts her in the hot seat more often. While she is an excellent storyteller, her leadership has always been questioned, whether due to News5’s overreliance on sensationalized news, or due to the talent surrounding her.

With sports aficionado Chot Reyes now handling the task of restoring order within TV5, the news division itself is in a dire need of a revamp. From the Tube previously discussed these proposals in a two-part series, but for whatever reason, not even these tips can help TV5 in the long run.

 

Indeed, many will agree that the future of News5 is not very bright. With so many talent leaving in bunches, not to mention the questionable approach in news reporting, how much time does News5 have left to redeem themselves?

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Martinez Documentary, New ‘Kaya’ on TV5 and Other News

The Olympic journey of Michael Christian Martinez will be featured in the documentary ‘Hero on Ice’ tonight on TV5.

Tonight after ‘Aksyon Weekend’, TV5 will air a special 30-minute documentary called ‘Hero on Ice’. The documentary will focus on Michael Christian Martinez’s life, career, and journey that took him from the small SM rinks to the Winter Olympics in Sochi, Russia. Along the way, viewers will be treated to an all-access look at Martinez’s trip to Sochi and his preparations for the event. Interviews with family and friends, as well as highlights of his Winter Olympics ice skating routines will also be featured.

As a bonus treat to viewers, the documentary will also look back at Martinez’s triumphant homecoming, followed by the press conference and a skating exhibition at the Mall of Asia rink. ‘Hero on Ice’ is hosted by Chiqui Roa-Puno, and will pre-empt ‘Magic Gimik Revealed’ in its timeslot.

Also on TV5, the documentary series ‘Kaya’ returns with a brand new episode, after giving way to ‘Yaman ng Bayan’ last week. In this episode entitled ‘Tindog’, DJ Sta. Ana will take a look at the rebuilding of Tacloban following its destruction from Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda). The series airs after ‘Juan Direction’.

With regards to ‘SpinNation’ which is currently airing on repeats, the second season premiere of the program is currently being delayed by Jasmine Curtis-Smith’s taping schedule for her upcoming self-titled suspense/drama series ‘JasMINE’. The series is scheduled to begin this March 25 at 8 p.m., and will also star the likes of Alwyn Uytingco, Matt Padilla, and Vin Abrenica. Along with the weeknight comedy/drama series ‘Confessions of a Torpe’, the two series will highlight another busy month for the Kapatid network, which will also include the PBA Commissioner’s Cup and the US NCAA March Madness.

Speaking of the PBA Commissioner’s Cup, the conference begins on March 5, a week after the end of the PBA Philippine Cup Finals. But contrary to what Commissioner Chito Salud had assured, and despite the recent high ratings of the recently concluded Philippine Cup playoffs, the airing schedule from the Philippine Cup eliminations will continue in the upcoming conference, with only the second game of the weekday doubleheaders, first game of Saturday doubleheaders, and both games of Sunday doubleheaders airing live on TV5. However all of the games will be shown live on AksyonTV.

And finally, the US NCAA March Madness will begin in mid-March, and like the preceding Winter Olympics, coverage of the games will be shared by TV5, AksyonTV, Hyper and Cignal HD. With that, good luck to TV5 and its affiliate stations on a busy month to come.