The World Tonight 50th Anniversary Documentary, Coming Soon

‘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.

 

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Another Revamp for ABS-CBN’s NCA Programs

If there is one department that ABS-CBN needs to improve, it’s the News and Current Affairs department.

Starting this week, the NCA afternoon block, formerly known as ‘Pinoy True Stories’, will have a new look. Four new programs will make their debut on the newly-revamped block, with only ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’ retained from the previous group.

The new programs are:

Mission Possible

Hosted by Julius Babao, ‘Mission Possible’ will showcase inspiring stories from struggling individuals, no matter the circumstances. At the end of the program, a surprise gift will await the featured person.

‘Mission Possible’ airs every Monday.

3 in 1

Hosted by Karen Davila, K Brosas and Atty. Claire Castro, ‘3 in 1’ will discuss a wide variety of topics, from news to general interest stories. The talk show will be seen live every week.

‘3 in 1’ airs every Tuesday.

RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib

Hosted by Atom Araullo, ‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’ will feature death-defying home videos from various parts of the world. Warning: this program is not for the faint of heart.

‘RealiTV: Mga Bidyong Nakakabilib’ airs every Wednesday.

Sports U

Hosted by Dyan Castillejo, ‘Sports U’ will profile the lives of Filipino athletes from various sports. The program will be a spinoff to the long-running ‘Sports Unlimited’.

‘Sports U’ airs every Thursday.

The four programs will replace ‘Bistado’, ‘My Puhunan’, ‘Mutya ng Masa’ and ‘Red Alert’. It is the third such revamp on the NCA block since it moved to the afternoon slot nearly three years earlier.

This latest turnover clearly shows the lack of consistency within ABS-CBN’s News and Current Affairs department. While news programs such as ‘TV Patrol’ made the said department one of the most credible, it is their public affairs programs that still need some work, both in terms of storytelling and longevity.

For the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs, establishing these attributes begin with these four new programs and ‘Tapatan ni Tunying’. If GMA proved that with their award-winning public affairs programs, so can ABS-CBN, and it all starts now.

The ABS-CBN NCA block airs weekdays after ‘Fated to Love You’ on Kapamilya Gold, available only on select areas nationwide.