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Defying Father Time: Tina Monzon-Palma’s Return to The World Tonight

There is somewhat of a renewed vibe within ‘The World Tonight’.

In early January, viewers were surprised when broadcast legend Tina Monzon-Palma returned from her lengthy sabbatical to resume her duties as anchor of ‘The World Tonight’. It was as if she never left the confines of the ABS-CBN News Channel; after all, the network continued to feature Tina in their station IDs in spite of her absence.

But for the first time since Angelo Castro Jr.’s death six years ago, Tina would have a full-time co-anchor on her side.

That co-anchor was Tony Velasquez, who had been promoted to the position in 2017 and had been anchoring the newscast by himself in Tina’s absence. The two were no strangers to each other; Tony having previously handled some of the national and world news segments for several years.

Getting a partner of Tony’s caliber helped alleviate the pressure off of Tina’s back. Not only that, with ‘The World Tonight’ having cut its running time back to 30 minutes, Tina was no longer required to do the heavy lifting.

Still, there were some occasions in which she stuttered in the middle of a newscast, which is perhaps an obvious excuse for an aging news anchor like her. Regardless, Tina still possesses a sharp mind harnessed through years of experience, but at this point of her career, even she cannot prevent the ravages of time.

While Tina did return to ‘The World Tonight’, she did not resume her position as host of ‘Talkback’. Instead, the show was given on a full-time basis to Karmina Constantino, with Christian Esguerra as the substitute in her absence.

Given her age, it was only the right thing for Tina to just focus on ‘The World Tonight’. But for loyal viewers who have missed her immeasurable presence on the desk, it was worth the price of admission.

It remains to be seen if Tina Monzon-Palma can still be able to hold her fort amid a youth movement in Philippine broadcast news. But as long as someone of her caliber is present and willing to pass the torch to the future, everything will be just fine.

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Live Blog: 2017 ASEAN Summit on ANC (Part IV)

The 2017 ASEAN Summit is up and running, as heads of ASEAN nations as well as other world dignitaries converge to discuss various political issues that affect both their countries and the world. At around the same time, the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit also takes place, focusing on business concerns surrounding the ASEAN region.

The ABS-CBN News Channel and CNN Philippines are the primary channels that will cover in detail the ASEAN Summit. For this live blog, I will focus on ANC, so keep refreshing this blog for the latest updates on their coverage.

4:30 p.m.

Newly-appointed Palace spokesperson Harry Roque just finished his press conference at the 2017 ASEAN Summit. After two weeks, it looks like the former congressman has warmed himself up to his new position.

And ‘Market Edge’ was extended for another 30 minutes. Oh well, ANC is going non-stop from this point forward.

4:40 p.m.

Karmina Constantino returns with ‘The Bureau’, and she kicks it off with live coverage of the 20th ASEAN-China Summit.

Now back to the newsroom as they close doors to the summit anew. If you were wondering why the main studio is not used after 9:35 a.m. on weekdays, it is because the set is used for weekly ANC talk shows.

5:10 p.m.

Lexi Schulze was supposed to go on board for ‘ANC Alerts’ at this time of the day, but with all the updates regarding the ASEAN Summit, ‘The Bureau’ is still up and running. Also, Christian Esguerra returned for another roundup of ASEAN Summit news.

This is just the afternoon edition of ‘The Bureau’ though. An evening edition, this time anchored by Ron Cruz, airs at 7:00 p.m. and is likewise devoted to foreign news.

5:25 p.m.

‘The Bureau’ just ended; however ‘Top Story’ will come in next. Oh well, it looks like our ANC personalities are putting their game faces on.

Day 2 of ANC’s coverage is about to enter the 12th hour. You got to give credit to these guys for staying around long enough to deliver the news on the ASEAN Summit each and every time.

5:30 p.m.

KC is still around for ‘Top Story’. Other than a 30-minute respite, she has been inside the ANC newsroom studio for the entire afternoon.

ANC anchors are like warriors in the desk, keeping a sharp eye on the news for long hours without complaint. KC has been doing this for over a decade now so we got to salute her for that.

5:40 p.m.

Speaking of warriors, Cathy Yang is back, microphone and all, interviewing BDO and SM’s Tessie Sy-Coson. She has been at Solaire for nearly half a day now.

6:00 p.m.

After another report from Christian, Lexi finally makes an appearance, doing a shortened version of ‘ANC Alerts’ during ‘Top Story’. Better late than never.

After that, India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi addresses the audience at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. The whirlwind day doesn’t end yet.

6:15 p.m. 

While Prime Minister Modi was speaking, President Duterte was hosting the ASEAN-Korea Summit. Again it will be closed to public viewing after a few short minutes.

ANC is closing in on the 13th hour of their coverage. Damn this is getting even more interesting.

6:20 p.m.

Every Monday is The Explainer day. And as always, ANC’s resident commentator Manolo Quezon does his Teddy Locsin impression with his thoughts on the ASEAN Summit.

Didn’t we mention that he is related to the former Commonwealth president Manuel Quezon?

6:30 p.m.

Bill Velasco and Boyet Sison are supposed to come in for ‘Hardball’. However, ANC’s special coverage of the ASEAN Summit will force said show to air on a later date.

6:35 p.m.

Looks like ‘Hardball’ will come in after all. Oh well, another break.

7:00 p.m.

Back up and running for the last stretch. Now watching ‘The Bureau’ evening edition, and since Ron Cruz is not around for the day, Raine Musñgi is filling in for him.

If you are familiar with the ‘Voice of ABS-CBN’ Peter Musñgi, then Raine is his biological daughter. It does run in the family.

7:15 p.m.

Wonder why Raine does not appear often on ANC? According to her social media pages, Raine also acts as a producer off-camera, managing news reports behind the scenes.

At least she is very productive, so no problem. In the meantime, Michelle Ong is back to bring in the latest at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit.

7:30 p.m.

That will do it for the live blog of ANC’s 2017 ASEAN Summit coverage. Overall I was very impressed with their consistent and tireless presentation, going all-out with blow-by-blow reports of the goings-on in both Solaire Resort and Casino and at the CCP Complex.

There were some mistakes and issues that they endured, but other than that, it was all smooth-sailing for Team ANC. However, this is just Day 2 of their coverage, so expect almost the same type of coverage come tomorrow morning all the way to the night.

In the meantime, I am going to wait for ABS-CBN’s 2017 Christmas Station ID. I’m sure our favorite ANC personalities are here as well.

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Live Blog: 2017 ASEAN Summit on ANC (Part III)

The 2017 ASEAN Summit is up and running, as heads of ASEAN nations as well as other world dignitaries converge to discuss various political issues that affect both their countries and the world. At around the same time, the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit also takes place, focusing on business concerns surrounding the ASEAN region.

The ABS-CBN News Channel and CNN Philippines are the primary channels that will cover in detail the ASEAN Summit. For this live blog, I will focus on ANC, so keep refreshing this blog for the latest updates on their coverage.

1:05 p.m.

Let me correct myself. Lunch is actually being served in the ASEAN Summit, but there is no such thing as a lunch break. In short, the show must go on.

1:10 p.m.

While ANC’s coverage of the ASEAN Summit takes a short break, here are the highlights of Karmina Constantino’s conversations with Christian Esguerra, Doris Bigornia and Michelle Ong with regards to news on the event.

Some concise reporting on the ASEAN Summit indeed.

And for good measure, here is Cathy Yang’s interview with Joey Concepcion. What a day so far.

1:25 p.m.

KC and Christian wrap it up. What a day so far.

For the last six or so hours, ANC has had plenty of interviews and reports regarding the ASEAN Summit, and they are not done yet. No wonder they are the premier news channel for the Filipino since 1996.

Their coverage of the ASEAN Summit continues after a few messages. Oh, and KC will still be on board.

1:30 p.m.

A little breather for our friends at ANC while they plug in ‘Executive Class’ with the great David Celdran. This should also serve as their lunch break.

As for this live blog, check back after 30 minutes.

2:00 p.m.

Back to normal it seems for our friends at ANC. The ASEAN 50 title cards are now replaced with ‘normal’ ANC program cards.

KC is still in the studio with the stories making ‘News Now’.

2:15 p.m.

Michelle Ong has been at Solaire since sunrise to bring in the latest in the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. Every time I get to watch her, I always think of Mimi as ‘cute’ considering her baby-faced looks.

According to her MediaNewser profile, Mimi started out as a weather girl before embarking on a career as a business news reporter. These days, she is either seen at the Philippine Stock Exchange or in various business functions and meetings.

2:35 p.m.

Looks like ‘News Now will last an hour today. In the meantime, Willard Cheng, RG Cruz and Pia Gutierrez filed reports in relation to the ASEAN Summit.

In short, there is plenty of news that may not fit the typical 30 minutes that ‘News Now’ is allotted to. After all, the ASEAN Summit is a very big event.

2:55 p.m.

‘News Now’ is about to wind down. But the ASEAN Summit and the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit are still up and running.

As for KC, she has a long day ahead of her. The 4:00 p.m. edition of ‘The Bureau’ is still to come, and at 7:30 p.m. she will host ‘Talkback’, a show she inherited from journalism icon Tina Monzon-Palma.

3:00 p.m.

KC is still on board, and the ASEAN 50 title cards return. Right now, U.S. President Donald Trump is addressing his subjects at the fifth ASEAN-U.S. Summit.

I won’t be surprised if they keep the ASEAN 50 cards the rest of the afternoon. What a marathon so far.

3:05 p.m. 

I spoke too soon. Anyway, stay tuned for more.

3:10 p.m.

Cathy Yang is still at Solaire, so KC takes care of her show ‘Market Edge’. And she has more guests on tap today.

3:15 p.m.

Cathy is now live on-site, but the boisterousness inside Solaire forced her to carry a hand-held microphone rather than rely on the hands-free lapel mics. Just for convenience’s sake.

Anyway, I expect more guests to come.

3:20 p.m. 

While Cathy is recapping her interviews with Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala and Enrique Razon, I begin my 3:00 p.m. stretch. I can only hope that she still has a lot of energy left after arriving at the venue earlier this morning.

Here she is again, mic on hand.

3:30 p.m.

Trading day at the Philippine Stock Exchange is about to end, but so far no mention on the stocks yet due to ASEAN Summit news. I expect some update within the next 30 minutes.

3:35 p.m.

Warren de Guzman has returned to finish the trading day. Sadly, the PSE fell below 8400.

Stocks will still trade tomorrow and Wednesday even as the ASEAN Summit rolls on. With so much trading days lost due to weather or unexpected holiday, the PSE is making up for lost time.

As for Warren, I’m not sure if he will stay at the PSE or change places with Mimi. In any event, find out tomorrow what will happen next.

3:45 p.m.

ANC is now airing one of the forums at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. If you want to watch all the forums that took place today, visit the GoNegosyo Facebook page.

4:00 p.m.

Technical issues cut short the stream of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit. Anyway, go to GoNegosyo’s Facebook page to catch the forum in its entirety.

Stay tuned for Part IV.

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Live Blog: 2017 ASEAN Summit on ANC (Part II)

The 2017 ASEAN Summit is up and running, as heads of ASEAN nations as well as other world dignitaries converge to discuss various political issues that affect both their countries and the world. At around the same time, the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit also takes place, focusing on business concerns surrounding the ASEAN region.

The ABS-CBN News Channel and CNN Philippines are the primary channels that will cover in detail the ASEAN Summit. For this live blog, I will focus on ANC, so keep refreshing this blog for the latest updates on their coverage.

10:00 a.m.

The speech ends. Meanwhile, Peter Lundgreen is at the 8 Rockwell studio being interviewed by Annalisa Burgos.

Yes, 8 Rockwell studio is still open at 10:00 a.m.

10:10 a.m.

Outside, today has some uncommonly hot November weather. But inside the main ANC studio, Annalisa Burgos still looked as cool as a cucumber.

Annalisa is no stranger to big events such as the ASEAN Summit. She may be a relative newcomer on ANC, but journalism has been her calling card for years now.

10:20 a.m.

Not much activity right now. Inside the CCP, there’s plenty of dancing during the opening ceremony, while Annalisa does some recapping of this morning’s news.

10:25 a.m.

At the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit, Michelle Ong is live-tweeting the proceedings as we speak. Expect some video highlights from said event in the coming hours.

10:30 a.m.

ASEAN Summit protests are well underway. Stay safe, journalists on site.

10:35 a.m.

Live stream of the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit is available on the GoNegosyo Facebook page. If not, follow Michelle Ong’s tweets.

With all the news related to the ASEAN Summit going on, ANC is doing its best to keep viewers company. Thank goodness for social media in adding further context to the story.

10:45 a.m.

After another brief look at the headlines, ANC is now reairing Cathy Yang’s interview with George Barcelon. Not much going on right now.

In the meantime, didn’t we mention that Cathy is once again nominated for Best Anchor at the 2017 Asian Television Awards? She previously won three awards in the same category in the early 2000s, all while based in Hong Kong working for Bloomberg Asia.

10:55 a.m.

Now business has picked up anew. Russian Prime Minister Dmitry Medvedev is delivering his speech at the ASEAN Business and Investment Summit with the help of an interpreter.

Oh no, ANC cut short that speech a few minutes later. Commercial break time.

11:00 a.m.

Back at ANC’s coverage of the 2017 ASEAN Summit. And another summary of the headlines.

A plenary session among the ASEAN and world leaders is now underway.

11:10 a.m.

President Duterte now presiding the ASEAN Summit plenary session.

And they cut short his speech anew. Goodness gracious.

11:15 a.m.

After over four hours covering the live blog, a lot has taken place as far as interviews and live feeds are concerned. As lunch time draws near, activity slowed down somewhat.

In the meantime, enjoy the ‘replay’ of the headlines on ANC right now.

11:20 a.m.

ANC was about to go back to Medvedev’s address at Solaire but the speech came to an end. We will have to wait for the summary.

In the meantime, here is a spoiler of Cathy Yang’s interview with GoNegosyo’s Joey Concepcion.

11:30 a.m.

Cathy Yang is back live at Solaire, this time with Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala as guest. Looks like Cathy has quite a day ahead of her.

11:45 a.m.

Annalisa Burgos is about to wrap up her shift, so why not take another look at the headlines. A few minutes later, Cathy Yang has another guest in ICTSI’s Enrique Razon.

While Cathy interviews Mr. Razon, we can also point out that both are alumni of De La Salle University like yours truly. And the gymnasium where the Green Archers and other DLSU varsity teams practice was named after Mr. Razon’s father.

We can also mention that the Green Archers won last night against the Ateneo Blue Eagles to force a Final Four in the UAAP Season 80 men’s basketball.

In the meantime, enjoy some serious talk on improving the traffic situation with these two.

11:58 a.m.

Annalisa Burgos ends her shift. Now she can relax and breathe easily after a three-hour run inside the ANC studio.

In the meantime, I presume that Karmina Constantino will be coming up next.

12:05 p.m.

If baseball has the seventh-inning stretch, this live blog has the 12 o’clock stretch. Time to stretch a bit.

Back at ANC, Karmina Constantino is now on board, but not at the main ANC studio. She is now anchoring inside the ANC newsroom studio where many of their newscasts take place.

Oh, and Christian Esguerra is at the PICC where all the media partners are based right now. Not to mention that he took off his tie following his time at 8 Rockwell.

12:15 p.m.

Around this time, KC and Christian were talking about the ASEAN Summit and the latest news that took place today. This is like a mental lunch to me.

Speaking of lunch, time to serve some.

12:30 p.m.

Protests, protest and more protests.

12:35 p.m.

Wilnor Papa of Amnesty International is at the studio now, discussing ASEAN’s need to address the Rohingya crisis. Time to feed my brain some more.

12:50 p.m. 

KC and Christian are back to continue their conversation on the ASEAN Summit. This is starting to get more interesting.

If you are watching this coverage from the start, ANC has been utilizing the generic ASEAN 50 motif shortly after the end of ‘Headstart’ instead of the title cards of their programs. After all, this is a special coverage that will last the entire day.

1:00 p.m.

Cathy Yang’s interview with Joey Concepcion is now on the air. This is obviously recorded several hours earlier.

At this time, the ASEAN Summit is on a lunch break. They are expected to resume at around 2:00 p.m. today.

Stay tuned for Part III.

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FTT’s Guide to SONA 2017

The second State of the Nation Address under President Rodrigo Duterte is about to happen.

At around 4:00 p.m. of Monday, July 24, the vicinity of the Batasan Pambansa will be filled with politicians, delegates, spectators, mediamen, PNP and AFP officers, Vice President Leni Robredo, and the President himself. The SONA is an annual occasion where the President mentions his accomplishments and reveals his plans for the year ahead.

Last year’s State of the Nation Address was directed by Brillante Mendoza, which was met with mixed reviews. This year, Mendoza will once again be at the helm, but after an unimpressive first outing, expect a few tweaks in his directorial approach.

As for the coverage of the event, here is a summary of how the participating networks will approach the SONA.

ABS-CBN

  1. Channel 2, S+A (simulcast with Channel 2), DZMM and the ABS-CBN News Channel will be the participating stations; each broadcast will be simulcast online on news.abs-cbn.com/sona2017.
  2. Channel 2’s coverage will begin after ‘It’s Showtime’, with Karen Davila as anchor. As mentioned earlier, it will also be seen on S+A Channel 23.
  3. DZMM’s coverage will begin at 1:00 p.m. Karen Davila and Johnson Manabat will anchor the first two hours, followed by David Oro and Ricky Rosales at 3:00 p.m., before Gerry Baja and Anthony Taberna join the fray at 5:00 p.m.
  4. ANC’s coverage will take place throughout the day, with a townhall forum at 3:00 p.m. to be moderated by Karmina Constantino and Tony Velasquez.

CNN Philippines

CNN Philippines’ coverage begins at 5:00 a.m. In typical CNN Philippines fashion, their coverage will be bilingual; mid-morning to early afternoon coverage will be in Filipino while the rest will be in English.

Viewers of the network will see the likes of Claire Celdran, Amelyn Veloso, Ruth Cabal, Pinky Webb, Pia Hontiveros and Mitzi Borromeo anchor CNN Philippines’ SONA coverage. It will also be aired online on Facebook and on the CNN Philippines website.

GMA Network

GMA News TV confirmed that they will cover the SONA starting at 3:10 p.m., marking the first time since 2014 that the oft-criticized news network will participate in the event. Jessica Soho and Arnold Clavio will anchor said coverage.

However, Channel 7 and DZBB have yet to reveal its plans for the SONA. If Channel 7 and/or DZBB pushes through with separate coverage, it is likely that Mike Enriquez, Mel Tiangco and/or Vicky Morales will anchor the proceedings while DZBB will utilize some of its mainstays such as Joel Reyes Zobel.

TV5

The network that infamously snubs President Duterte’s live speeches on television will have no choice but to join in. While Luchi Cruz-Valdes is penciled in to anchor their coverage, she might as well need some help considering how decimated TV5’s team is right now.

TV5’s coverage will most likely be simulcast on AksyonTV (unless it changes its mind and airs nonsensical TV shopping programs), Radyo5 92.3 News FM, and on News5’s Facebook page and official website. They do not need to worry about preempting programs because their lineup is all but a free-for-all.

PTV-4

PTV-4’s coverage, which also features special packages throughout the day, will be led by Rocky Ignacio, Aljo Bendijo, Angelique Lazo, Alex Santos and Catherine Vital. The government-owned station will begin their coverage of the SONA at 2:30 p.m., with a simulcast on the network’s YouTube channel.

The revitalization of PTV was among the many objectives that President Duterte raised during last year’s SONA. The project is still ongoing, but viewers can only hope that PTV’s presentation will be a much-improved one.

Other networks

All AM radio stations (save for specialty ones) will be on-hand to cover this year’s SONA. On the television side, independent UHF TV stations Net 25 and UNTV-37 will also participate in the event.

As far as IBC-13 is concerned, it is likely that the beleaguered network will no longer play a role in the SONA. Although President Duterte promised an immediate privatization of the network in last year’s SONA, the process remains slow to say the least.

Come this Monday afternoon, all eyes will be on President Rodrigo Duterte. Never mind how long his speech will be, as long as viewers understand his message going forward.

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Overview of PNoy’s Final SONA Coverage

Eyes will be on President Noynoy Aquino as he makes his final State of the Nation Address. (Photo credit: Philstar.com)

Welcome to SONA Monday.

Held every fourth Monday of July, the State of the Nation Address is an annual event where the President of the Philippines addresses the public of his accomplishments and plans for the nation. While the SONA is not a national holiday, it remains an important political event in the country, ranking just above the presidential inauguration and the national elections.

This year’s SONA will be the last for President Noynoy Aquino, and it will be interesting to see how he will respond to the recent string events that have plagued his administration. As always, it will be greeted by protests from those against his administration.

Television and radio coverage will once again be at the forefront of this annual event, so without further ado, here are the plans for some of the stations covering the SONA.

ABS-CBN

The SONA coverage on Channel 2 will proceed after ‘Flordeliza’. ‘Nasaan Ka Nang Kailangan Kita’, ‘Pinoy Big Brother: 737 Gold’ and ‘Mission Possible’ will be preempted, while ‘Kapamilya: Deal or No Deal’ may be preempted in case the SONA runs overtime.

ABS-CBN will use three different broadcast teams for their coverage. Channel 2 will be led by Ted Failon and Lynda Jumilla, ANC will be led by Tony Velasquez and Karmina Constantino, and DZMM TeleRadyo and Radyo Patrol 630 will be led by Anthony Taberna and Gerry Baja.

A live and uninterrupted feed of the coverage will also be streamed on abs-cbnnews.com. It is unknown if the SONA coverage will also be seen on ABS-CBN Sports+Action, since the NCAA will no longer be in conflict with the SONA.

TV5

The SONA coverage on TV5 will proceed after the Marvel animation block. ‘Hi-5 Philippines’ will be the only show preempted, as ‘Movie Max 5’ only airs as a filler program.

TV5 will utilize a parallel broadcast approach for the coverage. Erwin Tulfo and Cheryl Cosim will anchor TV5’s coverage of the SONA on four different platforms: TV5, AksyonTV, Radyo5 92.3 News FM, and News5Everywhere.

GMA

The SONA coverage on GMA will proceed after ‘The Half-Sisters’. ‘Buena Familia”s premiere will be moved tomorrow, while ‘Healing Hearts’, ‘Alisto’ and possibly ‘Birth of a Beauty’ will be preempted.

The press release of the network only indicated that Mel Tiangco and Mike Enriquez will anchor Channel 7’s coverage. Whether or not it will be a parallel coverage or a separate coverage on Channel 7, GMA News TV, GMA News Online and Super Radyo DZBB 594 remains to be seen.

All AM stations, save for specialty ones, will also pool their resources for the SONA coverage. Updates on the event will also be provided by a few FM stations.

Net 25 will also cover the SONA, but since it takes place on the same day as the Iglesia ni Cristo’s 101st founding anniversary, the primary focus of the station could be on the latter. UNTV will also handle their own coverage of the event.

Finally, the neophyte CNN Philippines (formerly Solar News Channel and 9TV) will join in on the SONA fun for the first time. Their coverage of the SONA will be anchored by Jing Magsaysay and Pia Hontiveros.

Regardless of the station, the entire nation will pay attention to the statements made by President Aquino. His last SONA will be very important, so keep an eye on what he says.

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