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.

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‘What’s Up Doods’ Preempted for Bieber Documentary

Pop musician Justin Bieber is in Tacloban recently to give cheers to the victims of Typhoon Haiyan. TV5 will air the documentary tonight.

Tonight’s lineup of TV5’s ‘Weekend Do It Better’ will not see Edu Manzano interview various guests on his talk show ‘What’s Up Doods?’. Instead the Kapatid network will air a special documentary as part of its continuing relief efforts for the victims of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda).

Titled ‘Give Love, Give Back Philippines‘, the documentary centers on a surprise visit by pop singer Justin Bieber to Tacloban in order to provide donations and relief goods to the typhoon victims. The one-hour documentary will feature Bieber in a different light, as he tries to remain humble amid his fame and give a more positive outlook to the victims. Also included is the exclusive full-length interview with Raymond Gutierrez that first aired on ‘Showbiz Police’ last week, along with a mini-concert for the victims.

Bieber’s #GiveBackPhilippines campaign raised over $1M in cash, and has also produced a limited edition t-shirt with the proceeds being given to TV5’s Alagang Kapatid Foundation. The campaign donations were raised during his ongoing tour promoting his latest album ‘Believe’.

‘What’s Up Doods?’ aired a ‘Best of’ episode last week featuring interviews from Georgina Wilson, Jinri Park and Ramon Bautista, and with the program on hiatus for the holidays, it is only logical to have the Bieber documentary air tonight.

In the meantime, here is today’s late afternoon and evening schedule on TV5:

3:30 – PBA: Barangay Ginebra San Miguel vs. Alaska Aces

5:45 – Aksyon Weekend

6:15 – Showbiz Police

6:45 – Pinoy Explorer

7:45 – Tropa Mo Ko Unli

8:45 – Killer Karaoke Pinoy Naman

9:45 – Give Love, Give Back Philippines: A Justin Bieber Special

10:45 – Juan Direction

11:15 – SpinNation

ABS-CBN Hits Big Again with the ‘Tulong Na’ Shirts

ABS-CBN’s ‘Tulong Na, Tabang Na, Tayo Na’ shirts were initially conceived for charitable causes, but its immediate popularity led to two successful concerts on November 16 and December 10.

When Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) struck the country a month ago, it left a trail of dead bodies, fallen trees and damaged structures. After the typhoon’s impact became all too gruesome for the human mind, the international community started donating sums of money and relief items for the victims of Haiyan. And ABS-CBN was among those who came to the rescue.

Days after Haiyan left the country, ABS-CBN launched their charity shirt bearing a fish-like symbol and the phrase ‘Tulong Na, Tabang Na, Tayo Na’. The shirts became available at the ABS-CBN Store in the network’s Quezon City headquarters last November 12, and was later sold online through Shopinas.com and at Ayala Malls in the country. It was also sold during various ABS-CBN-sponsored events such as mall shows.

The ‘Tulong Na’ shirt became an immediate hit thanks to its cheap price (P250) and strong message, not to mention additional publicity thanks to 30-second ads, a telethon, and television programs featuring ABS-CBN personalities. And last November 16, the Kapamilya network held a benefit concert at the Smart Araneta Coliseum, with the shirt being given for free to ticket buyers.

The said concert from November 16 was such a success that another concert was held at the same venue last December 10, again with the ‘Tulong Na’ shirt distributed along with the tickets. ABS-CBN typically holds a Christmas concert at this time of the year, but on this night, the concert was about raising hope and prosperity to the victims of the typhoon. The concert entitled ‘Kwento ng Pasko: Pag-asa at Pagbangon’ will be aired in a two-part special this weekend on ABS-CBN.

In many ways, the popularity of the ‘Tulong Na’ shirts capped off a successful year for ABS-CBN. With top-rated programs outplaying the opposition almost every day, and with more potentially successful programs in the works, the Kapamilya network is definitely poised for bigger things this 2014.

Love Anover’s Yolanda Story on Magpakailanman

While ABS-CBN News reporter Atom Araullo‘s brave journey at the height of Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) became a hot topic in the media, other news reporters endured similar paths while in the line of duty. And in tomorrow’s episode of ‘Magpakailanman‘ one such reporter shares her own story of survival.

In the upcoming episode ‘Sa Mata ng Daluyong’, GMA News reporter Love Anover will share her story on overcoming the strong winds and heavy rains of a typhoon, with Sunshine Dizon playing Anover. The episode airs after the sitcom ‘Vampire Ang Daddy Ko’.

Anover’s story was barely noticed in social media, as netizens focused on Araullo’s daring stand and Mike Enriquez’s snub of Jiggy Manicad’s report at the end of ‘24 Oras‘. Nevertheless, the upcoming episode of ‘Magpakailanman’ should inform the viewers on the risks of news reporting during natural disasters, in the process helping aspiring reporters prepare when thrust in a disastrous situation.

As a precursor of tomorrow’s episode, here was Anover and fellow reporter Jiggy Manicad narrating their harrowing experiences during the November 8 newscast of GMA News TV’s ‘State of the Nation’. The video can be seen below.

Korina Sanchez Out of ABS-CBN For Now

Korina Sanchez’s ‘absence’ from her ABS-CBN programs following her remarks on Anderson Cooper has left viewers abuzz.

While relief efforts continue in areas ravaged by Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda), the news community was in shock as Korina Sanchez and Anderson Cooper raged a word war about the latter’s comment on the lack of government response to the victims. And netizens took notice of the situation.

During her DZMM radio program ‘Rated Korina’ last November 13, Sanchez reacted to Anderson’s comment regarding the lack of government presence in Tacloban, saying that the CNN anchor ‘doesn’t know what he is saying’. Her comments drew a negative reaction from social media users, and even CNN picked up the story. At the same time Cooper’s on-site reporting in Tacloban was being praised by local celebrities.

Two days later, Cooper responded by telling Sanchez that she was welcome to go to Tacloban, though Sanchez was at Ormoc at the time of his comments. In closing, he denied saying that there was no government presence, and instead commented on the strength and positivity of the survivors.

Following the comments, Sanchez disappeared from the media for unexplained reasons. Initially it was reported that Sanchez was suspended, but according to a Pep.ph report, Sanchez was presumed to have taken a ‘leave of absence’ from her duties at ABS-CBN. No official statement was provided by ABS-CBN regarding her no-show.

For now viewers will not see Korina Sanchez on air in both ‘TV Patrol‘ and ‘Rated Korina’. However, her general interest program ‘Rated K‘ will continue to air despite her absence.

UPDATE: Korina Sanchez has made a statement regarding her absence, denying that she was either ‘suspended’ or under a ‘leave of absence’. Instead she spoke on the phone during ‘Rated Korina’ today and told the listeners that she was taping episodes of ‘Rated K’ in typhoon-stricken Leyte as part of her work.

Igan is No Talk Show Host

 

In contrast to Arnold Clavio’s jovial look on this TV billboard for ‘Tonight with Arnold Clavio’, some episodes continue to display his more serious news reporting side in the midst of national issues.

Since Typhoon Haiyan (Yolanda) ravaged much of Visayas last week, the GMA News TV program ‘Tonight with Arnold Clavio‘ went serious in discussing the typhoon. The TWAC band was not present, and neither were the assigned special guests. The last two TWAC episodes went with a news reporting approach, featuring interviews with various experts.  Turns out I was not a fan of the more serious version of TWAC.

Arnold Clavio, the program’s host, is better suited as a news anchor than a talk show host. The reason why News TV decided to assign Clavio to a talk show was to showcase his fun side. But as it turns out, his heart remains news reporting, and in some episodes of TWAC, he decided to eschew the program’s talk show approach for serious news reporting, especially during nationwide disasters and conflicts.

In my opinion, GMA made the wrong decision. TWAC may be on the air for three years now, but it’s hard to fathom why Clavio continues to move back to his news anchor persona when his self-titled program was designed mainly as a late night talk show a la ‘Tonight Show with Jay Leno‘. ‘Tonight with Arnold Clavio’ is a joke, and it deserves to be axed.

If GMA were to produce its own late night talk show, why not bring back Jojo Alejar and his ‘Medyo Late Night’ band? Ever since Jojo A. and his late night talk show took a bow on TV5 last September, the television industry is still searching for a new weeknight talk show featuring monologues and special guests. Even though TV5’s ‘What’s Up, Doods?’ with Edu Manzano qualifies as such, it only airs once a week. And television programs of late portray a more serious tone than in previous years. So the need for such a talk show becomes even more pronounced.

In the meantime, ‘Tonight with Arnold Clavio’ will remain on the air, because ‘Igan’ is such a popular figure of late in the world of broadcast journalism. Popular with the fact that he grilled Janet Lim-Napoles’ lawyer Alfredo Villamor on ‘Unang Hirit’, which of course was criticized on social media and even earned him an MTRCB warning. But for some reason TWAC has become an exhibition for Clavio’s two personas: one as a jovial talk show host, and the other as a no-nonsense news anchor. And the clash of two worlds is not good for television.