GMA News and Public Affairs


GMA News and Public Affairs is the news and public affairs programming division of GMA Network Inc.
The division produces news, public affairs, infotainment, and lately, entertainment programs for GMA Network and GMA News TV owned and affiliated television and radio stations in the Philippines, and internationally through GMA Pinoy TV, GMA Life TV and GMA News TV International.

History

News division

The GMA News division traces its origin from the Republic Broadcasting System, established by Robert Stewart in 1950. The programming of its flagship AM radio station, DZBB, depended mostly on news reports. The station covered the eruption of Mt. Hibok-Hibok in 1951 and the election and death of the former Philippine president Ramon Magsaysay.
While RBS Channel 7 was established in 1961, it was in the 1970s that GMA became one of the most-watched television news source in the country. In 1983, Channel 7 was the first to break the news of Ninoy Aquino's death and later would be the only television station to broadcast his funeral. The channel also became the first station to broadcast the Ramos-Enrile break-away that led to the People Power Revolution, also known as EDSA Revolution. In 1998, GMA teamed up with The Philippine Daily Inquirer to produce the coverage of that year's election.
GMA News became a pioneer in local television news in many ways. GMA became the first TV network to be fully reporting the news in Filipino language with their late-night newscast GMA Network News in 1998 which was anchored by Mike Enriquez and Vicky Morales. GMA was one of the pioneers of women in broadcast journalism. Tina Monzon-Palma was one of the first female co-anchors when she first presented News at Seven, one of the most-watched news programs in the 1970s, Helen Vela was the first woman to anchor news in Filipino for GMA Balita in 1986 and Mel Tiangco was the first late-night sole anchor for in 1999. During the time of Martial Law by then-President Ferdinand Marcos, GMA was the first to broadcast an hourly news bulletin program. GMA News Roundup aired from 1974 to 1976. The program was later replaced by GMA News Digest in 1976, GMA News Live in 1987, GMA Flash Report in 2002, GMA News Update in 2016 and in 2018 was now rebranded 24 Oras/Saksi Breaking News and 24 Oras Weekend Breaking News. In the 1980s, GMA also took the lead becoming the first ever television network to broadcast on weekday latenights and weekend primetime.
The station was also the first to use a ticker for breaking news and traffic information. In 1995, GMA News was the first to use Electronic News Gathering Vans in the country. In 2004, it regularly began to use Satellite News Gathering facilities to reach more remote areas. GMA News also covered major events in the country such as the World Youth Day 1995, 2000 Today and 2003 World Meeting of Families.
In 2006, GMA News was praised by the former President Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo for its news coverage, and said that it was the reason for the network's high ratings. In the 2006 SWS Media Trust survey, GMA News garnered 60% of public trust, second only to rival ABS-CBN with 68%. But a similar Pulse Asia survey shows that GMA News is the more credible in the country and to key demographics.

Public Affairs division

GMA’s Public Affairs division was established in 1987 when Tina Monzon-Palma, then head of GMA News, recognized that a 30-minute newscast was not adequate and sufficient to inform the general Filipino public on what is happening to the recently established Aquino government after the historic People Power Revolution in February 1986. The public affairs division started with five news personnel including Marissa La Torre Flores and held office inside the cameramen’s locker room before moving into the state-of-the-art GMA Network Center with no experience, equipment, camera and an improvised set broadcasting at the old GMA building in EDSA with only a passion-to-work attitude. Today this division, with more than 500 news personnel—both locally based and with international assignments—and producing 16 of the most awarded programs on Philippine television today, is one of the more active.
Weekend with Velez was the first network-produced public affairs program on GMA, afterwards renamed Velez This Week and was hosted by Jose Mari Velez. Later that year it was joined by other public affairs shows such as Firing Line with Teddy Benigno ; View Point with Dong Puno; Straight from the Shoulder hosted by Louie Beltran and The Probe Team by Che-Che Lazaro and Issues and Answers hosted by Art Borjal.
From a makeshift and improvised set, the once GMA News garnered several honors and recognitions from local and international award-giving bodies, including two gold medals in the New York Festivals and their first Peabody Award in 1999, one of the most distinguished merits in the broadcast industry, the only one awarded to an Asian country. The first Peabody was given for Kidney for Sale, an investigative work on the selling of kidneys in a depressed area along the coast of Manila Bay. The award also recognizes Marissa Flores as the executive producer and a team of producers, writers, directors and reporters, as well as Jessica Soho, Michelle Seva-Recto, Jay Taruc, Leogarda Sanchez and Rowel Cornejo, Melchor Quintos and Gregg Gonzales.
When the Philippine longest-running noontime show, Eat Bulaga!, celebrated its silver anniversary in 2004, Public Affairs co-produced Eat Bulaga!: Silver Special with the noontime program's production company, TAPE Inc. Arnold Clavio hosted the program with his fellow Unang Hirit host Rhea Santos. Clavio was a contestant in a former segment of the noontime show.
Coinciding with its 20th anniversary in broadcasting excellence, GMA News and Public Affairs aired a documentary entitled 20: Dalawampung Taon ng GMA Public Affairs on October 28, 2007.
In the recent years, GMA Public Affairs has started producing scripted drama serials that usually tackles various issues that affect the Filipino populace.
On April 27, 2020, GMA News and Public Affairs Digital launched a podcast channel available in Spotify and Apple Podcast.

Accolades

GMA Network's then flagship newscast, Saksi, won the 1999 Asian Television Awards and 2002 New York Festival awards for Best Newscast.
In 1999, George Foster Peabody Award recognized the documentaries "Kidneys for Sale" and "Kamao" by Jessica Soho and the I-Witness team and Jay Taruc’s child labor story on Brigada Siete. On December 9, 2003 the Philippine House of Representatives 12th Congress commended GMA News and Public Affairs through Resolution 787 authored by Rep. Rodolfo Plaza for its efforts in uplifting the standards of the Philippine broadcast industry by receiving the first Peabody Award for television news awarded to an Asian country in 1999. In 2010, Kara David's I-Witness documentary, "Ambulansiyang de Paa," won GMA News and Public Affairs second Peabody Award. GMA News TV's documentary program Reel Time's "Salat" episode received a Peabody Award in 2013. In 2014, Peabody awards recognized GMA News' State of the Nation with Jessica Soho, 24 Oras, Saksi, 24 Oras Weekend and Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho for its coverage of the Super Typhoon Yolanda.

IMReady

IMReady is a public safety and preparedness campaign of GMA News and Public Affairs launched on 2010. It is the country’s first 24/7, one-stop shop for public safety information.
IM Ready was forged through a partnership between GMA and several government agencies including DOST-PAGASA and Metro Manila Development Authority. It also draws support from GMA’s collaboration with Google and Waze, the leading traffic navigation app.
On 2014, GMA New Media, the technology and digital arm of GMA launched a mobile application where in users can see real-time information and updates including weather, traffic situations, and news alerts. It is available on iOS and Android phones.

Programs

Currently aired

GMA Network

GMA News TV

Regional programs

Defunct regional newscasts