Up close: ABS-CBN’s New York Festivals 2012 bets

By Andrew Jonathan S. Bagaoisan

(UPDATED April 18) Adversity, struggle, triumph, and a desire for change.

These are the real-life stories of ordinary Filipinos–as told by the country’s TV news organizations–that earned nods this year from the reputable New York Festivals (NYF) International Television and Film Awards.

Sixteen entries from the Philippines were picked for the competition shortlist along with hundreds of finalists from more than 30 countries.

They include documentaries on conditions faced by the poor, TV specials that relived the country’s historical moments, profiles of unique lives, and programs that searched for solutions to the nation’s woes.

Five entries from ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs were recognized this year.

They vied for the competition’s Gold, Silver, and Bronze World Medal trophies, which were awarded on April 17  in Las Vegas (the morning of April 18 Manila time). During the ceremony, one debut entry (Krusada, see below) snagged a medal.

Leading the pack is prime-time newscast TV Patrol‘s broadcast during the onslaught of tropical storm Juaning on July 26, 2011, which is nominated for the best newscast.

PROBE nation

“This instrument can teach, it can illuminate, yes, and it can even inspire. But, it can only do so to the extent that humans are determined to use it to those ends. Otherwise it is merely wires and lights in a box.”

–journalism luminary Edward R. Murrow on television, 1958

Today, not many TV shows here aim for that potential. And the best and eldest of them has just pulled the plug, after 24 years of teaching, illuminating, inspiring, and giving currency to one word: Probing.

It was first a spark in the dark, conceived in the uncharted information void after EDSA 1.

The Probe Team has since outlived the competitors it set off, produced many of the industry’s best people, recorded history, and stayed true to its brand of hard-hitting yet ethical journalism.

Probe pioneered the news magazine in the Philippines when TV public affairs consisted mostly of studio talk.

First popularized by CBS’s 60 Minutes, the format meant sections (or segments) of topics varying from the serious to the light.

One just need look at today’s most-watched current affairs shows to see Probe’s influence, like weekend magazines Failon Ngayon, Kapuso Mo Jessica Soho, and Rated K.