FOUR George Foster Peabody Awards, 11 New York Festival Gold Medals, three Emmy nominations… this unprecedented record makes GMA Network the most internationally awarded in Philippine Television, a success primarily brought about by its News and Public Affairs programs.
This year, GMA Network’s Public Affairs Department celebrates three decades of public service.
It was in 1984 that the first GMA Public Affairs program was born with the creation of “Viewpoint”, a talk show hosted by Dong Puno. In 1987, an in-house Public Affairs team was formally setup in the network. Weekly talk shows soon followed with “Weekend with Velez” hosted by Jose Mari Velez, “Firing Line” with Teddy Benigno, “Issues and Answers” with Art Borjal, and “The Probe Team” with Cheche Lazaro.
Three decades later, GMA Public Affairs has grown into a department now producing 27 (13 programs air on GMA and 14 on GMA News TV) of the most watched, most awarded and most admired programs on Philippine television including “I-Witness”, “Reel Time”, “Front Row”, “Reporter’s Notebook”, “Imbestigador”, “Wish Ko Lang”, and “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” among many others.
To mark this milestone upon hitting its 30th year, GMA Public Affairs will air a special documentary entitled “Sa Serbisyong Totoo, Nabago ang Buhay Ko,” which will present a few of the life-changing stories aired by GMA Public Affairs programs over the past decades.
The special will revisit inspiring people whose lives significantly changed after being featured on GMA Public Affairs programs. It will also showcase some of the most powerful stories that the group has produced: Stories that initiated viewers to move, encouraged government to act, reconnected families, and were instrumental in giving their subjects a new lease on life.
The special “Sa Serbisyong Totoo, Nabago Ang Buhay Ko” airs June 25 on GMA-7. It will be hosted by Jessica Soho.