Leading broadcast company GMA Network was once again recognized by educational institutions University of the East (UE) Caloocan and De La Salle University (DLSU).
Seasoned news anchor Mel Tiangco was recently named as “Gawad Bagani sa Larangan ng Telebisyon” at the Seventh Gawad Bagani Sa Komunikasyon: Para sa Makabagong Mandirigma sa Radyo at Telebisyon. The awarding ceremony was held on March 13 at the UE Caloocan Campus.
Tiangco won in the Television Program Category for GMA Network’s primetime newscast 24 Oras. She was conferred with the same award in 2016 and 2018.
“I express to you my deep appreciation and gratitude for the fact that you, here in UE Caloocan and in CAMANAVA, recognize me in these qualities of ‘Mahusay,’ ‘Matapat,’ ‘Matapang,’ ‘Matulungin,’ ‘Charismatic,’ and ‘Maaasahan,’ – qualities which took me a lifetime to gradually identify, cultivate, hone, and sustain all these years in my professional and personal life. By the grace of God, with a lot of help from angels – in the person of friends, colleagues, and sometimes, even strangers, we come to this point in life where people like you discern and affirm how all of that matters in your lives,” says Tiangco.
Launched in 2014, UE Caloocan’s Gawad Bagani sa Komunikasyon recognizes and appreciates “warriors” in popular media “who fight against social injustice rooted in poverty as manifested in unemployment, illiteracy, illness, and powerlessness.”
Meanwhile, award-winning broadcast journalist Atom Araullo was the first-ever recipient of the Outstanding Media Personality Award at the 2023 Lasallian Scholarum Awards of De La Salle University last March 22. The award was included this year to recognize a media practitioner who showed admirable attributes, serving as a role model to journalists-in-the-making. Atom was selected by Lasallian student journalists together with the university’s Student Media Office.
Together with Maki Pulido, Atom co-anchors GTV’s flagship newscast State of the Nation. He headlines the bi-monthly The Atom Araullo Specials and is one of the hosts of the long-running documentary show I-Witness.
“Maraming mga pagsubok mula sa local issues natin hanggang sa global issues like climate change. Journalists should be at the forefront and we should also inspire other people, users of media, na gamitin ang kanilang galing para labanan ang ganitong klase ng problema,” said Araullo.
GMA Public Affairs and GMA Digital Video Lab’s online newscast Stand for Truth, bested other entries and took home the Outstanding Video Feature Story on Youth and Education for its documentary Runaway Child Brides.
Produced by Lilian Tiburcio and Bryan Brazil, the documentary tackled arranged marriages or a tradition called “buya” among Manobo tribes. The documentary is also shortlisted at this year’s New York Festivals TV & Film (NYF) Awards.
GMA Network dominated this year’s Lasallian Scholarum Awards with four documentaries from I-Witness making it to the list of finalists in the Outstanding Video Feature Story on Youth and Education category. These were Kara David and Anna Isabelle Matutina’s Balik Ilog’; Araullo’s Fimagas Class of 2022 and Here Comes the Child Bride; and another from Davcid, Usok sa Gubat.
DLSU’s annual Lasallian Scholarum Awards recognizes the exemplary media coverage of youth and education stories by various news organizations in the country.
