Leading broadcast company GMA Network scores nine nominations at the 2020 New York Festivals “World’s Best TV and Films” Competition, once again having the most number of short-listed entries from the Philippines.
Pioneering mobile journalism newscast Stand for Truth, which is also seen on TV via GMA News TV, earns its first-ever awards nomination as it made it to the finalists in the Coverage of Continuing News Story category for its reportage on the Hong Kong protests.
Meanwhile, the “Luzon Earthquake” coverage of GMA News TV’s flagship newscast State of the Nation (SONA) with Jessica Soho is in the running for Best Newscast category. The said coverage saw the newscast delivering the latest developments after a 6.1 magnitude earthquake struck Central Luzon last April 2019.
Documentary program The Atom Araullo Specials added two nominations for the country, one for “Babies4Sale.PH” and another for “The Patient is Out”.
“The Atom Araullo Specials: Babies4Sale.PH” is short-listed in the Best Investigative Report category. The documentary investigated the alarming baby transactions prevalent in social media. “The Atom Araullo Specials: The Patient is Out”, on the other hand, is nominated in the Human Concerns category. Host Atom Araullo documented the plight of patients from Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao and zeroed in on the elusiveness of adequate health care in the Philippines.
Earning another nomination is the country’s pioneer environmental program Born To Be Wild for its “Big Catch” feature. Short-listed in the Climate Change & Sustainability category, the two-part special by Doc Nielsen Donato and Doc Ferds Recio was an eye-opening documentary on the state of Philippine fisheries and showed how a country so rich with marine life is slowly depleting its resources.
Nominated in the History & Society category is news magazine program Brigada for its “Aeta Squadron/Female Spies” episode which probed the situation of Aeta Squadron 30, whose contribution to defending the country during World War II seemed to be unrecognized as they have yet to receive or enjoy any military pension.
Investigative Documentaries is also short-listed in the Social Issues category for its “Tulaylay” episode featuring bridges that instead of providing convenience, put the lives of Filipinos at risk because these projects were left unfinished by the government.
Meanwhile, eight-time New York Festival World Medalist Reporter’s Notebook is nominated for its “Project Pilipinas: Medical Facility” episode in the Social Issues category. “Project Pilipinas” was an Election Special Series by the investigative news magazine program where hosts Maki Pulido and Jun Veneracion went to the poorest provinces all over the country to check on various government projects that were abandoned and left unfinished.
Completing the list of Kapuso finalists this year is GMA Program Support Department’s TV spot for Bonifacio Day which is nominated for Best Graphic Design under the Promotion/Open and IDs category.
Last year, GMA Network took home four world medals and a finalist certificate at the New York Festivals “World’s Best TV and Films” Competition.
