GMA Network, through GMA Regional TV and Synergy, celebrates the 32nd Cebu Press Freedom Week with the “GMA Masterclass Series: The Cebu Press Freedom Week Special” this September 16, 2024 at the University of the Philippines Cebu.
This year, the award-winning masterclass series brings together two of the country’s highly esteemed journalists, Malou Mangahas and Raffy Tima, to impart their knowledge to Cebu’s Journalism and Mass Communication students.
Mangahas leads hard-hitting conversations in GMA Integrated News’ award-winning podcast “The Mangahas Interviews.” A fellow of the Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University, she is also a co-founder and current executive director of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism. Mangahas is a veteran of Philippine journalism and has worked for various newspapers and news agencies in the country and abroad.
She served previously as GMA Network’s Vice President for Research and Content Development and was the first editor-in-chief of gmanews.tv. She was one of the awardees of Metrobank’s 2013 Journalists of the Year.
“This leg of the GMA Masterclass Series is extra special as we commemorate the Cebu Press Freedom Week,” Mangahas says.
“I hope that I can give our audience the right information they need and inspire them to uphold press freedom not just during Cebu Press Freedom Week but every day,” she adds.
Meanwhile, a veteran war correspondent, Tima is the pioneer anchor of GMA Integrated News’ midday newscast “Balitanghali.” He is known for his expertise in drone journalism – using drones and 360 cameras in reporting news and producing documentaries. As a one-man team in Cairo, Egypt, he chronicled the attempts of Filipinos and their loved ones to be granted safe passage at the Rafa Border during the Israel-Hamas conflict.
The GMAIN 360 coverage dubbed “SUNDO: A GMA Integrated News Documentary” won the Bronze World Medal at the 2024 New York Festivals TV and Film Awards.
“It is always an honor to be part of the GMA Masterclass Series,” says Tima who was also part of the GMA Masterclass in Central and Eastern Visayas in 2022.
“I look forward to meeting aspiring journalists in Cebu and share with them my experience and, at the same time, know their thoughts on press freedom,” he adds.
Senior Vice President and Head of GMA Integrated News, Regional TV, and Synergy Oliver Victor B. Amoroso says each leg of the Masterclass has brought insightful discussions and opportunities for both speakers and audiences.
“What started as a humble event in 2018, the ‘GMA Masterclass Series’ has evolved to be a gathering of industry leaders who provide students and members of the academe another venue for new learning and discourse on various local and national issues. We have been to various regions in Luzon, Visayas, and Mindanao, and each leg brought insightful discussions and opportunities for everyone – including our guest speakers,” he says.
“We continue to advocate and uphold press freedom as GMA Network joins in celebrating this year’s Cebu Press Freedom Week. GMA Integrated News remains committed to delivering fair, balanced, and accurate news to the public,” he adds.
The “GMA Masterclass Series: The Cebu Press Freedom Week 2024 Special” will be hosted by Sparkle artist and sportscaster Martin Javier.
Last August 30, 2024, GMA Network, together with almost 60 partners from media organizations, academic institutions, and the Commission on Elections (COMELEC), convened in a landmark event dubbed “Panata Kontra-Fake News Covenant Signing” to form the largest partnership in the fight against disinformation. The event was inspired by the Kapuso Network’s “Panata Kontra-Fake News” campaign.
In 2023, GMA also held a Masterclass Series in Cebu with the theme “Journalism in the Age of AI (Artificial Intelligence),” led by GMA Integrated News (GMAIN) pillar Howie Severino, veteran broadcast journalist Pia Arcangel, Assistant Vice President and Deputy Head for GMAIN Social Media Aileen Perez, and award-winning regional correspondent Nikko Sereno.
An initiative of GMA Regional TV and GMA Synergy, the “GMA Masterclass” was awarded “The Most Development Oriented TV Plug” at the “Gandingan 2020: The 14th UPLB Isko’t Iska Multi-media Awards.” It also won the second Excellence Award under Communication Training and Education Category at the 18th Philippine Quill Awards. For more information about GMA Network, visit www.gmanetwork.com.
