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TV network launches news bureau
October 11, 2006
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By JAIME K PIMENTEL
 BALITANG Australia, a news bureau of ABS-CBN Television Australia, will take to the air early November with a 15-minute weekly news and feature package.
Managing director Billy Ick said the new head of news is bureau chief Gigi Grande, an experienced television news reporter and producer with ABS-CBN television network in the Philippines.
''Patterned after the successful Balitang America which followed a similar news program in the Middle East some years back, Balitang Australia is expected to expand later into a full current affairs program,'' Mr Ick said.
Ms Grande will be supported by reporters recruited over the last month in three major Australian cities ~ Sydney, Melbourne and Brisbane ~ with plans to recruit reporters in other major cities in the near future.
''I will be doing some of the stories myself, but our reporters will be expected to develop their own sources and stories,'' she said. ''The main point of contact will be myself, however. That is, if anyone has a story to tell, he or she should contact me, and I would assign the story to one of our reporters.''
Ms Grande said the 15-minute news program will be telecast every Saturday, in a late afternoon hour. The program will comprise three segments: The first segment will be a weekly wrap-up of headline news from the Philippines, Australia and around the world. This will be followed by a feature story, and then a new 'Just Arrived' segment.
''The 'Just Arrived' segment will take in things that newly arrived Filipino migrants would need to know, such as how to get a driver's licence and get access to government services,'' she said.
The subjects which Balitang Australia would be looking for are success stories, relevant developments of immigration and employment opportunities for Filipinos, entertainment, sports and, or course, hard news that relates to the Filipino community in Australia.
The reporters recruited by ABS-CBN Australia Television are Ala Paredes, Ania Aquino, Carmela Gollogley, Michelle Baltazar and Miko Selorio in Sydney; Al Noveloso and Ellen Desear in Melbourne; and Jerome Somodio in Brisbane. #
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PICTURE: ABS-CBN Television Australia news bureau chief Gigi Grande.
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