I TRY not to miss watching The World Tonight with Tina Monzon-Palma on ANC. The timeslot of her newscast is the most convenient one for me: not that late and not that early. Another reason is that Tina Monzon-Palma is always a soothing, reassuring presence. No matter how many points the stock market has plunged, no matter how many tourists the Abu Sayyaf have kidnapped, Tina Monzon-Palma exudes a comforting vibe that all these bad news will pass and another bright day will come.
Another reason I love watching The World Tonight is Teddy Locsin. He is fiery when it comes to his TV editorials. He enlightens viewers with his intelligent opinions on the pressing issues of the day.
Definitely, The World Tonight serves as a perfect nightcap for me.
I am afraid, though, that starting September 1, my sleeping habits would change when ANC begins airing Business Nightly, a program about finance and business to be hosted by Cathy Yang. I wouldn’t be surprised if you, my dear readers, think of me as the last person to be acutely interested in corporate finance news but, somehow, lately I find myself terribly interested in such chunk of news. Then again, many of the issues today actually have a business angle and perspective, so there you have it.
Anyway, Yang anchoring Business Nightly marks her return as a news anchor on ANC. She also hosts Market Edge. Before returning to ANC, Cathy Yang was associated with Bloomberg TV in Tokyo and CCTV (China Central Television) in Hong Kong. But she never lost touch with her Pinoy roots as she would fly back to Manila every weekend to see her family. “Someone told me that I’m an Astro-mom! Or Astronaut-Mom, someone from space. [Laughs] Walang paltos ’yan—I would go home to see my kids every weekend, kasama ko ’yun mga bankers and businessmen. Ako lang ang newscaster. In fact, I always referred to myself as an OFW [overseas Filipino workers], not an expat, kasi I kept coming back.”
For Cathy, her regular returns to the Philippines were in fulfillment of a promise to her kids. “That’s why maybe my children, Angel and Christine, felt we never were separated as a family all that much. Of course, it was their father (Gilbert) who became their na-tay (nanay and tatay) and he really spent time with the children, but my flying back regularly helped a lot. It started kasi twice a week, and then it became every weekend but I would call them daily. ’Yun ang naging promise ko sa kanila, and that’s the one thing as a mom I was determined to fulfill.”
Now that she’s permanently reunited with her children, Cathy’s return to ABS-CBN also serves as a reunion with her TV broadcast “mom” and ABS-CBN Head of Integrated News and Current Affairs, Ging Reyes. Ging and Cathy first worked in The World Tonight and they never lost touch as friends.
With her return, Cathy is full speed ahead in again making a dent in local business news. Why not? Her years of experience in business journalism here and abroad have given her an edge and a global perspective in tracking economic developments in the country and in the region. She dreams of scoring an interview with an industry leader or mover-and-shaker that will make the news because it will be the spark of a much bigger national or international discussion.
We could definitely learn a thing or two from Cathy: First, that no matter how big you make it in the international scene, continue to strive for bigger things; and, second, family comes first.
Anyway, as my final question, I asked Cathy what business advice could she give to a penniless old homosexual like me, and she gamely answered after letting out a laugh: “This is not for just for you at hindi ito gender- or sexual orientation-specific. Everyone of us is trying to earn money to have a better life. It’s save, invest and reinvest. That’s what we try to teach our viewers, and we hope we can educate everyone to do just that. It will be like our public service.”
1 comment
What is the retirement age for ABS-CBN broadcasters (news readers,cmon)? Tina Monzon Palma should call it a day. Her style already sucks at this day and age. Lacking in energy and pizzazz she should just enjoy her senior years.