GMA Network News

infobox television
bgcolor=#000000
fgcolor=#FFFFFF
show_name = GMA Network News


caption = GMA Network News logo (1994-2002)
format = News program
Live action
camera =
picture_format = 480i SDTV
runtime = 30 minutes
creator = GMA Network
developer = GMA News and Public Affairs
starring = Various
country = flagicon|Philippines Philippines
language = English (1991-1998)
Filipino (1998-2002)
country = Philippines
network = GMA Network
first_aired = June 23, 1991
last_aired =October 19, 2002
num_episodes = n/a (airs daily)
imdb_id =
preceded_by = GMA Headline News
followed_by = (weekdays)
(weekends)

"GMA Network News" is the former late-night English newscast of GMA Network from 1991 until it was later replaced by in 1999.

Background

The weekday edition first aired in 1991 as a replacement for "GMA Headline News" with Tina Monzon-Palma (who then moved to ABC) and Leslie Espino (who replaced Jose Mari Velez on the newscast after his death). The first team of anchors was composed of Espino, Vicky Morales (who also had a brief stint as the third anchor on "Headline News") and two new recruits from rival stations-- Mari Kaimo (from PTV) and Risa Hontiveros-Baraquel (from IBC). Meanwhile, Marga Ortigas did the weather report. Espino and Ortigas would bow out of the newscast after a couple of years.

In 1997, the newscast was given a new set, new theme music, and a sleeker opening ident and graphics package. In the opening ident, Kaimo gave a sneak peek of the night's headlines with clips from the specific news items, after which, Mike Enriquez (and later, GMA continuity announcer Al Torres) provided the voice-over, "From the award-winning GMA News and Public Affairs team, this is GMA Network News..." to introduce the newscast and its anchorpersons. Rachel del Mar became the program's new weather girl, who would always end the segment (then retitled "GMA Weather Center") with "This is Rachel del Mar, your all-weather friend."

However, Kaimo and Hontiveros eventually left the newscast as well. The former would move to ABS-CBN (to host The Correspondents and the Studio 23 newscast News Central), while the latter ran for party-list representative in Congress. Morales became sole anchor of the newscast while it prepared for a reformat, while the opening voice-over was eventually dropped from the opening ident.

In 1998, Enriquez joined Morales as co-anchor. It became the first Filipino newscast to do stand-up news delivery (inspired by US TV network newscasts). It also made a gradual shift in the language it used, first to "Taglish" (a mixture of Tagalog and English), then Filipino after a few months. The newscast became the first late-night news program in Filipino on Philippine television. This is also the first news program where the anchors are standing up.

Enriquez used his signature close, "Thank you for trusting GMA", which became "Marami pong salamat sa inyong pagtitiwala" (when the newscast switched to Filipino) to end the newscast. The latter closing line was also used by Enriquez in Saksi (when he and Morales transferred to the said newscast in 1999 after the premiere of on the late-night slot) and on his DZBB radio program. Mel Tiangco would later use the same closing line until now on 24 Oras.

Meanwhile, the newscast's weekend edition aired from 1996 to 2002, first, with Raffy Marcelo and Georgette Tengco, then Gin de Mesa, and finally, Bernadette Sembrano. The weekend edition also switched to news delivery in Filipino at the same time the weekday edition did. "GMA Network News" continued to be the weekend newscast's title until 2002, even as the weekday edition gave way to "Frontpage" in 1999.

Anchors

* Leslie Espino (1991-1993)
* Mari Kaimo (1991-1998)
* Vicky Morales (1991-1999)
* Mike Enriquez (1998-1999)
* Risa Hontiveros (1991-1998)
* Raffy Marcelo (weekend anchor)
* Rachel Del Mar (Weatherwoman from 1997-1999)
* Marga Ortigas (Weatherwoman from 1991-1993)
* Georgette Tengco (weekend anchor)
* Bernadette Sembrano (weekend anchor from 1999-2002)
* Gin De Mesa (weekend anchor)

Awards

* Winner, Best News Program - PMPC Star Awards for Television (1995, 1998, 1999, & 2000)

ee also

*GMA News and Public Affairs
*List of shows previously aired by GMA Network