GMA Network is the Philippines’ Biggest Winner at the 2015 New York Festivals, bringing home 4 World Medals and 4 Finalist Certificates for its News and Public Affairs programs.
GMA’s late-night documentary program Front Row, led the winners as it bagged the Gold World Medal in the Best Public Affairs Program category for its feature on the neurodegenerative disease Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis (ALS). The documentary took viewers beyond the viral Ice Bucket Challenge and showed the real story behind the disease in the eyes of ALS patients and their families.
GMA afternoon program Reporter’s Notebook won a Bronze World Medal in the Community Portraits category for its “Burak at Pangarap” episode. The story centered on twelve-year-old Junjun whose family was left homeless when a fire razed their home and more than a hundred other houses in Malabon City.
GMA News TV’s Motorcycle Diaries took home a Bronze World Medal in the Human Concerns category for its “Karapatan ng Bata” episode. The episode showed how poverty denies countless Filipino children their basic rights.
GMA News TV’s “May Pag-asa” Station ID, a collection of stories of hope which revealed the little known tragedies and challenges behind the success of the channel’s on-camera personalities, also won a Bronze World Medal in the Station/Image Promotion category.
Four more Finalists recognitions were awarded to GMA Network. These included Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho, Katipunan, Reel Time and “Walang Rape sa Bontok,” one of the winning entries in the first Cine Totoo Philippine Documentary Festival produced by GMA News TV.
The New York Festivals awarded its 2015 winners at a ceremony held at the National Association of Broadcasters’ Conference in Las Vegas last April 14. Now on its 57th year, the Festivals honored the world’s best TV programs and films from among entries submitted by over 50 countries.