KENNETH PORIO | the blog

This is Part One of a series of  posts on how Filipinos do not prefer British-style news presentation. The BBC News brand so recognized all over the world. Since CNN International was busted out from our TV subscription, I didn't have any time to watch live international news on TV. I've long since resorted to podcasting through my music player or watching video clips from my laptop. After a few months after I was unable to watch CNN, I then resorted to the next accessible international news channel we have in our area, BBC World News . Since those days, I've had to endure hearing newsreaders present the news in an accent many Filipinos aren't conformed with, that is, the standard British accent, specifically Received Pronunciation variant. George Alagiah presents BBC News at Six Amercianized as we are, not many Filipinos are well-versed to the English language that is spoken throughout the European continent, and in many parts of the world where...

CNN's Kyung Lah talks to a local woman seeking for pagpag. CNN International has been running reports on the Philippines through its Eye On... series. The week-long coverage will cover the best sites of the Philippines, the emerging economy, its governance and current issues like poverty. Speaking of poverty, the news network broadcasted this report by Kyung Lah about a practice that is happening in the depressed slums of Manila. Pagpag is a Tagalog term which means "to dust off." But in the context of these poverty-stricken communities, pagpag is food thrown off by restaurants that are being recovered by these poor people and are being re-cooked for their consumption. Dennis Villegas made an excellent write-up on pagpag and how it has been affecting the urban poor community. This report clearly shocked a lot of Filipinos who could afford to subscribe to cable television and watch CNN. Reactions from social media indicate this is a report that ...

 Maria Ressa , outgoing ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs chief, was featured in a special episode of ANC's STORYLINE . The stories that shaped her, from her childhood, her education at Princeton University, her stint at the Probe Team, her career at CNN, and her leadership in ABS-CBN News. I watched this episode on ABS-CBN while I was staying in a relative's house in rural Panabo City. I tweeted that whole evening about the powerful messages Ressa has shared in that special. She is beyond compare when she relayed this statement, to quote: I am a journalist... I am also a Filipino. Another quote, relating to the August 28 hostage crisis: Women have more balls than men .  That's to relate women currently leading TV news organizations in the country, namely Maria Ressa in ABS-CBN, Jessica Soho of GMA and Luchi Cruz-Valdez in TV5. Enjoy watching the 3-part video on YouTube. Feature in this blog is the first part of the special. KENNETH

CNN's Christiane Amanpour on Maguindanao massacre, last November 24, 2009. She interviewed Maria Ressa, former ABS-CBN news chief and former CNN reporter, and Mustafa Haji Abdinur, Somalian journalist. What on earth spurred this massacre in southern Philippines?  -Christiane Amanpour Part 1: Part 2: KENNETH

I've been watching CNN International for the past 4 years, and what a beautiful 4 years it has been for the world's leading 24-hour news channel. However, many are still ranting about the slow and painful revamp that this network took into their brains. Come to think of it, the CNN of 2006-2008 has been called by many CNN enthusiasts to be the "golden age" because of its very comprehensive and innovative aesthetics. The images, sets and graphics you see are very linear, clear, bright and fresh, just like any contemporary design of today. The overall look was unobtrusive; it did not distract me from the picture, the video and the anchor .   This is your brain. Anjali Rao is so beautiful here. I wanna glue to the TV all mornin'. As days pass the 2008-2009 look of CNN became too much blue and red. Yes, BLUE and RED. The graphics of the studios became too dark and depressing. Like, would you wake up just to see something gloomy and boring in the morning on C...

Do you think CNN is booooooooring? Think again. I get to watch a compilation of CNN International bloopers and mistakes on YouTube. Enjoy! KENNETH

From CNNObservations.com : After more than twenty-five years at CNN, eighteen of those as an International Correspondent, Christiane Amanpour is leaving CNN at the end of April to head to a post as host of This Week on ABC beginning in August. Amanpour joined CNN in 1983 as an entry-level assistant on the CNN international assignment desk at the network's World Headquarters in Atlanta, GA. She worked from there to become a correspondent in the New York bureau before becoming an International Correspondent in 1990. Her weekday interview program, Amanpour , on CNN International premiered in September 2009. In 2007, Amanpour earned the title of Commander of the Most Excellent Order of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II for her "“highly distinguished, innovative contribution” to journalism. Since joining CNN, Amanpour has earned an inaugural Television Academy Honor, nine News and Documentary Emmys, four George Foster Peabody Awards,...

What's your motto when you want news? "Be the First to Know"? or "Go Beyond Borders"? That's the question of many CNN International enthusiasts when CNNI rebranded last September 2009. CNN International is the channel for international audiences and is the sister network of US-based CNN Domestic, the channel mainly for US/Canada audiences. In an informal poll from CNNFan.org, a global forum on CNN enthusiasts, here were the results as of this writing: Do you prefer the old or new CNN International? Poll runs till December 8th, 2010, 2:49 am I definitely prefer the new one with the new primetime lineup.  17%  [ 4 ] I definitely prefer the old one.  70%  [ 16 ] No preference  13%  [ 3 ] Total votes : 23 Many prefer the CNN International ...

Wouldn't it be nice if news anchors made a report on the launch of a video game featuring a famous rock band of long ago? A report last September on the video game "The Beatles-Rock Band" got the anchors of CNN International - Hong Kong rocking and beating in with the music of this fun game. Anna Coren, Kristie Lu Stout, Andrew Stevens and Eunice Yoon tried the video game with its initial launch. I never thought Anna and Kristie sings well. (laughs) The way Andrew flicked those drumsticks were awkward but, well, enjoying. Eunice got those guitars flicking well too. If only Anjali Rao were there too... KENNETH

From having you "be the first to know" , now CNN International makes you " go beyond borders" . Since 21 September 2009, CNN International got its new on-air look and feel, with its new tagline to "Go Beyond Borders". I don't know why I'm fond of CNN right now. CNN makes news more exciting for me. I don't know what I get from the CNN effect... KENNETH

Eunice Yoon, CNN Asia Business Editor did a coverage in the Philippines during the Ketsana-Parma double disaster. Embedded video from CNN Video Embedded video from CNN Video Embedded video from CNN Video You can help at CNN.com/Impact . KENNETH

CNN.com posted an article about " The 12 most annoying types of Facebookers " which is about types of Facebook users who become an annoyance, and NetworkWorld via BusinessWeek posted " 12 Words You Can Never Say in the Office " which is about the 12 tech terms that are becoming obsolete. Being a Facebook and Twitter user, with a sense of knowing what's in and what's out in the tech world, I took the interest to dig in. Here's a video from the CNN.com article about comparing and contrasting Facebook and Twitter, and three people discuss about Facebook's and Twitter's usability and popularity. Embedded video from CNN Video There's a quiz included in the article and my result: Chances are you are a popular resident on Facebook whose articles are interesting to read. Keep posting! Maybe I'm not annoying after all in FB. The 12 tech terms that are becoming obsolete, according to the NewsWeek article, are as follows: Intranet, Extra...

CNN's TalkAsia featured the 2009 Cannes Film Festival Best Director Brillante Mendoza. Here are the clips from the program: Embedded video from <a href="http://www.cnn.com/video">CNN Video</a> KENNETH