1 month ago
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The Philippine Star
February 8, 2025 | 12:00am
Gretchen Ho will go head-on against Karen Davila’s ‘Headstart’ on ANC with ‘Morning Matters’ on Cignal TV’s One News channel. It will be her first solo news-slash-interview program since she moved to the Kapatid network in 2020.
MANILA, Philippines — Gretchen Ho’s TV career has been on a fast track. Barely a decade since she joined news, she has gone from doing soft features for “Umagang Kay Ganda” and travel documentaries to more serious stuff that has seen her in harm’s way at the West Philippine Sea and in Davao City during the Quiboloy manhunt.
Her bosses at One News, Cignal TV’s English news channel, now feel she is ready to go head-on against Karen Davila’s “Headstart” on ANC. “Morning Matters” on Cignal TV’s One News channel will be her first solo news-slash-interview program since she moved to the Kapatid network in 2020. When ABS-CBN lost its franchise, Gretchen thought it best to pick up an offer from TV5 and Cignal TV. The decision to leave Kapamilya was heartbreaking. ABS-CBN News needed to lay off people. As one of the last people in, she knew she had to be among the first out.
Gretchen continued to do sports, her first love, covering the Tokyo 2020 Olympics during the pandemic. But if she wanted to be taken seriously as a journalist, the former Ateneo volleyball star knew she had to move on to doing more than sports. She did not simply want to be a “news reader.” She sat through news story conferences, something uncommon among newscasters. She regularly went through news feeds, engaged story editors and producers in “newsroom talk” and dove into hardcore issues in politics and national security. Along the way, she developed her own contacts and sources.
“As an athlete, I’ve been taught by my coaches to always come to practice knowing what to improve on,” Gretchen said. “As a broadcaster, I come to work every day with the same mindset.”
What makes this move to the morning news a big deal for Gretchen? Her interviewing skills and grasp of issues will be put to the test. The comparison with Karen, a veteran, is inevitable. Karen has undeniable gravitas. Her long years in documentary reporting and news anchoring have made her one of the most influential journalists on television today. Gretchen has high regard for her former Kapamilya colleague. “I grew up watching her on ‘Headstart’ and taking inspiration. We’re good friends. She has always been supportive of me. She is a hard act to follow,” Gretchen said.
Like ANC’s “Headstart,” “Morning Matters on One News” is not a read-only news program. The host can’t rely on what appears on the prompter alone. She, or he, will need to think on the fly when faced with intractable and difficult news sources and interviewees. “You are on your own; there’s no co-anchor to buck stop you when things go wrong,” Gretchen said.
Going up against Karen won’t be easy. Is she ready for the criticisms? “I’m always up for a good challenge,” the athlete in Gretchen said. “But I am mostly competing against myself, to improve on my craft, so that I can serve the public better, may it be in telling stories or asking the questions that need to be asked.”
