Friday, March 23, 2007 Sayson: Intern turned media megastar By Homer Sayson Second Overtime
CHICAGO—So that I could broadcast live the Gerry-Peñalosa-Daniel Ponce De Leon WBO title tussle last Sunday, she willingly surrendered a generous chunk of her regular program's time slot at station dyAB.
Like the idiot that I can be at times, I repaid her journalistic philantrophy by murdering her famous name in this column last Monday. But unlike most idiots, I quickly owned up to the misdemeanor and plead guilty to name-misspelling.
I'm talking about Ms. Haide Acuña, the host of dyAB's Bantay Bata offering every Sundays from nine to noon. I refered to her here last Monday as Heidi, as in German uber model Heidi Klum, which is not necessarily a bad thing considering that Ms. Klum, like Ms. Acuña, can stop rush hour traffic.
Haide's climb to fame began in the early 90s, when she interned at The Freeman. I was then that paper's assistant sports editor. And having edited some of Haide's articles, I quickly found out that among her equally-able peers, she was the sharpest knife in the drawer.
She also toiled briefly with us here at Sun.Star Cebu, before working full-time at ABS-CBN-dyAB. Somewhere in between, the STC alum managed to get a law degree from USC. She is now, inarguably, one of the smartest and prettiest lawyers at the power firm starred by the great Bernardito Florido.
Even as a lucrative law career beckons, Haide couldn't shake off her first love -- journalism. Still in her 20s, the adorable daughter of Bien Unido, Bohol is now one of Cebu City's most recognizable faces, her sunshine smile adorns various billboards all across the bustling metropolis.
With multi-media king Leo Lastimosa, Haide co-anchors TV Patrol Central Visayas at ABS-CBN from 6 to 6:30 pm, Mondays through Fridays.
I'm amazed at the incredible success Haide has reached. And I'm even more amazed that the celebrity status hasn't gotten into her mind.
The only difference from the old to the new Haide, really, is that the skinny young girl who walked through The Freeman's doors a decade ago has blossomed into a stunningly gorgeous woman.
Once a recalcitrant intern, Haide has morphed into a confident journalist with the broadcast world on a leash. And as it turned it, she proved to be quite a capable sports co-anchor as manifested by her handling of my Peñalosa fight blow-by-blow coverage.
Thanks for helping me with the Peñalosa fight coverage, Haide. And more power to you!
P.S. TO MS. G. A powerful politician, a renowned doctor, and an accomplished journalist. They all e-mailed, each craving for the picture I took of Ms. G. And when I was finally done going through my Inbox, the photo request reached 27. Wow.
In case you didn't know, Ms. G is the wine-drinking, sex appeal-dripping, heart-attack-inducing beauty I met at the swanky Mandalay Bay hotel in Las Vegas last weekend when I covered the Peñalosa-Ponce De Leon bout.
I did e-mail Ms. G's photo to my editors at the sports section, but I chose not to spread it around my testosterone-oozing male readers. But sorry guys, I can't transport Ms. G image to your personal files.
Although Ms. G is a confessed working girl with a "$400 an hour" asking price, she presumably had expectations of privacy when she posed in front of the digital camera with me. And I'd like to honor those expectations.
