I viewed broadcaster Julius Babao’s interview with Allan K regarding the recent “Eat Bulaga” brouhaha.
Allan said the initial intention of the Jalosjos family’s takeover of the show was to retain him, Jose Manalo and Wally Bayola and kick out the others.
He admitted they were offered twice their present salaries. They refused to accept the offer.
This reminded me of my first foray into media work.
I joined the dyLA newsroom when the late Cerge Remonde was the manager and Leo Lastimosa was the news director.
I was initially a “transcriber,” translating to Cebuano reports from Tagalog newscasts and feeding these to Leo.
Then to augment the reportorial team, I was assigned to the City Hall beat. But things changed rather swiftly.
Leo accepted dyRF’s offer to be the station’s news director, for a higher salary, of course (He later transferred again to dyAB). Then Cerge ran for Congress against the incumbent in Cebu City north, the late Raul del Mar.
With the two major personalities of the dyLA newsroom out, the dyLA news team became even less formidable.
A change in management also changed the station’s formerly pro-news team perspective.
In the ensuing series of reshufflings, l became the news director.
But after the elections, Cerge was not able to return to his old post as dyLA station manager. Instead, he was reassigned to Manila.
The interim station manager became a permanent one. He proceeded to implement his vision of pushing dyLA away from its news orientation and reducing personnel. He sought to kick out most newsroom people and retain only one, a transcriber who would copy other radio stations’ news.
I was by then in a collision course with management.
When the firings started, I decided to quit. I was jobless until The Freeman hired me as a reporter. I didn’t have much clout but survived nevertheless.
Like Allan K, I remained true to my principles. When I look back at those times, I don’t have misgivings. I remember sending my application to then editor-in-chief Cheking Seares of SunStar Cebu. He tasked me to write interviews. But I preferred to be a beat reporter and went to The Freeman instead. And when some of his editors resigned, he sought me out and gave me an offer I couldn’t refuse.
I say that I took a rather circuitous route as far as SunStar is concerned.
Back to “Eat Bulaga,” the controversy has turned out to be a battle of principles. And people will always go for people with values.
One of the moments I could not forget during the previous coups was when heroes become heels swiftly.
Robert Jaworski was a well-loved senator, but when he took the wrong side in one of those coups, he was jeered.
The Jalosjos family and their paid talents are obviously on the wrong side now.
By the way, I am writing this column while I am in the hospital. My blood pressure spiked and would not go down with my usual medication. I had to be admitted. And we all know the problem senior citizens experience in times like this: money.