Probe (Philippine TV series)
Encyclopedia
Probe Profiles was a Philippine
public affairs program being aired on ABS-CBN
and on its sister cable channel, the ANC
. It is hosted by Cheche Lazaro
and is produced by Probe Productions Inc., under a joint co-production agreement with ABS-CBN.
The show, considered as the pioneer television news-magazine in the Philippines, started airing in 1987 on ABS-CBN, with Lazaro, Maria Ressa
(formerly ABS-CBN News head and former CNN
Jakarta
bureau chief), and Luchi Cruz-Valdez
(currently TV5 News and Information Head and former ABS-CBN Current Affairs head as well as former GMA Network
executive) at the helm. After nine months, it moved to GMA Network as a blocktimer. It was in GMA where The Probe Team had its longest run in its history. The show recently ended on June 30, 2010.
Probe Productions Inc. was a product of the euphoric period. Convinced that Filipinos need more than just the news, four pioneering journalists – Cheche Lazaro, Maria Ressa, Luchi Cruz-Valdez, Tony Velasquez, and Angie Ramos – adopted the investigative newsmagazine format and called the television program Probe. The project, which was first broadcast over ABS-CBN, turned out to be the country’s first, most awarded and longest-running, investigative newsmagazine show.
To make investigative pieces a main fixture in Philippine television, the group put up its own production house and continued with what it started. Operating from a small bedroom, the show’s one-hour reports were broadcast as monthly specials by a new television station—GMA Network. After the third telecast, in response to enthusiastic reviews, GMA gave The Probe Team (Probe’s new name) a weekly slot. The first weekly telecast began in May 1988.
The Probe Team, or Probe Profiles, is known for fearlessly exposing the hard truths in Philippine society. No non-sense and hard-hitting, Probe tackles pressing societal concerns through the eyes of various stakeholders and calls a spade a spade. It engenders a deeper understanding and appreciation of issues by way of stories that capture the hearts and minds of viewers.
in 2003, its contract with GMA was terminated. As a result, it moved to ABC
, and renamed the show The Probe Team Documentaries.
The show returned to its original home, ABS-CBN, in 2005, and was retitled back to Probe. It has continued the tradition of airing provocative documentaries and investigative reports. On June 17, 2009, it was known as Probe Profiles.
Philippines
The Philippines , officially known as the Republic of the Philippines , is a country in Southeast Asia in the western Pacific Ocean. To its north across the Luzon Strait lies Taiwan. West across the South China Sea sits Vietnam...
public affairs program being aired on ABS-CBN
ABS-CBN
ABS–CBN Corporation is a Philippine-based media conglomerate. It is the Philippines' largest media and entertainment conglomerate. The corporation was the merger of Alto Broadcasting System which at that time owned by James Lindenberg and Antonio Quirino, and the Chronicle Broadcasting Network ...
and on its sister cable channel, the ANC
ABS-CBN News Channel
ABS-CBN News Channel or better known as ANC is the Philippines first 24-hour news channel broadcasting both in cable television domestically and in satellite television internationally via The Filipino Channel, owned and operated by the ABS-CBN Corporation under its ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs...
. It is hosted by Cheche Lazaro
Cheche Lazaro
Cheche Lazaro, , is an acclaimed Filipino broadcast journalist and the founding President of Probe Productions Inc.-Profile:...
and is produced by Probe Productions Inc., under a joint co-production agreement with ABS-CBN.
The show, considered as the pioneer television news-magazine in the Philippines, started airing in 1987 on ABS-CBN, with Lazaro, Maria Ressa
Maria Ressa
Maria A. Ressa is a Filipino journalist, and author of Seeds of Terror, a book published by Free Press that contains blow-by-blow account of the hideouts of Al-Qaeda in Asia....
(formerly ABS-CBN News head and former CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
Jakarta
Jakarta
Jakarta is the capital and largest city of Indonesia. Officially known as the Special Capital Territory of Jakarta, it is located on the northwest coast of Java, has an area of , and a population of 9,580,000. Jakarta is the country's economic, cultural and political centre...
bureau chief), and Luchi Cruz-Valdez
Luchi Cruz-Valdez
Luisita “Luchi” Cruz-Valdez is a Filipino broadcast journalist formerly affiliated with the GMA News and Public Affairs and the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs...
(currently TV5 News and Information Head and former ABS-CBN Current Affairs head as well as former GMA Network
GMA Network
GMA Network is a major commercial television & radio network in the Philippines. GMA Network is owned by GMA Network, Inc. a publicly listed company...
executive) at the helm. After nine months, it moved to GMA Network as a blocktimer. It was in GMA where The Probe Team had its longest run in its history. The show recently ended on June 30, 2010.
History
After more than two decades of censorship and repression, press freedom was immediately restored with the dismantling of the Marcos dictatorship by a popular revolt in 1986. Media ownership was turned over to an enthusiastic private sector eager to take advantage of the newfound democratic space.Probe Productions Inc. was a product of the euphoric period. Convinced that Filipinos need more than just the news, four pioneering journalists – Cheche Lazaro, Maria Ressa, Luchi Cruz-Valdez, Tony Velasquez, and Angie Ramos – adopted the investigative newsmagazine format and called the television program Probe. The project, which was first broadcast over ABS-CBN, turned out to be the country’s first, most awarded and longest-running, investigative newsmagazine show.
To make investigative pieces a main fixture in Philippine television, the group put up its own production house and continued with what it started. Operating from a small bedroom, the show’s one-hour reports were broadcast as monthly specials by a new television station—GMA Network. After the third telecast, in response to enthusiastic reviews, GMA gave The Probe Team (Probe’s new name) a weekly slot. The first weekly telecast began in May 1988.
The Probe Team, or Probe Profiles, is known for fearlessly exposing the hard truths in Philippine society. No non-sense and hard-hitting, Probe tackles pressing societal concerns through the eyes of various stakeholders and calls a spade a spade. It engenders a deeper understanding and appreciation of issues by way of stories that capture the hearts and minds of viewers.
PAGCOR Controversy
Due to a controversy surrounding one of its features which involved a Philippine government official close to President Gloria Macapagal-ArroyoGloria Macapagal-Arroyo
Gloria Macapagal-Arroyo is a Filipino politician who served as the 14th President of the Philippines from 2001 to 2010, as the 12th Vice President of the Philippines from 1998 to 2001, and is currently a member of the House of Representatives representing the 2nd District of Pampanga...
in 2003, its contract with GMA was terminated. As a result, it moved to ABC
Associated Broadcasting Company
The Associated Broadcasting Company, Inc is a television network in the Philippines, with main broadcast facilities and transmitter located at 762 Quirino Highway, San Bartolome, Novaliches, Quezon City. The network was previously known as the , Associated Broadcasting Company remains the legal...
, and renamed the show The Probe Team Documentaries.
The show returned to its original home, ABS-CBN, in 2005, and was retitled back to Probe. It has continued the tradition of airing provocative documentaries and investigative reports. On June 17, 2009, it was known as Probe Profiles.
Probe Alumni
- Cecilia Lazaro - Host, Founder and President of Probe
- Maria RessaMaria RessaMaria A. Ressa is a Filipino journalist, and author of Seeds of Terror, a book published by Free Press that contains blow-by-blow account of the hideouts of Al-Qaeda in Asia....
-former CNN Jakarta Bureau Chief; former Vice President for News and Current Affairs, ABS-CBN - Luchi Cruz-ValdezLuchi Cruz-ValdezLuisita “Luchi” Cruz-Valdez is a Filipino broadcast journalist formerly affiliated with the GMA News and Public Affairs and the ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs...
- Vice President for News and Information, TV5 - Nessa Valdellon - Vice President for GMA News and Public Affairs
- David Celdran - News Director and Anchor, ANC; PCIJ
- Manny Ayala - National Geographic Singapore
- Apa Ongpin
- Ditsi Carolino - Documentarist
- Marga OrtigasMarga OrtigasMargarita Ortigas, better known as Marga Ortigas, is the Manila-based correspondent for Al Jazeera English.She recently received a special prize from the International Committee of the Red Cross for Humanitarian Reporting...
- Manila Bureau Chief, Al-Jazeera - Angie Ramos- Producer, Reuters Singapore
- Karen DavilaKaren DavilaKaren Davila or Kristin Karen Davila in real life is an award-winning broadcast journalist, one of the most-admired TV news personality, Filipina TV Host and News Anchor from ABS-CBN. She is one of the news anchor of Bandila and Headstart with Karen Davila on ANC...
- Anchor, Bandila ABS CBN; host , Headstart ANC - Pauline Mangilog-Saltarin - Creative Director, Jesuit Communications Foundation, Contributing Producer, Caldecott Productions/NHK Japan
- Ruben Canlas - Professor and Consultant
- Carol Gancia - Filmmaker/Writer - Ripplemakerstv.com, Producer/Director - Layaco Media, Producer - Google, Associate Producer - KQED TV San Francisco, former Executive Producer - I-Witness on GMA-7
- Angelina Cantada - Independent Filmmaker, former Executive Producer, I-Witness on GMA-7
- Tony Velasquez - Anchor, ANC
- Twink Macaraig - Anchor, ANC
- Howie Severino - Host, I-Witness GMA 7; Editor-in-Chief, GMANews.tv; PCIJ
- Love Anover - Host, Unang Hirit, GMA 7
- Jay Cesora Orense - Former Executive Producer for various GMA Public Affairs shows, Author "Silence Speaks", Program Manager TV5 News and Information
- Bernadette SembranoBernadette SembranoBernadette Lorraine Palisada Sembrano Aguinaldo also known as Bernadette Sembrano or Ate B is a popular reporter, newscaster and television host in the Philippines...
- Anchor, TV Patrol Weekend ABS CBN; host, Salamat Dok ABS CBN - Pinky WebbPinky WebbJoanna Marie Pagaspas Webb, known as Pinky Webb is a news anchor on the Philippine television channels ABS-CBN and ANC as well as the radio station DZMM...
- Anchor, ANC; host, XXX and Umagang Kay Ganda ABS CBN - Eliza Zamora-Solis - Former Executive Producer, I-Witness and Case Unclosed GMA 7; Senior Correspondent TV5 News and Information
- Ella Evangelista - Program Manager, GMA 7 Public Affairs
- Karen Lumbo - Program Manager, GMA 7 Public Affairs
- JM Cobarrubias - Program Manager , GMA 7 Public Affairs
- Michaela Cabrera - Fulbright Scholar at Columbia University; Producer and Reporter, Reuters Manila
- Rolly Ng - Cameraman , Reuters Manila
- Kathy Quiano - Reporter/ Producer CNN Jakarta
- Rene Santiago - former cameraman CNN Jakarta: Chief cameraman TV5
- Garlic Garcia - Headwriter/Creative Consultant, ABS CBN Entertainment
- Abbie Lara - Director , I -Witness, GMA 7
- Joseph LabanJoseph LabanJoseph Israel Laban is an award-winning Filipino journalist and independent filmmaker. He worked for the Philippine television programs The Probe Team and Reporter's Notebook of GMA News and Public Affairs...
- Fulbright Scholar at NYU; Managing Producer GMA 7; Contributing Producer, New York Times; PCIJ, Cinemalaya Director - Lloyd Navera - former Executive Producer and Director, I-Witness; Program Manager, GMA 7 Public Affairs
- Minette Tirona, Program Manager, GMA 7
- Inky Santiago - Nakpil , Contributing Manila Producer, CNN, Discovery Channel and BBC
- Lolita Lachica - Producer, English Current Affairs, Channel NewsAsia
- Robert Alejandro- Graphic Artist
- Adrian Ayalin - Media Officer, US Embassy; Reporter Government News and Public Affairs Group-RPN; Anchor, NewsWatch RPN
- Alexis Loinaz- Managing Editor, Metromix New York
- Nike Lorenzo - Contributing Producer, Al-Jazeera Manila
- Kara Magsanoc-Alikpala - Managing Director, Asianeye Productions; Contributing Producer, CNN
- Leogarda Sanchez-Matias - Assistant Vice President for Public Affairs, GMA7
- Macky Recinto Fernando - Marketing Manager, Probe Productions, Inc. Special Projects Division
- Albert Sumaya Jr. - Segment Host Unang Hirit and Pinaka, GMA 7; Executive Producer Day Off GMA News TV
- Celery Aganon - Program Manager, GMA 7 News TV
- Akiko Thomson - Olympic swimmer
- Ricky CarandangRicky CarandangRicky Carandang - is a Filipino News Anchor of ABS-CBN and ANC correspondent. On July 9, 2010 He resigned in ABS-CBN to become a part of the communications team of President Benigno Aquino III. He serves spokesperson under Presidential Communications Group - Early Life and Career :Ramon “Ricky”...
- Malacanang Spokesman