The Philippine Star
| Truth Shall Prevail[1] | |
 | |
 Front page from March 19, 2018 | |
| Type | Dailynewspaper |
|---|---|
| Format | BroadsheetandNews website |
| Owner(s) | PhilStar Daily, Inc. MediaQuest Holdings(51%) Belmonte family (21%) Private stock (28%) |
| Founder(s) | Betty Go-Belmonte Maximo V. Soliven Art Borjal |
| Publisher | Philippine Star Printing Co., Inc. |
| President | Miguel G. Belmonte |
| Editor-in-chief | Ana Marie Pamintuan |
| Associate editor | Millet M. Mananquil Doreen G. Yu Marichu A. Villanueva |
| Managing editor | Romel A. Lara |
| Sports editor | Nelson T. Beltran |
| Founded | July 28, 1986 (13,864 issues) |
| Political alignment | Centre-left |
| Language | English |
| Headquarters | The Philippine Star Building, Amvel Business Park, Dr. Arcadio Santos Avenue corner Sucat Road,San Dionisio, Parañaque,Metro Manila[2] |
| City | Manila |
| Country | Philippines |
| Circulation | Mon–Sat: 262,285 (2012)[3] Sunday: 286,408 (2012)[3] |
| Sister newspapers | BusinessWorld Pilipino Star Ngayon Pang-Masa The Freeman Banat |
| OCLCnumber | 854909029 |
| Website | philstar |
The Philippine Star(self-styledThe Philippine STAR) is an English-language newspaper in thePhilippinesand the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalistsBetty Go-Belmonte,Max Solivenand Art Borjal, it is one of several Philippine newspapers founded after the1986 People Power Revolution.
Its sister publications include business newspaperBusinessWorld;Cebu-based, English-language broadsheetThe Freeman;Filipino-language tabloidsPilipino Star NgayonandPang-Masa;Cebuano-language tabloidBanat,online news portals Philstar, PhilstarLife,Interaksyon(formerly withNews5), LatestChika, Wheels.PH, PropertyReport.PH, Multiverse.PH and TV/digital production unit Philstar TV.
In March 2014, the newspaper was acquired by MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., a media conglomerate subsidized by thePLDT Beneficial Trust Fund,after the company purchased a majority stake in Philstar Daily, Inc.
The Philippine Staris among the Philippines' most widely circulated newspapers, with an average circulation of 266,000 copies daily, according to thePhilippine Yearbook2013.
History[edit]
Founding[edit]
The Philippine Starwas first published seven months after the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppledstrongmanFerdinand Marcosand propelledCorazon Aquinoto thePhilippine presidency.[4]Before its establishment, founders Betty Go-Belmonte, Max Soliven and Art Borjal were veteran journalists involved in the "Mosquito Press", a collective name for the different newspapers critical of the Marcos administration that were published after theMartial Law erafrom 1972 to 1981.[5]At that time, Belmonte was the publisher of a small, monthly magazine calledThe Star,a predecessor ofThe Philippine Star.[1]
On December 9, 1985, a few months before the 1986 People Power Revolution, Belmonte, Soliven, and Borjal, together withEugenia Apostol,Louie Beltran,andFlorangel Rosario-Braid,founded the English-language newspaperPhilippine Daily Inquirer,which soon became the Marcos administration's most vocal critic. However, after the revolution, questions about finances and a divergence of priorities caused a rift among theInquirer'sfounders, which led to Belmonte, Soliven, and Borjal's founding ofThe Philippine Star.Belmonte served as the founding chairman of the Board of Directors, while Soliven acted as the founding publisher and chairman of the editorial board.[4][1]Antonio Roces served as the firsteditor-in-chiefuntil his resignation in 1989.
Early years[edit]
 | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Mass media |
| Founded | 1986 |
| Founder | Betty Go Belmonte |
| Headquarters | The Philippine STAR Building, Amvel Business Park, Dr. A. Santos Avenue, Sucat, 1700 Parañaque City |
Key people | Victorico P. Vargas (Chairman) Miguel G. Belmonte (President and CEO) Carlos R. Dizon (CFO) |
| Products | Printpublishing,digital media,OOH,television production,event management |
| Brands |
|
| Owner | PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund |
| Parent | MediaQuest Holdings |
| Subsidiaries | BusinessWorld Publishing Corporation (majority stake) Philstar Daily, Inc. Philstar Global Corporation Pilipino Star Ngayon, Inc. |
The first issue of the newspaper on July 28, 1986, had eight pages, no advertisements and carried the headline, "Wear yellow and die" that featured the death of 23-year-old Stephen Salcedo, a bystander killed by a mob of Marcos loyalists during a rally atManila'sLuneta Park.The masthead of the newspaper carried the motto, "Truth Shall Prevail", reflecting its editorial policy of presenting both sides of the story instead of the prevailing "scoop mentality" of that time.[1]Aside from the main news section, the first issue also includes the World, Nation, Money, Life and Sports sections.
The first issue ofThe Philippine Starwas printed at Philstar Daily, Inc.'s printing press in Port Area, Manila and made use of a blue and yellow color scheme, which eventually became its signature colors. For its initial price of ₱1.75, the newspaper had an initial print run of "a few thousand copies".[4]
At first, the newspaper was only published from Mondays to Saturdays because Belmonte prohibited work on Sundays. To capitalize on Sunday readership, Philstar Daily, Inc. began publishingStarweekon February 15, 1987, which served as the Sunday magazine ofThe Philippine Star.Eventually, in 1988, the newspaper added a Sunday issue in response to the demand for news on that day, while continuing its publication ofStarweek.Aside fromThe Philippine Star,Philstar Daily, Inc. also started publishing a Filipino-language tabloidAng Pilipino Ngayon,which eventually becamePilipino Star Ngayonand its other sister papersBusiness StarandEvening Star.
Soliven era[edit]
With the sudden death of Belmonte due to cancer on January 28, 1994, Soliven assumed chairmanship of the Board of Directors while retaining his position as publisher. He appointed Belmonte's 30-year-old son, Miguel Belmonte, as executive vice president. In the same year, the newspaper made use of the slogan "The only paper you read from cover to cover", in keeping with the new editorial policy of improving every single section of the paper so each can stand on its own even without the main news section. On August 4, 1995,The Philippine Starbecame the first Philippine broadsheet newspaper to publish a colored front page.
Miguel Belmonte era[edit]
In 1998, the Board of Directors unanimously appointed Miguel Belmonte as president and CEO, while Soliven remained as chairman of the board of directors and publisher. The following year, the newspaper introduced "Hotline 2000", which made use ofSMSas a means foropinion polling,thus becoming a pioneer intelevotingin the Philippine print media industry. It was the beginning of other digital endeavors that brought the newspaper to theDigital Age.In 2000, the newspaper debuted its website,philstar,thus becoming one of the first newspapers in the Philippines to have a presence in theInternet(the website itselfwould later launched its own editorial team and began publishing news articles independently since 2009). In the same year, the company began usingcomputer-to-plateprinting system. In that year too, Miguel's brother, Isaac Belmonte, was appointed editor-in-chief of the newspaper.
To further expand its readership,The Philippine Starentered into a partnership withfast foodrestaurantJollibeein 2003 to become the first newspaper to be distributed free of charge in a fast food restaurant. A complimentary copy of the newspaper was given to Jollibee patrons nationwide for every purchase of a Jollibeebreakfast meal.
On August 24, 2004,The Philippine StaracquiredCebu City-basedEnglish-language newspaper (which is also the longest running newspaper in the city)The Freemanand its sister publication, theCebuano-languagetabloidBanatas part of its strategy to strengthen its presence and influence in the Visayas-Mindanao region.The Freemanis the longest-running broadsheet newspaper in Cebu City, established on May 10, 1919, whileBanatwas first published on August 23, 1994. Both newspapers are owned by the influential Gullas political family.[6][7][8]
The newspaper lost its founding publisher after Soliven died inTokyo,Japan on November 24, 2006. Isaac Belmonte eventually replaced him as publisher and chairman of the editorial board in 2012. Former executive editor Ana Marie "Amy" Pamintuan serves as current editor-in-chief after replacing Isaac Belmonte in 2012.
Philstar began as an online repository ofThe Philippine Star.In addition to this, however, the website has begun producing its own content and has a separate editorial team. While Philstar Daily Inc. operates the newspaper and social media platforms as well as niche websites, the website is operated by Philstar Global Corp.[9]
Acquisition by MediaQuest Holdings[edit]
As early 2009, businessman andPLDTchairmanManuel V. Pangilinanhad expressed his interest in acquiring a stake inThe Philippine Starin a bid to dominate the multimedia industry. The following year, Pangilinan's MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., the media conglomerate of PLDT, acquired a 20-percent stake in the newspaper, as well as an 18-percent stake in its rivalPhilippine Daily Inquirer.In 2014, MediaQuest finally took control ofThe Philippine Starafter it acquired a majority stake of 51 percent in the newspaper. The Belmonte family retained a 21-percent stake, as well as management and editorial control. MediaQuest chairman Pangilinan has since appointed lawyer Ray Espinosa as chairman of the newspaper's board of directors.[10]
The Philippine Staracquired the 76.67-percent stake of Hastings Holdings, Inc. in its sister broadsheetBusinessWorldin 2015. The transaction was done to enhance to its market leadership and to strengthenBusinessWorld'sposition in the newspaper business.[11]
Notable columnists[edit]
Opinion[edit]
- Betty Go-Belmonte†, journalist and founding chairman ofThe Philippine Star;wife of formerHouse SpeakerFeliciano Belmonte, Jr.
- Louie Beltran†, journalist and former editor-in-chief of thePhilippine Daily Inquirer
- Max Soliven†, journalist, founding publisher and former chairman of the Editorial Board ofThe Philippine Star.
- Teddy Benigno†, journalist, talk show host and formerPress Secretaryduring theCorazon Aquino administration.
- Ricky Lo†, Former entertainment writer, showbiz commentator, and TV host.
- Ernesto Maceda†, lawyer, former Philippine ambassador to the US and formerSenate President.
- F. Sionil José†, writer, novelist andNational Artist of the Philippinesfor Literature.
- Alex Magno,political scientist and academician from theUniversity of the Philippines.He was a former director of theDevelopment Bank of the Philippines.
- Satur Ocampo,activist, journalist, writer and formercongressional representativeforBayan Munaparty-listgroup.
Entertainment[edit]
- Boy Abunda,television host, publicist, talent manager and celebrity endorser.
- Joey de Leon,comedian,actor,recording artistand TV presenter. He hosts the noontimevariety showEat Bulaga!(formerlyE.A.T.)
- Pepe Diokno,motion picture director, producer and screenwriter.
Lifestyle[edit]
- Tim Yap,TV and radio host, newspaper editor, creative director, columnist, club owner and eventologist.
- Cheryl Tiu,lifestyle columnist and editor-at-large ofLifestyle Asiamagazine.
- Lucy Torres,actress, model, television host andcongressional representativeof the4th District of Leyte.
- Bianca Gonzalez,lifestyle columnist, TV host and model.
Sports[edit]
- Quinito Henson,sports analyst and TV sports commentator.
Others[edit]
See also[edit]
References[edit]
- ^abcdLopez, Jade (2012)."Betty Go-Belmonte: A Filipino Chinese Breaking Barriers".Review of Women's Studies.University of the Philippines Diliman.RetrievedAugust 15,2014.
- ^Arcellana, Juaniyo (November 21, 2023)."So long, Port Area: The STAR makes its move".The Philippine Star.RetrievedNovember 27,2023.
- ^ab"Communications"(PDF).Philippine Yearbook 2013.Manila, Philippines:Philippine Statistics Authority.RetrievedAugust 4,2016.
- ^abcYu, Doreen (July 28, 2011)."The beginnings of The Philippine Star".The Philippine Star.Archived fromthe originalon May 15, 2019.RetrievedMay 6,2014.
- ^Ramirez, Joanne Rae (January 28, 2014)."20 years later, Betty Go-Belmonte shines on".The Philippine Star.Archived fromthe originalon September 28, 2018.RetrievedAugust 15,2014.
- ^Demecillo, Jean Marvette (July 22, 2019)."The FREEMAN: A century of fair and fearless journalism".The Freeman.RetrievedSeptember 12,2020.
- ^Jarque-Loop, Honey (August 2, 2012)."'Freeman' celebrates its 93rd anniversary ".The Freeman.RetrievedSeptember 12,2020.
- ^Lacamiento, Grace Melanie (February 22, 2019)."The Freeman celebrates 100th year".The Freeman.RetrievedSeptember 12,2020.
- ^Mendoza, Gemma B. (December 27, 2022)."Battle of the Stars".Rappler.RetrievedMay 25,2024.
- ^Agcaoili, Lawrence (April 1, 2014)."MVP gets 51% of Star".The Philippine Star.Archived fromthe originalon September 17, 2018.RetrievedAugust 5,2014.
- ^"Philstar acquires 77-percent of BusinessWorld".Interaksyon. July 9, 2015. Archived fromthe originalon March 13, 2016.RetrievedJuly 10,2015.