What's amiss in regional StarStruck?

There seems to be a problem between the news department and the entertainment ivision of GMA-7 Cebu. It seems to me that they have no unity as far as the pushing of their local shows is concerned. And it seems that the head office is of no help at all.

What makes me say this?

For one, I never saw a news item in either Balitang Bisdak or Buena Mano Balita promoting past local entertainment programs of GMA-7—from Oi Show Nato Ni to Istayl Nato. The ongoing Starstruck V Regional Search is no exception.

Before auditions for the regional search started in Cebu, I was made to understand that there would be month-long activities lined up for all regional finalists. In this way, the finalists will get to introduce and endear themselves to the Visayan viewing public so that when they eventually make it to the national competition, they already have a following here who could be relied on for text votes.

From what I’ve understood, finalists were supposed to do mall shows and appearances in various shows as part of the publicity, so as to invite viewers to follow their journey of dreaming, believing, and surviving. But I understand that budget concerns and/or time constraints forced the shelving of such activities, except for the series of workshops given to the 25 hopefuls, from the more than 400 who auditioned, who made the cut.

Tomorrow, at 10.45 am before SOP, the top three finalists who were sent to Manila for another series of artista tests will be revealed during the final episode of StarStruck V Regional Search. This will be the fourth and final episode. Now, my question is: Did the previous episodes achieve its purpose of introducing and endearing the hopefuls to viewers so that they could count on the Visayan vote if and when they make it to the national Starstruck, which will kick off two weeks from now? Was the Sunday showing of the regional audition and its related activities enough exposure already? Personally, I don’t think so at all and something more could have been done with the help of its regional news department and the head office.

I can’t help but compare how ABS-CBN Cebu’s news and entertainment departments have worked together to promote their respective programs. For example, the plugging of the upcoming episodes of Kapamilya Winner Ka and MagTV Na is done eight times a day, from Mondays to Fridays. This heightens the interest of the viewers to the shows.

As if these were not enough, TV Patrol Central Visayas and Maayong Buntag Kapamilya make it a point to have a final news item every Friday about their entertainment shows’ episodes. With this kind of teamwork, no wonder their entertainment shows really rate and have been there for years.

Sad to say, I don’t see that in GMA-7. I don’t even have to ask or listen to the people behind their news and entertainment departments to notice this.

Then there’s the problem of publicity. You see, tomorrow, as I’ve previously mentioned, is the final episode of the four-week airing of the StarStruck Regional, yet the teaser about it, which has been airing for almost a month now, still shows excerpts from the auditions. In other words, the promotion is really lagging behind, disappointing. 

Why can’t they come up with a specific plugging material that will announce what will happen in the next episode instead of repeating again and again the same ad material—the one that says nobody does it better than the Bisdak and shows participants dancing to the beat of the StarStruck official soundtrack? With a time slot intended for the plugging, why can’t an updated material be instead aired?

From what I understand, one reason behind the holding of a Regional Starstruck was because of the common feedback that previous representatives from Cebu are hardly recognizable here. Because of this, our past bets quickly vanished from the competition since they could not muster enough support via text votes to last longer in the show. With the shortage of publicity, will our next Cebu bets inevitably suffer the same fate?

* * *

Tonight will be the “1st Halad Awit sa Birhen sa Regla Original Songwriting Competition,” which will start at 7pm in the Nuestra Señora Birhen sa Regla Parish National Shrine. The event is spearheaded by its music ministry led by Rev. Fr. Ricky R. Bermudez, MSC and Bro. Jimmy Flores. This activity has been conceptualized due to the fact that the parish has been around for 274 years already, and yet there are only two existing songs dedicated to the Birhen sa Regla—Gozos and O Mahal nga Señora. With the songwriting competition, churchgoers will now hear 13 new songs, which are these year’s finalists. These are:

1. “Agaka Ug Hiusaha Kami” ni Reynante Jumao-as

2. “Mahal Nga Señora” ni Eugene Tan

3. “Birhen Sa Regla” ni Ben Murillo

4. “Atong Kab-oton Ang Kahiusahan” ni Federico Nuñez

5. “O Maria, Birhen Sa Regla” ni Emmanuel Abellana

6. “Daghang Salamat” ni Christian Dioko

7. “Hiusaha Ug Umola Kami” ni Nestor Parame

8. “Kauban Ang Birhen Sa Regla” ni Dominador Llaban

9. “Maghiusa Kita” ni Raul Godinez

10. “Mahal Nga Birhen Sa Regla” ni Carmelina Cagador ug Paulina Antenor

11. “Señora, Birhen Sa Regla ni Bienvenido Espinosa

12. “Among Halad sa Kahiusahan” ni Joey Alburo

13. “O Mahal Nga Birhen Sa Regla” Christian Dioko

Live accompaniment will be rendered by Parokya sa Nuestra Señora De Regla Symphony Orchestra under the baton of Fr. Bermudez. Tickets are priced at P10, P20 and P50 only, which will be used for the shrine’s various projects.

React@[email protected]