And here’s the latest on Miss K

There’s something in the air – or to put it pat, the airwaves. Broadcasters are saying – and sharing – their piece on the Juetengate scandal. "In the middle of all this, a broadcaster assumes a very crucial role – he has to be very responsible and think before he says anything," says Korina Sanchez of ABS-CBN’s Balitang K and Isyu 101. "If you remember, the EDSA Revolution was catapulted by Radio Veritas and June Keithley. Broadcasting is arguably the medium of the millennium. I can go on radio and TV at the same time, and reach as many people from as far as America instantly."

Recently, we watched Korina tackle a one-on-one interview with Ilocos Governor Chavit Singson who made the jueteng expose. "His house was not as heavily guarded as I thought it would be," Korina recalls. "Maybe Chavit knows his former friend President Erap all too well to even think he’d be attacked in his own house. However, he did seem disturbed. If I were to read his mind, I’d say he was harboring some kind of regret that his long, long friendship with Erap ended this way. I believe it’s a case of a deep friendship gone sour."

With emotions running high and the peso sinking lower and lower, a journalist’s best bet, according to Korina, at a time like this is to report things as they are and be as objective as possible. "I personally would like to adhere to the Constitution," she asserts. "I’ve been going around with lawyers for quite sometime. My ex-boyfriend of six years is a lawyer. My partner on TV, Ted Failon, is a law student. That’s why my mind has been trained to think in a legalistic manner."

But being a commentator and not just a news reader, Korina finds herself in a quandary. "You have to give both sides equal air time. For every single point or argument raised, you have to bring both sides on the table. You have to make it clear, ‘Sabi ni ganito, ganito. Sabi ni ganon, ganon.’ Mahirap. But it’s very challenging to test and find out if you can do a balancing act. I’ve been wanting to interview the President but I think he’s well advised not to speak at this time."

Almost everybody, including former President Cory Aquino, has given a piece of his/her mind on this headline-hogging issue that it’s coming out of our ears. But Korina wants to know: "What was it that Cory heard or was told that convinced her to finally fall off the fence and take a particular stand?"

Korina believes that Cory should tell the people what she knows.

Did Korina get a call from Malacanang after that interview with Chavit?

"They wouldn’t dare," comes the quick reply. "Nobody would dare."

But who was this very eager government official who, in the wake of the jueteng issue, called up Korina to ask for a one-on-one – off cam, that is? And to think that this arrogant politician once snubbed Korina at an affair where they were seated right beside each other.

Lately, this seasoned broadcaster who’s weathered many a political storm has been in the eye of some controversies herself.

Issue #1: Was it Korina being alluded to in a blind item that appeared in another paper as the superstar anchor of Channel 2 who castigated Wilde Almeda for giving an exclusive interview to another anchor person whom she branded as immoral?

Korina airs her side: "It’s the farthest from the truth and God is my witness. Both the cameraman and the reporter who were there even recorded my phone conversation with Lina Almeda. Even everybody from the Jesus Miracle Crusade said the report with its dubious source was not true. They wrote to the paper to set the record straight but it was never published. I even received a veiled threat that if I insisted on that letter being published, they would hit on me again. Some columnists have this delusion that everybody is scared of them and nobody would fight back."

Korina is not hitting back – not yet anyway. "But if I were to file a case in court, I know I would win it because about 20 people called me up and they weren’t asking if it was me in the blind item; they were asking if it really happened."

Issue #2: Was it Korina being referred to in another blind item in the same paper as the broadcaster who was seen slipping out of telenovella idol Fernando Carillo’s room at Mandarin Oriental Hotel one early morning? Mama Mia! Que Horror! Was she that desperate to bag this prize Latino hunk after her boyfriend dumped her?

Here’s Korina’s unedited confession: "Yes, we did go out once but that was it. When he came to town, he called me up several times from Iloilo where he went for an official function. I avoided talking with him but finally, he got through. He asked if we could meet that weekend but I was going out of town. He then asked if I was free the following day for dinner and I said I was. We agreed to meet after dinner at about 10 p.m. at a restaurant in Makati because by then, there wouldn’t be too many people. He came more than an hour early. We ordered goat cheese salad, foie gras and caviar. He had two orders of caviar. We ate, drank some wine and talked and talked until about a little past 1 a.m."

Nope, after the midnight snack, Fernando Jose didn’t have Korina for dessert. They left the restaurant – in separate cars.

"He’s back in the US but last Oct. 5, when I celebrated my birthday, he sent me flowers," adds Korina, looking fresh as the morning dew after a daylong taping.

So who’s been spreading those nasty rumors about Korina?

"That paper said their source was somebody from my own department at ABS-CBN," Korina points out. "I should have listened to my mother. She’s been telling me all this time, ‘Korina, especially in your department, never believe you have friends.’ How can I inspire such hostilities when all I do is work very hard? I don’t gossip. I hardly talk, I just talk to my staff. I’m tough on my staff but ultra friendly and helpful to everybody else."

Korina wraps it up, thus: "I want to be Christian about it but being a fighter which is what my job is, I and my lawyer will get to the bottom of this."

This gutsy broadcaster who’s tangled with many public officials will not take this one sitting down.