Pinay journalist bags Emmy award

BACOLOD CITY, Philippines – Filipina journalist Henni Jay Espinosa was honored in Bacolod City for winning an Emmy award in the US last June.

In a resolution unanimously approved last week, the Sangguniang Panlungsod (SP) of Bacolod bestowed  the honor on the 35-year-old Bacolod native.

Councilor Sonya Verdeflor authored the resolution.

Espinosa, a multi-awarded senior reporter and substitute anchor of ABS-CBN International-The Filipino Channel’s Balitang America, won the Emmy as the host, executive producer and writer for “The Filipino Champions of SOMA” under the Public/Current/Community Affairs-Program special category.

The Emmy is an important recognition in the television industry.

This is reportedly the first Emmy award for ABS-CBN News and Current Affairs.

The Filipino Champions of SOMA is the first full-length news documentary that a Filipino journalist had produced for a Filipino-owned company.

It features three Filipinos in the South of the Market in San Francisco, who do extraordinary things for the community.

It was aired worldwide through TFC last year, and was eventually featured on  Public Broadcasting Service, the most prominent provider of high quality television programs to US public television stations.

The eldest child of Henry and Ninfa Espinosa, Henni was born and raised in Bacolod City.

She finished her elementary and high school education at St. Scholastica’s Academy-Bacolod, and her Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication at the University of the Philippines-Diliman in 1999.

In 2000, Henni received a full scholarship from the Rotary Club of Georgia to take her Masters in Communication at Georgia State University in Atlanta.

In 2004, the Northside Community Center awarded Henni the Jose Rizal Community Hero Award for giving a voice to the Filipino community through her stories.

The California Senate gave her a certificate of recognition for receiving the award.

In 2011, Henni received the Media Bayani Award from BAYAN-USA for her “bravery, integrity, and excellence in journalism.”

That same year, the Filipina Women’s Network chose Henni as one of the 100 Most Influential Filipina Women in the US.