Daily newspaper in the Philippines
The Philippine Star
|
|
Front page from March 19, 2018
|
Type
| Daily
newspaper
|
---|
Format
| Broadsheet
and
News 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
|
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Publisher
| Philippine Star Printing Co., Inc.
|
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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
; 37 years ago
(
1986-07-28
)
(13,816 issues)
|
---|
Political alignment
| Centre-left
|
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Language
| English
|
---|
Headquarters
| The Philippine Star Building, Amvel Business Park, Dr. Arcadio Santos Avenue corner Sucat Road,
San Dionisio, Paranaque
,
Metro Manila
[2]
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City
| Manila
|
---|
Country
| Philippines
|
---|
Circulation
| Mon?Sat: 262,285 (2012)
[3]
Sunday: 286,408 (2012)
[3]
|
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Sister newspapers
| BusinessWorld
Pilipino Star Ngayon
Pang-Masa
The Freeman
Banat
|
---|
OCLC
number
| 854909029
|
---|
Website
| philstar.com
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|
The Philippine Star
(self-styled
The Philippine STAR
) is an English-language newspaper in the
Philippines
and the flagship brand of the Philstar Media Group. First published on July 28, 1986, by veteran journalists
Betty Go-Belmonte
,
Max Soliven
and Art Borjal, it is one of several Philippine newspapers founded after the
1986 People Power Revolution
.
Its sister publications include business newspaper
BusinessWorld
; Cebu-based, English-language broadsheet
The Freeman
; Filipino-language tabloids
Pilipino Star Ngayon
and
Pang-Masa
; Cebuano-language tabloid
Banat
, online news portals Philstar.com, PhilstarLife.com,
Interaksyon
(formerly with
News5
), LatestChika.com, 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 the
PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund
, after the company purchased a majority stake in Philstar Daily, Inc.
The Philippine Star
is among the Philippines' most widely circulated newspapers, with an average circulation of 266,000 copies daily, according to the
Philippine Yearbook
2013
.
History
[
edit
]
Founding
[
edit
]
The Philippine Star
was first published seven months after the 1986 People Power Revolution that toppled
strongman
Ferdinand Marcos
and propelled
Corazon Aquino
to the
Philippine 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 the
Martial Law era
from 1972 to 1981.
[5]
At that time, Belmonte was the publisher of a small, monthly magazine called
The Star
, a predecessor of
The Philippine Star
.
[1]
On December 9, 1985, a few months before the 1986 People Power Revolution, Belmonte, Soliven, and Borjal, together with
Eugenia Apostol
,
Louie Beltran
, and
Florangel Rosario-Braid
, founded the English-language newspaper
Philippine 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 the
Inquirer
's
founders, which led to Belmonte, Soliven, and Borjal's founding of
The 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 first
editor-in-chief
until his resignation in 1989.
Early years
[
edit
]
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 at
Manila
's
Luneta 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 of
The Philippine Star
was 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 publishing
Starweek
on February 15, 1987, which served as the Sunday magazine of
The 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 of
Starweek
. Aside from
The Philippine Star
, Philstar Daily, Inc. also started publishing a Filipino-language tabloid
Ang Pilipino Ngayon
, which eventually became
Pilipino Star Ngayon
and its other sister papers
Business Star
and
Evening 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 Star
became 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 of
SMS
as a means for
opinion polling
, thus becoming a pioneer in
televoting
in the Philippine print media industry. It was the beginning of other digital endeavors that brought the newspaper to the
Digital Age
. In 2000, the newspaper debuted its website,
philstar.com
, thus becoming one of the first newspapers in the Philippines to have a presence in the
Internet
. In the same year, the company began using
computer-to-plate
printing 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 Star
entered into a partnership with
fast food
restaurant
Jollibee
in 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 Jollibee
breakfast meal
.
On August 24, 2004,
The Philippine Star
acquired
Cebu City-based
English-language newspaper (which is also the longest running newspaper in the city)
The Freeman
and its sister publication, the
Cebuano-language
tabloid
Banat
as part of its strategy to strengthen its presence and influence in the Visayas-Mindanao region.
The Freeman
is the longest-running broadsheet newspaper in Cebu City, established on May 10, 1919, while
Banat
was 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 in
Tokyo
, 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.com began as an online repository of
The 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, the website is operated by Philstar Global Corp.
[9]
Acquisition by MediaQuest Holdings
[
edit
]
As early 2009, businessman and
PLDT
chairman
Manuel V. Pangilinan
had expressed his interest in acquiring a stake in
The Philippine Star
in 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 rival
Philippine Daily Inquirer
. In 2014, MediaQuest finally took control of
The Philippine Star
after 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 Star
acquired the 76.67-percent stake of Hastings Holdings, Inc. in its sister broadsheet
BusinessWorld
in 2015. The transaction was done to enhance to its market leadership and to strengthen
BusinessWorld
's
position in the newspaper business.
[11]
Notable columnists
[
edit
]
Opinion
[
edit
]
- Betty Go-Belmonte
†, journalist and founding chairman of
The Philippine Star
; wife of former
House Speaker
Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.
- Louie Beltran
†, journalist and former editor-in-chief of the
Philippine Daily Inquirer
- Max Soliven
†, journalist, founding publisher and former chairman of the Editorial Board of
The Philippine Star
.
- Teddy Benigno
†, journalist, talk show host and former
Press Secretary
during the
Corazon Aquino administration
.
- Ricky Lo
†, Former entertainment writer, showbiz commentator, and TV host.
- Ernesto Maceda
†, lawyer, former Philippine ambassador to the US and former
Senate President
.
- F. Sionil Jose
†, writer, novelist and
National Artist of the Philippines
for Literature.
- Alex Magno
, political scientist and academician from the
University of the Philippines
. He was a former director of the
Development Bank of the Philippines
.
- Satur Ocampo
, activist, journalist, writer and former
congressional representative
for
Bayan Muna
party-list
group.
Entertainment
[
edit
]
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 of
Lifestyle Asia
magazine.
- Lucy Torres
, actress, model, television host and
congressional representative
of the
4th District of Leyte
.
- Bianca Gonzalez
, lifestyle columnist, TV host and model.
Sports
[
edit
]
Others
[
edit
]
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
a
b
c
d
Lopez, Jade (2012).
"Betty Go-Belmonte: A Filipino Chinese Breaking Barriers"
.
Review of Women's Studies
.
University of the Philippines Diliman
. Retrieved
August 15,
2014
.
- ^
Arcellana, Juaniyo (November 21, 2023).
"So long, Port Area: The STAR makes its move"
. The Philippine Star
. Retrieved
November 27,
2023
.
- ^
a
b
"Communications"
(PDF)
.
Philippine Yearbook 2013
. Manila, Philippines:
Philippine Statistics Authority
. Retrieved
August 4,
2016
.
- ^
a
b
c
Yu, Doreen (July 28, 2011).
"The beginnings of The Philippine Star"
.
The Philippine Star
. Archived from
the original
on May 15, 2019
. Retrieved
May 6,
2014
.
- ^
Ramirez, Joanne Rae (January 28, 2014).
"20 years later, Betty Go-Belmonte shines on"
.
The Philippine Star
. Archived from
the original
on September 28, 2018
. Retrieved
August 15,
2014
.
- ^
Demecillo, Jean Marvette (July 22, 2019).
"The FREEMAN: A century of fair and fearless journalism"
. The Freeman
. Retrieved
September 12,
2020
.
- ^
Jarque-Loop, Honey (August 2, 2012).
"
'Freeman' celebrates its 93rd anniversary"
. The Freeman
. Retrieved
September 12,
2020
.
- ^
Lacamiento, Grace Melanie (February 22, 2019).
"The Freeman celebrates 100th year"
.
The Freeman
. Retrieved
September 12,
2020
.
- ^
Mendoza, Gemma B. (December 27, 2022).
"Battle of the Stars"
.
Rappler
. Retrieved
May 25,
2024
.
- ^
Agcaoili, Lawrence (April 1, 2014).
"MVP gets 51% of Star"
.
The Philippine Star
. Archived from
the original
on September 17, 2018
. Retrieved
August 5,
2014
.
- ^
"Philstar acquires 77-percent of BusinessWorld"
. Interaksyon.com. July 9, 2015. Archived from
the original
on March 13, 2016
. Retrieved
July 10,
2015
.
External links
[
edit
]
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Mobility
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Fixed-line
| |
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Internet
| |
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Technology
| |
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Outsourcing
| |
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Media
| |
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| Key executives
|
- Jane J. Basas (President and CEO, Cignal TV)
- Guido R. Zaballero (President and CEO, TV5 Network)
- Raul Dela Cruz (General Manager, Nation Broadcasting Corporation)
- Miguel G. Belmonte (President and CEO, Philstar Media Group/Hastings Holdings)
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Broadcast media
| Radio
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Free-to-air television
(
TV5
/
NBC
)
| |
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Freemium / pay television
(
Cignal TV
)
| |
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Overseas television
(Pilipinas Global Network)
| |
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Direct broadcast satellite
/
digital TV providers
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Philstar Media Group
| Print newspaper
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Magazine
| |
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Digital media
|
- G/ST
- Philstar Digital
- LatestChika
- Philippine Star Life
- Wheels.ph
|
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Production companies
| |
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Miscellaneous assets
|
- CineFilipino
- MQuest Ventures
- MQ Live
|
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Corporate social responsibility
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See also
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Defunct/former
| |
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- Annual revenue
:
PHP
169.19 billion (
FY
2019)
[1]
- Net income
:
PHP
22.79 billion (
FY
2019)
[2]
- Employees
: 18,784 (2019)
- Stock symbol
: (
PSE
:
TEL
)
|
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The market's newspapers and magazines are also sold in the
nationwide
market.
|
Broadsheets
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Tabloids
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Magazines
| |
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Foreign language broadsheets
| |
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Online-only newspapers and news portals in the
Metro Manila
market
| Newspapers
| |
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News portals
| |
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|
| Broadsheets
| |
---|
Tabloids
|
- Bagong Tiktik
- Balita sa Hapon
- Banat
- Bosero
- Headline
- Imbestigador
- Metro Times
- Opinyon
- People's Monitor
- Pinoy Times
- Remate Tonight
- RP Daily Expose
- Sikat
- Taliba
- Tanod
- Toro
- Tumbok
- WE Forum
|
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