GMA News Pillar Jessica Soho is first-ever Filipino to be named as NYF Best News Anchor finalist

GMA News Pillar Jessica Soho marks another milestone in Philippine broadcast history, this time around becoming the very first Filipino news anchor to become a finalist at the prestigious New York Festivals Television & Film Awards.

Soho is shortlisted in the Best News Anchor category for GMA News TV’s flagship newscast State of the Nation with Jessica Soho (SONA).

Soho holds the distinction of being the country’s most awarded broadcast journalist with nearly 300 local awards and more than 30 international awards to date.

She is also the first Filipina recipient of the highly acclaimed George Foster Peabody Award for her documentaries on the illegal trade of kidneys and the harrowing plight of Filipino boxers. She is a 7-time recipient of the “Most Trusted News Presenter” award of Reader’s Digest Asia.

Known for giving depth and context to news headlines, State of the Nation with Jessica Soho remains one of the most trusted news programs on Philippine television today.

Over the years, SONA’s credibility in handling interviews has already caught the attention of foreign and local newsmakers. In 2013, Soho was the only media professional invited by the United Nations (UN) for a one-on-one interview with then UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon during his visit to the Philippines in the aftermath of Super Typhoon Yolanda.

SONA won a Silver Screen Award at the 2013 U.S. International Film and Video Festival (USIFVF) for its special coverage of the 2012 monsoon rains. A year before that, the evening newscast took home the Certificate for Creative Excellence from the same award-giving body for its episode on the outcome of Typhoon Sendong.

In 2013, GMA Network’s coverage of Super Typhoon Yolanda—including that of SONA—won the prestigious George Foster Peabody Awards. The said award is considered as the Oscars of broadcast and electronic journalism.

Soho also hosts the top-rating magazine show Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho and is the chief correspondent/ host of the investigative news magazine program Brigada.

Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho remains as the most-watched show on its time block, and at the same time is always one of the trending topics in the Philippines every Sunday night. Recent data gathered by the industry’s most-trusted ratings service provider Nielsen TV Audience Measurement showed that KMJS was the most watched GMA program nationwide for the whole month of February.

In documentary program Brigada, on the other hand, Soho leads the next generation of “Brigada” reporters as they discuss relevant stories and issues.

A member of the GMA family throughout her career, Soho started as a news reporter covering the military and defense beats. In 1991, her report on the hostage crisis in Cagayan Valley in northern Philippines earned a Bronze Award in the New York Film and Television Festival. She served as First Vice President for News Programs of GMA Network until 2014.