Howie Severino

Horacio "Howie" G. Severino
Born 1961
Manila, Philippines
Education Tufts University
University of Sussex
Occupation Journalist
Years active 1988-present
Television I-Witness host
News to Go anchor
Spouse(s) Ipat Luna
Children Alon Severino
Parent(s) Amb. Rodolfo Severino and Mrs. Tati Gorospe Severino
Awards PMPC Star Awards for TV
Rotary Journalism Awards

Horacio "Howie" Severino has been a full-time journalist since 1988 and has worked in print, television, and online media. He is one of the Philippines' most awarded journalists.

Background

Education

Howie Severino says he has wanted to be a journalist ever since he was in fifth grade.[1] He graduated from Tufts University in Massachusetts with a History degree, magna cum laude, and received his Master's degree from University of Sussex in UK in Environment, Development, and Policy.

As a college student in Boston in the early 1980s, he got to know then exile Ninoy Aquino. After Aquino's assassination in 1983, Severino returned home to teach at his alma mater Ateneo High School, and join the anti-Marcos movement. He was arrested on the same day as Lino Brocka and Behn Cervantes and detained for eight days in Fort Bonifacio, which was at the time a dreaded army camp and not yet the high-end real estate development hub that it is today.

Career

Severino started as a newspaper reporter and magazine writer in 1988; became a co-founder of the Philippine Center for Investigative Journalism (PCIJ); established himself as a leading documentary filmmaker; and, in 2009, was named Editor-in-Chief of GMA News Online, GMA Network's news website. He stepped down in 2014 after five years, and was appointed GMA Network's Vice President for Professional Development in May 2014.

On TV, he was on The Probe Team for four years with Cheche Lazaro before joining i-Witness, now one of the longest-running public affairs programs in the Philippines.

At the PCIJ, he set up the Center's Environment Desk, built credentials as a leading environmental journalist, and worked closely with Ramon Magsaysay awardee Sheila Coronel. He still produces environmental documentaries for i-Witness and often appears on television riding his mountain bike.

Online, he was the first blogger on GMA's web platforms. His journalistic exploration of emerging media culminated in 2009 with his appointment as GMA Network's Vice President for Multimedia Journalism[2] and his subsequent assignment to helm GMA News Online.

As GMA News Online's Editor-in-Chief, Severino and his team pioneered in the Philippines the use of Google Maps for disaster coverage, Twitter for breaking news, and crowd-sourcing for news gathering.

For professional as well as personal purposes, Severino maintains an active presence on social media, particularly on Twitter and Facebook.

In 2011, Severino became co-anchor of the morning television show News to Go on GMA News TV, alongside Kara David.

Personal life

Severino's parents are Ambassador Rodolfo Severino, former secretary-general of the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) from 1998 to 2002, and Mrs. Tati Gorospe Severino. a former schoolteacher and administrator.

Severino is married to Ipat Luna, an environmental lawyer and TOYM awardee, with whom he has a son, Alon Roberto. In 2012, Alon, 10, was named Best Child Performer by the Aliw Awards for his role in Totong Hilot, a play staged in the Cultural Center of the Philippines during the Virgin Labfest.

Awards and citations

Severino is one of the Philippines' most awarded journalists. His awards include:

In 2007, Severino was inducted to the Rotary Club of Manila's Journalism Hall of Fame[3] after he was named Broadcast Journalist of the Year twice and Investigative Journalist of the Year twice.

In October 2007, GMA Network released "Ten Years of Howie Severino",[4] a DVD compilation of ten of his most notable documentaries. Included on the DVD was Huling Hala-bira, a documentary about a family living under the railroad tracks in Pandacan, Manila, which won second prize that same year in a United Nations-sponsored international broadcast competition.[5]

In a 2009 trust survey conducted by Readers' Digest magazine,[6] Severino was sixth on a list of most trusted Filipinos.

People Asia Magazine, in its June–July 2012 issue,[7] named Severino one of that year's "Men Who Matter".

Filmography

Television shows

TV Specials

References

  1. ↑ Alma Anonas-Carpio (17 August 2006). "Howie Severino: The Quintessential Journalist". Philippine Star. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Howie Severino's LinkedIn profile". Retrieved 20 September 2012.
  3. ↑ Howie Severino (21 June 2007). "Gratitude". GMA Network. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  4. ↑ "Ten Years of Howie Severino". GMA Network. 30 March 2012. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  5. ↑ Jocelyn Dimaculangan (18 July 2007). ""I-Witness" Documentary Festivals takes place on July 21 and 28". Philippine Entertainment Portal. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  6. ↑ "Reader's Digest's 'Most Trusted Filipinos'". Manila Bulletin. 15 March 2010. Retrieved 18 September 2012.
  7. ↑ Lapeña, Carmela. "Howie Severino one of People Asia's 'Men Who Matter'". GMA News Online. Retrieved 20 September 2012.

See also