Philstar

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), Latest Chika, Wheels.PH, PropertyReport.PH, Multiverse.PH and TV/digital production unit Philstar TV.^[1]

Founding

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. 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. At that time, Belmonte was the publisher of a small, monthly magazine called The Star, a predecessor of The Philippine Star.^[1]

Early years

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. Aside from the main news section, the first issue also includes the World, Nation, Money, Life and Sports sections.^[1]

Soliven era

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.^[1]

Miguel Belmonte era

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.^[1]

Acquisition by MediaQuest Holdings

As early as 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, MediaQuest Holdings, Inc., the media conglomerate of the PLDT Beneficial Trust Fund, acquired a 20-percent stake in the newspaper, as well as an 18-percent stake in its rival Philippine Daily Inquirer.^[1]

Opinion

Betty Go-Belmonte, journalist and founding chairman of The Philippine Star; wife of former House Speaker Feliciano Belmonte, Jr.^[1]

Entertainment

Boy Abunda, television host, publicist, talent manager and celebrity endorser.^[1]

Lifestyle

Tim Yap, TV and radio host, newspaper editor, creative director, columnist, club owner and eventologist.^[1]