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By MARGARET CLAIRE LAYUG,
GMA News Online
November 25, 2019
OVER THE LAST 15 YEARS, “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho” has told stories that brought millions of people together in front of their television screens. The show has been collecting awards, winning the ratings game, and dominating the social media sphere.
But unparalleled reach was never the endgame for esteemed journalist Jessica Soho and her team. For the squad behind the most-watched show on Philippine TV, it’s just another tool that allows them to touch hearts, bring people together, and perform service to the public.
This was most apparent in the case of Joel “Jojo” De Carteret.
What happened to him is the subject of the worst nightmare of parents everywhere. In 1985, during a trip to the market, he wandered off a little too far. He never made it home.
Jojo’s mother Herminia had no idea what had happened to her son.
“Lagi ko siyang sinasama sa trabaho kaya lang, noong araw na ‘yun, ‘di ko siya nasama kasi natutulog pa siya. Pag-uwi ko, kinuwento na lang ng kaibigan ko na nawawala na ang anak kong si Joel. Parang nawala ako sa sarili ko, hindi ko alam kung anong gagawin ko,” Herminia said.
“Nawalan na ‘ko ng pag-asa, nagdarasal na lang po sa Diyos na sana, minsan, magkasalubong ‘yung landas namin. Gustong-gusto ko na siyang yakapin.”
For more than 30 years, she would be wracked by nightmares imagining him waking up alone and crying as he walked around the dirty wet market.
Thankfully for Jojo, an Australian couple decided to adopt him. They welcomed him warmly into their home and into their foreign life.
The reunion of Jojo De Carteret with his biological mother Herminia won millions of hearts.
Thousands of miles away, Jojo grew up to be a successful filmmaker.
Still, despite his achievements, he would catch himself breaking down in tears at the thought of never seeing his mother again. “All I want to do is meet you, and know who you are, and let you know that I actually turned out OK.”
One day, Jojo decided to return to the Philippines to try to find his parents down. All he had was a flyer bearing a photo of his younger self, asking “Kilala mo ba siya?”
Deep inside, he feared that the question may never be answered.
Desperate, Jojo shared his story with “Kapuso Mo, Jessica Soho.” His story touched the hearts of millions of viewers, and drew record engagement numbers on social media.
Herminia had seen the episode, but did not realize immediately that Jojo was her long-lost son. Social media gave leads to the KMJS team about the identity of Jojo's mother, allowing them to piece together her identity. With this, he went on Super Radyo dzBB to voice out his message to Herminia. Hearing this, she called into KMJS, setting the stage for the reunion.
And so finally, in June 2017, Nanay Herminia and her son Jojo were together again after more than 30 years apart.
Jessica Soho with NBA superstar Stephen Curry.
Jessica Soho was able to interview the late Anthony Bourdain during one of his visits to Manila.
THE STORY OF JOJO AND HERMINIA made waves beyond Philippine shores. It was featured on “60 Minutes Australia,” which described Jessica Soho as “the Philippines’ answer to Oprah.”
The comparison does not come lightly. She is, after all, the most decorated journalist in the country. She has spoken to some of the most important personalities from the Philippines and abroad, and has taken viewers on exciting adventures across Luzon, Visayas, Mindanao, and beyond.
KMJS remains the most-watched TV program in the Philippines. It has also racked up nearly all local and numerous prestigious international awards, including the George Foster Peabody Award for its coverage of Typhoon Yolanda (2014), which is shared with other GMA-7 newscasts; a New York Festivals Bronze Medal (2019); a US International Film & Video Festival Silver Screen Award (2008 and 2019); and an Asian Creative Academy Award (Philippine Winner, 2019).
Perhaps as impressively, KMJS has evolved into more than just a regular television show.
It has become so embedded in Pinoy pop culture that memes the show has created have gone viral — from the hilarious “diumano” catchphrase to the greatest hits of its resident paranormal expert Ed Calauag.
And it has made its way into the Filipino vernacular: The phrase ‘I-KMJS na ‘yan!’ is not just the show’s tagline, but a verb that Pinoys use to praise any post on social media that deserves widespread attention.
On the beauty queen beat with Jessica Soho: Miss Universe 2015 Pia Wurtzbach, Miss Universe 2018 Catriona Gray, and Miss Universe 1994 Sushmita Sen.
“Sadyang matataba ang utak ng mga Pinoy dahil naiisip nila ang mga ganitong bagay,” says Teresa Ranoco, an Executive Producer of the show.
Few shows have been able to surf the social media waters as well as KMJS. For a lot of Filipinos, the experience begins by clicking on a video that a friend has shared on social media. Minutes later, just like the friend before them, the video would leave them in tears, or plunge them in deeper thought for a longer period of time. In many cases, they reshare the link, too, and the process begins once again.
The numbers don’t lie: the KMJS Facebook page has nearly 11 million likes and over 12 million followers. Jessica Soho alone is followed by 1.3 million. Its videos on YouTube and Facebook have a combined 4 billion views. "#KMJS" is also a fixture among Philippine Trends on Twitter each Sunday night, and often makes it to the Worldwide Trends category.
“We have a very good social media team,” says Lee Joseph “LJ” Castel, the Senior Program Manager of the show. “Alam nila ang kiliti, lenggwahe at liko ng bituka ng netizens.”
But how exactly did KMJS emerge into this Pinoy pop culture phenomenon?
Is it the stories like the “babaeng ahas (snake-woman),” a “cyclops baby,” or a little girl who’s growing breasts and having her period at four years-old? Or is it because of features about young students crafting a “salay” (makeshift cable car) to get to school, opening millions of eyes to the realities of life in far-flung areas?
For Jessica Soho, it’s all of those, and more, thanks to the efforts of the people behind it. “‘Yung mga bumubuo po nito. Hindi lang ho ako.”
Grit. Hindi puwedeng matalino, masipag o magaling ka lang. Dapat may grit ka para ika’y tumagal. Ayon sa manunulat na si Angela Duckworth, ang grit ay pagsasanib-puwersa ng perseverance at passion. Masyadong madugo ang pinagdadaanan ng bawat istorya bago i-ere: Kailangang i-research, bumiyahe sa malayo, kumausap nang maraming tao, mag-shoot. Maraming things to do at obstacles bago ito mai-ere sa telebisyon. Kung hindi ka matibay, hindi ka tatagal sa programang ito. Pero higit sa lahat, dapat may pagmamahal ka sa paglalahad ng kuwento ng kababayan mo. Dahil ang KMJS ay isang programa na nagbibigay rin ng serbisyo publiko, nagiging boses ng masang Pilipino.
Ang kagandahan sa KMJS, magkakaiba kaming lahat. Para kaming Avengers, lahat kami may iba ibang superpowers na kapag pinagsama-sama ito, makabubuo kami ng isang napakagandang obra. Kung meron mang nag-iisang quality ang mga member ng KMJS, ito ang pagkakaroon namin ng culture of excellence.
It takes commitment. Mahirap tumagal sa industriya at programang ito kung hindi mo mahal ‘yung trabaho. Physically and mentally draining siya, plus there’s the weekly pressure to provide good quality content for the audiences, especially since maraming nanonood ng KMJS. Pero kahit nakakapagod at maraming challenges, our love for the show and our commitment to public service keeps us going. Iba rin ‘yung sense of fulfillment when we see how the program can be used not only to entertain, but to inspire and help people as well.
Kailangan may mataas sila parehas: IQ at EQ. Maraming matalinong nag-a-apply... ‘Ah okay mukhang matalino ‘to, mahilig magsulat, creative, aktibo, pabibo, mga ganoon.’ But, at the same time, kailangan kasi meron silang EQ... (Dapat) madiskarte. Tapos tough. Lagi kong sinasabi sa mga ino-orient ko: ‘Mahirap 'yung trabaho, pero magiging madali ito dahil team tayo. Kasi team effort ‘to.’
Hindi lang kami humahanap ng mga researcher na matalino — dapat street-smart ka rin. Dapat madiskarte ka talaga, tsaka dapat may common sense. Dapat nanood ka rin ng programa. Paano ka makakapag-produce ng mga istorya na pang-KMJS kung hindi mo rin alam ‘yung mga stories? Kailangan may mahaba kang pasensya, tibay ng loob at kapal ng mukha.
FOR THE KMJS TEAM, going viral means stories travel far and wide, which in turn means more people become inspired to share their own stories with the show.
They know that massive social media engagement comes with massive responsibility.
“Ang mga istorya, pinag-uusapan talaga, nanganganak pa nga ng kung ano-anong memes, posts, lingo-linggong top trending sa Twitter Philippines ang #KMJS at nakakasama rin sa worldwide trends. Sa madaling salita, napapa-react nito ang sambayanan na mag-isip, may maramdaman, maging kritikal, maging malikhain o kahit pa maging mapaglaro,” LJ says.
“Pero ang gusto ko sa social media engagement ng KMJS, nagagamit din ito para matulungan ang ating mga nangangailangang kababayan.”
Teresa is witness to how the features have changed lives.
“Nakakataba ng puso na after namin i-ere ang isang storya ng mga case studies na nangangailangan ng tulong, babalikan nila kami at sasabihin nila na marami ang nagpahatid sa kanila ng tulong, na sa sobrang laki, nabago pa raw namin ang buhay nila,” she says. “Ang lahat ng ito ay hindi magiging posible kung hindi dahil sa huge following namin sa Facebook.”
Because of this responsibility, the KMJS team checks their inbox thoroughly every chance they get, to make sure they do not miss anything.
Each message could be the start of another story of someone like Jojo De Carteret, where the show could deliver another happy ending.
KMJS interviews are a must for top newsmakers, like world gymnastics champion Carlos Yulo.
The phenomenal AlDub love team opened up to Jessica Soho in 2015.
Heart gestures with Korean girl group Momoland, along with one of their biggest Filipino fans.
AS WE CATCH UP WITH THEM, the KMJS team is still coming down from the Halloween high after its “Gabi ng Lagim” (GNL) episode once again dominated the web and fetched great reviews.
GNL is something of a “mini film festival” among the KMJS team members. Each researcher, producer, and crew goes out on a limb to meet, if not surpass, the KMJS viewers’ high expectations from the special.
And yes, even the staff has not been spared from terrifying encounters while producing the annual scarefest.
“Alam mo 'yung sa editing, bigla kang mapapatayo?” Associate Producer Michelle Symaco recalls an unforgettable experience after shooting “Haunted Hospital,” which was about an abandoned facility in Pampanga where voices of children supposedly still echoed inside, aired in October 2018.
“Hindi ko siya naramdaman nung nandoon ako, pero nung nagpe-preview na kami ng (material), parang dun na naglabasan 'yung shadows, may mga bumubulong, may mga kung ano-ano.”
Katrina, on the other hand, shared what happened to a cameraman after they spent a few days inside a house filled with a peculiar doll collection: “Hindi siya naniniwala sa multo pero may bumubulong daw sa kanya.”
But the team manages to power through.
“Pagka gumagawa ng GNL... talagang isinasantabi namin ‘yung takot. Parang ‘producer mode’ kaming lahat, na hindi dapat matakot,” Joselito says.
Those scares, however, pale in comparison to the fear of failure.
“Nape-pressure kami,” Joselito says. “Hindi pa umeere 'yung 'KMJS Hallowee Special: Gabi ng Lagim', nagte-trending na online, nagte-trend na sa Twitter. Kailangan namin silang bigyan ng quality episode, [something] special na talagang worth ng kuryente nila, worth ng oras nila.”
AMID ALL THE SUCCESS OF THE SHOW, how do they manage to keep it going?
LJ, the Senior Program Manager, credits the viewers who have opened their hearts to KMJS for the past 15 years.
“Para sa mga manonood ng KMJS, ang mainit niyong pagsuporta sa aming programa ang nagsisilbing apoy para lalo naming pag-alabin ang paggawa ng makabuluhang kuwento. Maraming salamat po sa inyong pagmamahal,” he says.
Jessica Soho sees the show continuing to tell stories that resonate with each Filipino.
“Kasi ang KMJS ay kuwento n'yo rin ho. Kuwento nating lahat. So 'yung stories is something na lahat tayo can relate to. Natutuwa ako kasi maski papaano, 'yung mga malalalim o 'yung mga breaking stories o issues sa ating lipunan ay ihahatid pa rin po namin sa inyo,” she says.
To do that, LJ says the KMJS team needs to continue their commitment to excellence.
“Para sa KMJS team, hindi lang 'yung mga current staff pero maging 'yung mga dating naging bahagi ng programa, ang tinatamasang tagumpay ngayon ng KMJS ay dahil sa inyo. Para sa mga nasa loob pa ngayon ng KMJS, ipagpatuloy natin ang pagbuo ng makabuluhang mga kuwento at paggawa ng marka sa kasaysayan ng Philippine Television,” he says.
For Jessica, that is the true victory worth pursuing.
“I measure the program’s success, doon din sa success ng mga kasama ko sa programa. Natutuwa ho kami, siyempre at nagpapasalamat sa inyo dahil kung wala ho kayo, hindi makakarating dito ang KMJS at 15 years, na tayo pa rin ho ang nagku-kuwentuhan tuwing Linggo ng gabi.”
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