Radio station for Pinoys launched in Dubai

Some 650,000 Filipinos in the United Arab Emirates can now get a little taste of home after a radio station for Filipinos started to hit the airwaves on March 25.

With the tagline “Mahal Ko, Music Ko (I love my music),” Arabian Radio Network's "Tag 91.1" plays original Filipino music and Filipino news.

The station is also accessible via smartphones and tablets, marketing head Matthew Johnson said in an interview posted on the Khaleej Times news site.

 

 

“We found out in our research that Filipinos are a distinct audience so adept with technology so we came up with a digital platform that brings the broadcast to them with dedicated iPhone, Android, Nokia and Blackberry apps, and a built-in player on all Samsung Smart TVs,” Johnson said.

He said they spent two years of research into meeting the needs of Filipinos in the UAE.

The result is "the first radio station to target Filipinos ever launched in the Arab world,” he said.

Initially, Tag 91.1 will start airing at 5:00 a.m. and end at 2:00 a.m., with three shows. A fourth show may start next week.

Johnson said the new station is targeting Filipinos between 25 and 34 years old. In the last five years, ARN had been airing Filipino programming from midnight until 6:00 a.m. on Dubai Eye 103.8.

"With over 25,000 Facebook friends, ARN is responding to the huge demand from the Filipino community. This time by setting up a Filipino radio channel,” he said.

Recruitment

Johnson also said program director Roy Lampera went to Manila to "recruit the best presenters in the top two radio stations" there.

He said Tag 91.1 will thus have "the world’s best Filipino presenters, best marketing and best program director to ensure its commercial success."

Tag 91.1 was launched with an "all-Filipino" lineup of broadcasters, and has signed 11 long-term ads with sponsors.

Its website www.tag91.1.ae was also launched on Sunday. - VVP, GMANews

 

source: gmanetwork.com

FM jock accused of harassing teen star

The mother of teen actress Bea Binene has sought the help of the police after a popular disc jockey of an FM radio station owned by  GMA Network Inc. allegedly threatened to release “sensitive” photographs and videos of her daughter.

In a complaint for child abuse filed on Sept. 3 in the Criminal Investigation and Detection Group (CIDG), Carina Binene accused Dan Christian Villanueva, 29— known to listeners of dwLS FM as Papa Dan—of blackmailing, harassing and spreading rumors about her 14-year-old daughter, an exclusive talent of GMA 7.

“As a parent, I want him to stay away from and stop threatening my daughter because her career [in show business] may go to waste and affect her personal life,” the mother said in her affidavit, a copy of which was given to the Inquirer Wednesday.

“I pity my daughter because of the fear and trauma she has been experiencing … I want him punished for what he has done to all of us, especially my daughter,” she added.

According to her, she recently learned that Villanueva has been taking swipes at her and her daughter in his radio program and on Twitter.

Stories, claims

“I have been hearing stories from many people that [Villanueva] will destroy my daughter’s name. He is also claiming that they were in a relationship,” she said.

“He also warned my daughter that he would kill himself if she stays away from him,” she added.

The Inquirer tried to get Villanueva’s comment but a staffer of the radio station said the disc jockey usually arrives late at night. Villanueva is the host of “Wanted Sweetheart” in which he plays matchmaker to callers, according to the GMA Network website.

In a letter to Senior Supt. Emma Libunao, chief of the CIDG  Women and Children’s Protection Desk, the lawyers of Binene’s family, Ferdinand Topacio and Joselito Lomangaya, asked for help in pursuing the case against the DJ.

“We are also relaying to you officially the request of our client for the confiscation of the mobile phone and portable computer of [Villanueva] since, according to [Bea Binene], the same contain photographs and videos of a sensitive nature that may tend to prejudice the name and reputation of our client,” they said.

A senior CIDG official who declined to be identified for lack of authority to speak to media said that Bea—Beanca Marie Binene in real life—was afraid that Villanueva would make public videos showing them in “intimate situations.”

‘Blackmail’

“From what we gathered, [she] had a brief relationship with Villanueva. The young actress apparently wanted to end their relationship but Villanueva refused and started to blackmail her,” the CIDG official said.

“While Bea Binene may have consented to enter into a relationship, Villanueva could still be held for child abuse because [Bea] is a minor,” the source added.

According to the actress’ mother, Bea met Villanueva in several events hosted by GMA 7, including a “Grand Fans Day” held on March 12 last year at a mall in Sta. Mesa, Manila.

Soon after, she said Villanueva started calling her daughter on her cell phone and visiting  her at their house in Novaliches, Quezon City.

Binene said she started to suspect the disc jockey’s intentions when the phone calls and house visits became more frequent.

At one point, she said she confronted Villanueva and warned him against pursuing Bea.

“He said he knew that my daughter is a minor and that he only wanted to befriend her,” she added.

After a few months, Binene said they were shocked to learn that Villanueva had moved to a place in front of their house. She claimed they repeatedly asked him to leave but he refused.

source: http://newsinfo.inquirer.net/273838/fm-jock-accused-of-harassing-teen-star