I was kind of surprised when I found out that CNN Philippines was, well, a thing. I've been a long…read moretime viewer of CNN's global news network. Whenever people ask me why I know so much about global issues, I always tell them that I mostly just watch CNN. CNN's aggressive coverage, pointed commentary and tendency to deal with an expansive set of issues has sort of become the formative roots of my worldview. That's why, when I was channel surfing, I was really happy to find that CNN has brought its brand to the Philippines and created a local news network. I was excited, and was hoping that CNN has brought its type of attitude to journalism to the local news sphere. It's not that. For the most part, it's probably because CNN Philippines is in its infancy stages. It's not a fully developed TV network, and it's fairly slow coverage, blah production values and inability to get the people actually related to the issues to interview is probably a result of that. It's not a bad station; the endeavor is admirable and they cover most of the relevant news items, however, it's still quite lacking. There is the framework of an intelligent news station present there, but it needs a few more years in the oven. Maybe I'll start watching it regularly in around half a decade. Hopefully, it'll survive until then.

As reality-drenched and weird MTV is the US is, MTV Philippines has managed to, surprisingly, be…read moreall about the music. The thing I like the most about MTV PH is that it doesn't syndicate reality shows or run animated comedies, they just focus on the music element that makes MTV what it is. Even MYX often plays random in-house reality contests or campus interview shows. MTV really just plays music almost around the clock. As for their music programming, MTV is highly hit based. Unlike MYX, they don't play older or weird alternative tracks that often. They also don't indulge in Karaoke hits. For the most part, they stick to their local or global charts, with some occassional live concert footage or K-Pop music. MTV's real appeal is that it's the kind of TV channel that you can just play int he background when you're having like a party or have friends together and you're just doing something completely different.

Jack TV is, well, essentially the male counterpart to ETC. If you check, they actually have some…read moreoverlapping shows if they are unisex oriented. For example, Glee showed at the exact same time on Jack TV and ETC for the duration of the series' life. Jack TV shows plenty of male-oriented TV shows, primarily sitcoms, action shows, and odd sketch shows. Jack TV is actually a pretty great station, with very consistent programming. Just watch Jack TV for a few hours and you will recognize its male skew. They show literally all of the DC superhero shows (Gotham, Arrow and Flash), stuff like Saturday Night Live and The Jamie Kennedy Experiment, and a few solid drama shows like Suits and Hannibal (which is my favorite show on TV, so that's great). Jack TV, in my opinion, probably contains some of the best shows that you can find on a Filipino channel. Sure, you kind of have to sift through some not so great shows, but it's overally a very high quality channel.

ETC is essentially the female version of Jack TV. Yeah, if you read my Jack TV review, I literally…read morestarted it by saying "Jack TV is the male version of ETC" but it's just true. ETC shows mostly highly female skewed programs. To be totally honest, I don't particularly like a lot of the shows on ETC, and it's not just because I'm a dude. There's a few things worth watching, particularly some of their comedies, but a lot of their shows are a little trasy. I used to watch lots of ETC back when American Idol was still on this channel. After American Idol sort of faded away, I didn't really have much of a reason to watch ETC considering it was mostly filled with celebrity news, Kardashian shows and rich girls having fun onscreen. They also have shows I vehemently dislike like Pretty Little Liars and Beauty and the Beast, but if these sound like shows you like, I guess ETC should be the station for you.

ETC is one of the best channels on cable TV right now. Not only do they perfectly capture the young…read moreFilipino audience, they are hip, trendy and awesome themselves. ETC is essentially a channel for females and I am the perfect target market. They present all their shows in a fun and vibrant aura, not to mention their up-to-date shows compared to U.S. airing. Some of my favourite shows are The Vampire Diaries, Glee, The Originals, New Girl, Modern Family, and Beauty and the Best. But TMZ holds a special funny place in my heart. I'm happy I no longer need to resort to illegal downloading just to watch my favorite shows. Commercials are also limited making them the viewing experience a lot better.

STAR World is kind of some weird unisex middle ground between JACK TV and ETC, except from a…read moretotally different network. STAR World generally has a weird mix of programs from the two - a few crime dramas, a few romances and generally "girl-oriented" shows, and a few reality shows. But generally, for me at least, Star World is mostly a Cupcake Wars and Masterchef machine. They mostly air these two TV shows on after the other, so it makes for a good food reality contest binge. Their other programming is... ayt? They have plenty of good shows that I follow, like New Girl a few months back or fun shows like Revenge or Scandal. The main problem with Star World is that most of these episodes are delayed. Unlike a lot of stations that have match airing or same-day telecasts, the bulk of Star World shows air quite a bit late. By that point, most people will have watched it online. However, it's still a decent station.

The credibilty of local news and current affairs channels has always been subject to speculation…read more While I like giving people the benefit of the doubt, some media outlets are clearly more subjective than others. Talks claim that Maria Ressa left her old job to start a media company that is truthful and objective. And Rappler was born out of that vision. This media outlet has brought credible news, the most heart-warming stories and the funniest articles I have ever read. The way they deliver news is unlike any other media outlet in the Philippines. I greatly admire not only their style of writing but also the truthfulness in every story that they publish. I really hope they keep up with this kind of unique and compelling way of delivering information. It also helps that they make use of social media to their advantage.

I carry so much respect for former CNN correspondent/news anchor Maria Ressa so when I heard that…read moreshe was spearheading a local digital news outlet, I knew from there on out where I would be getting my news from. To this day, Rappler remains one of my foremost news sources because I trust them to be wholly objective. Rappler is ever-present on Twitter, Facebook and Instagram as well. Their views never seem skewed or contrived unlike other news sources that I shall keep myself from specifying. I'm glad that Rappler is giving other news sources in the country a run for their money as a little competition is always good for consumers. Rappler has truly changed the way that we acquire news in the Philippines.