I’m not a professional book critic. In fact, my experience in critiquing books is only limited to tête-à-têtes with friends about the latest paperbacks we’ve read. I call them my superbook friends. Not because we’re profound readers but we like reading. This group informally started when we had a discourse about PS I Love You—yes, that Sweet Dreams book that broke a million teenage hearts back in the 1980s and 1090s. It was also the book that introduced me to the name Mariah.
So now that you know my “credentials” in book critiquing, I hope my readers will still deem me credible in my review of Charo Santos-Concio’s book, titled My Journey: The Story of an Unexpected Leader.
Known to millions of Filipinos as simply “Charo”, the woman behind local TV’s longest-running drama anthology Maalaala Mo Kaya, Santos-Concio has worn many hats in her storied career, culminating in her becoming ABS-CBN’s CEO and chief content officer. As the probinsyana-turned-model, beauty queen, actress, producer and executive looks back on her journey as a leader, she dons another hat—this time, as teacher.
Santos-Concio regales readers with an insider’s look at the inner workings of the media industry in a way that only an expert storyteller can do. She takes readers to her early days as a TV producer for ABS-CBN, and even when she was met with doubt and hostility.
She looks back on her life and career, retracing the struggles and triumphs as an insider during some of Philippine media’s most pivotal moments. She tells the story of breaking barriers in vivid detail, recalling her sheltered childhood, her experiences with some of the most legendary Filipino filmmakers, her foray into the business side of media among doubters, her stint as CEO of ABS-CBN, and her triumphant return to acting in 2016.
The book tells how she took on the challenges wholeheartedly by learning every aspect of TV production hands-on. During this period, she took risks, often with the threat of being fired if an idea failed. Despite facing numerous fears along the way, her passion, drive and eagerness to learn always won over, and she went on to produce some of the most successful shows on Philippine TV.
Also tackled in the book is her stint as a CEO, which recalled the time the network faced losses in advertising revenue. At this juncture, Santos-Concio joined the advertising and sales teams on their day-to-day pitches with clients. When technical and logistical problems threatened to disrupt production, she immersed herself in the hardcore world of engineering to understand their needs, working with them to develop systems to support operations.
Santos-Concio’s journey to leadership success began when she learned to conquer her fears: of stepping into the unknown, of failure, of not measuring up.
One of the most powerful women in Philippine media, Santos-Concio embraced fear and matched it with an unwavering sense of curiosity and a willingness to learn, as she tells in her book.
Fans, aspiring actors, models, directors, business managers, working moms, young professionals and business leaders are in for a wealth of learning from Santos-Concio. She allows readers to acquire the lessons she learned, much like a mentor giving hands-on training.
Anyone who reads My Journey: The Story of an Unexpected Leader is in for a wealth of wisdom and insight as she goes the extra mile, allowing us to learn along with her on the journey to success, and inspiring a new generation of professionals and leaders.
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In connection with the collection complaint filed by Solar Entertainment Corp., ABS-CBN and SkyCable received an ex-parte writ of attachment and notice of garnishment from the Mandaluyong Regional Trial Court on May 25.
ABS-CBN and SkyCable immediately filed a motion to lift the attachment and garnishment on the morning of May 29, which the court granted on the same day. Thus at this time, there is no effective attachment or garnishment over any asset of ABS-CBN or SkyCable.
According to the company’s corporate communications department: “In 2014 ABS-CBN and Solar jointly entered into a license agreement with NBA Properties Inc. Since ABS-CBN was paying 60 percent of the license fees, it considered that the same already covered the carriage fees of SkyCable. Unfortunately, Solar disagreed. Despite the good faith attempts of ABS-CBN and SkyCable to resolve the dispute amicably, Solar cut off the NBA feed to SkyCable and filed the complaint.
“We will submit our answer with counterclaims to this complaint.
“We are confident we will prevail.”