(The other) Martin early in the morning

Mention the name Martin and what immediately comes to mind is ... Nievera? Yes, it's Martin Nievera if you're a concert-goer and a night owl who can catch his midnight show Martin Late at Night on ABS-CBN.

But for early-risers who start their day by tuning in to GMA 7's wake-upper show Unang Hirit (starting at 5 o'clock, Monday through Friday), Martin is none other than Martin Andanar, the John Arcilla deadringer who handles the newscast, eyes fixed on you through ream-less glasses which Martin should discard posthaste so he'd look his age (turning 26 on Aug. 21), as televiewers feel he should (but GMA management think he should keep those glasses to give him the "look" -- whatever it is -- of a credible newscaster).

Martin is the third among five children, the eldest of whom is Lia Andanar, 1989 Bb. Pilipinas-International (now Mrs. Harlan Yu) who's also a newscaster on Studio 23. At a towering 6'2", Martin could be a basketball player, like his brother-in-law (Harlan plays for the Metropolitan Basketball Association), or a fashion model (or, why not, an actor). But no, he'd rather be what he is doing now, a newscaster.

His first love, however, was radio understandably because Martin has according to a fan of his, "a voice that caresses," perfect for easy listening pleasure at night when your imagination is soaring on the wings of beautiful memories.

In fact, that was what Martin started to do at age 17 when he worked as disc jockey for FM 92.3 (MRS), hosting the program On the Air Tonight with Martin Frost for one year. He had to quit to concentrate on his studies.

After finishing elementary education at Xavier in Cagayan de Oro and high school at JASMS, Martin enrolled at UP Los Baños but quit after two semesters and studied at the University of Ballarat in Victoria, Australia (from 1996 to 1998), where her mom (separated from his dad, lawyer Wency Andanar, who ran for Senator in 1992) is residing. Martin finished AB in Film and Media Studies/Social and Political Studies, with Asian Studies as his minor.

"I came back in 1998," said Martin, "but instead of going back to radio, I auditioned at DZBB where I trained under Mike Enriquez for two months as a beat reporter. I was also trained on radio work by Mao dela Cruz (also of DZBB)."

He quit DZBB in Aug. 1999 and did a brief stint as field reporter for Saksi (GMA 7's early-evening newscast) starting in Nov. also last year. Four weeks later, he auditioned as one of the Unang Hirit co-hosts, along with the original batch (Miriam Quiambao, Mickey Ferriols, Arnold Clavio, Suzie Entrata and Ryan Agoncillo) which took over from the defunct mornings@GMA, the unlamented show hosted by Paolo Bediones, Tisha Silang, Cher Calvin and Mon Isberto.

"I used to speak with a foreign accent when I was on FM radio," admitted Martin who could pass for a seminarian (yes, he's that wholesome-looking). "When I came back from Australia, nagkaroon naman ako ng slight Australian accent. I'm glad that I've been handling the newscast dahil nahahasa ang Tagalog ko. On TV, among those patiently giving me a good training is Michael Fajatin."

The newest TV recruit from FM radio (others include Coco Quisumbing, Eric Eloriaga and Mike Enriquez himself), Martin is married to Alilee Aguilar with whom he has a five-month-old daughter, Alexa Martina. They've been married for only more than a year.

"I'm the type of person who can't stay put," said Martin. "I'm a busybody. I hate being idle."

His typical day starts at 3 a.m. when the alarm clock rings. An hour later, Martin should have driven from his house in Las Piñas to GMA (EDSA corner Timog Avenue, Quezon City). He's back home after Unang Hirit, having breakfast at 8 with his wife. By 10 a.m., he's checking his auto shop located just next door and then he's off to a small canteen put up by his wife. They're home again at 12 noon for lunch and out again for more business.

"I must be home before 6 p.m. so I can catch Saksi," said Martin who has to keep updated on local and foreign issues for the next day's newscast. "And then I hie off to the gym for my regular workout. By 9 p.m., I'm asleep."

Martin eventually wants to be a composite of his role models, including Mike Enriquez ("Because of his confidence"), Noli de Castro ("Cool, and what a voice!"), Angelo Castro ("He's great!"), Harry Gasser ("He's good"), Dong Puno ("Very intellectual"), Brian O'Reiley of FOX News and CNN's Peter Jennings.

"My ultimate goal is to do newscast for primetime," said Martin.

That, in a sense, is his next hirit. Not a distant dream, is it?

Inday Badiday is embarking on a new venture: talent management. She just put up Loca Production House of Talents, which plans to provide movie-TV-recording studios, concerts and other live shows with reliable and competent performers.

Loca Production House of Talents holds office at the 3rd floor of COD department store at the Araneta Center in Cubao, Quezon City. Inday and her staff is currently looking for talents for their portfolio. Interested parties may audition at its COD office, from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m., Monday to Friday. There's no age limit-provided the applicant has talent, be it acting or singing or dancing.

But why hold office at COD? Inday discloses that the Rosarios who own COD are friends of long standing. COD is, of course, famous for its beautiful rooftop Christmas tableau, which attracts thousands to Cubao during the holidays.

Inday hosts a daily radio show on DZMM, but before and after her radio program she reports to Loca Production House of Talents office to attend to its needs.

Will Inday discover and perhaps build up another Nora Aunor or Sharon Cuneta? Or another Kris Aquino? How about Robin Padilla?

Funfare congratulates Hannah Victoria Bautista who is graduating cum laude from UP with a degree in Communication Arts.

Tall and, well, intelligent, Hannah was enticed to join the recent Bb. Pilipinas Pageant by beauty queen-discoverer Cesar Evangelista but Hannah said no.

Hannah is the daughter of STAR contributor Mario E. Bautista and wife Vicky of the National College of Public Administration (Vicky's team was the one which gave Lipa City Mayor Vilma Santos a special course in public administration before Mayor Vi assumed office).

Even before her graduation, Hannah had been hired by the GMA 7 Creative Services Department under Butch Jimenez and Peachie Guioguio.

It's summertime! ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts will be holding its Film & TV Scriptwriting Workshop.

The TV Scriptwriting Workshop will start on April 29 while the Film Workshop on May 13.

The team of facilitators will be headed by Ricky Lee, the scriptwriter behind Himala, Rizal, Muro-Ami and Moral. He will be assisted by veteran writers and headwriters from ABS-CBN shows. Only 50 participants will be included per batch. No professional writing experience is necessary.

There will be a screening on April 8 and 9 at ABS-CBN Center for Communication Arts. Interested parties may inquire at 416-9366 (look for Lotis or Bliss).