MANILA, Philippines?ABS-CBN aired an interview with Australian blogger Brian Gorrell on Tuesday, on its flagship newscasts ?TV Patrol? and ?Bandila,? as well as on various programs on ANC, the network?s 24-hour news channel.

Charie Villa, head of News Gathering, said the story was also posted on the network?s official website. Villa said there was also a plan to use the footage on the news show, ?Balitang Australia,? aired on TFC, ABS-CBN?s international channel.

Radio, too

At press time, ?The Good Times with Mo Twister, Mojo Jojo and Grace Lee,? a Magic 89.9 radio show, was also setting an interview with Gorrell. It was supposed to take place on Wednesday.

The ABS-CBN interview was conducted by Gigi Grande, Australian news bureau chief, in Gorrell?s home in Byron Bay. Grande described the area to Villa as a ?rainforest.?

Said Cherrie Cornell, news desk editor in Manila: ?After traveling by plane from Sydney to Brisbane, Gigi drove to Brian?s farm which, she said, had breathtaking views. She brought wine, flowers and organic vegetables for Brian.? Gorrell made coffee for Grande, Cornell recounted.

The interview lasted 30 minutes and was cordial, Cornell quoted Grande as saying. They tackled various topics?including his HIV, his ongoing quest to retrieve $70,000 he allegedly lost to a Filipino ex-boyfriend, and the phenomenal popularity of his blog.

In a recent post in the blog?s comments section, a fan quipped that Gorrell had become the ?J.K. Rowling of blogs,? comparing him to the best-selling author of the ?Harry Potter? series of books.

First media account

At press time, Grande said in her online report, Site Meter, a web tracking tool, estimates that Gorrell?s blog has received almost two million visits since going online on March 4.

Villa said this was is a testament to the ?power of blogs.? ?It can?t be ignored,? she explained. ?Lots of people are reading it, so it must matter. Our job is simply to report.?

Grande called Gorrell?s blog a telenovela, which was precisely how Inquirer Entertainment described it, in the first-ever mainstream media account on the controversy on March 11.

The blog surely had all the elements of a riveting soap opera, from chismis (à la ?Gossip Girl?) to mystery (à la ?CSI?), Villa acknowledged.

?In Gigi?s interview, Brian alluded to a cliffhanger,? Villa noted. ?He intimated that a plot twist involving murder would soon appear in the blog.? Therein must be an explanation for the extraordinary interest generated by the blog, she said.

She related that Grande had embarked on the trip also to learn more about the man behind the blog. Upon her return to Sydney, the news bureau chief shared one outstanding observation with Villa: ?Gigi told me that Brian was more handsome in person.?

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