Ali gets personal

Ali Sotto with her Maltese, Maja: “I always invest so much of myself.” AUGUST DELA CRUZ

After over 30 years in the biz, TV host Ali Sotto confesses that interviewing say, a mother who has lost a child will be the ultimate challenge. “I may end up in tears,” she says.

She’s fully aware of such an occupational hazard (her son Miko died in an accidental fall from a building in 2003), now that she’s hosting the new talk show “Personalan,” daily at 5 p.m. on GMA News TV.

On the show, she will act as on-air referee/counselor for ordinary people facing real disputes and problems.

It is potentially draining, emotionally, she says, “because I always invest so much of myself.” In this sense, she admires Oprah Winfrey more than Jerry Springer. Ali explains, “Oprah has genuine interest in people. You can’t fake that.”

She’d like to depart from the shock/slug fest format popularized by Springer and its local counterpart, TV5’s “Face to Face,” hosted by Amy Perez.

Ali says, “Our motto is: We can solve problems by talking things through. There’s no need to resort to violence. We don’t want the guests to slap or hit each other. We don’t want to send the wrong message to the youth.”

She isn’t taking potshots at “Face to Face,” she insists. “Amy is a friend.” But she does mind criticisms to the effect that “Personalan” is a copy of “Face to Face,” albeit tamer, more civil.

“No one can patent the concept. It’s a formula that can be executed differently. We have our own styles,” says Ali. “TV is such a dynamic industry.”

“Personalan” comes right after the sudden cancellation of Ali’s short-lived morning gab fest, “Starbox,” also on GMA 7.

Speaking of which, she admits she was disappointed when it was scrapped—especially because of the friendships she had formed with cohost Papa Jack and the other workers.

“We’ve kept in touch,” Ali says.

She hopes “Personalan” will last longer than “Starbox” did. “We all want to answer the call for intelligent programming,” Ali notes. “Personalan” could be her “contribution to the struggle for nonexploitative television.”