History of Philippine Mass Media

Reference: Philippine Communication Today

by Crispin Maslog (2007)
Newspapers in Spanish Period
Del Superior Govierno started in 1811,
the first regularly issued publication
carrying news from the mother country
Spain meant for the Spanish elite in the
Phils.; more of a govt organ edited by the
Spanish governor general
First act of censorship the banning by
the Spanish Cortes of the reprinting of
news from foreign publications
Del Superior Govierno ceased publication
in February 1812
Newspapers in Spanish Period
La Esperanza - 1st daily newspaper started
in 1846; avoided trouble with the censors
Diario de Manila started publication in
1848; staffed by competent men; lasted for
38 years; suppressed by the Spanish gov
gen because it allegedly incited
resentment of Filipinos against Spaniards
El Comercio newspaper w/ biggest
circulation & longest life span during
Spanish regime 56 years
Newspapers in Spanish Period
La Opinion started in 1827; marked a
milestone in Phil journalism; first opinion
paper in the country; not fearful of govt
censors; criticized Spanish friars &
campaigned for ouster of religious heads
 Magazines in Spanish Period
Known as weeklies, fortnightlies,
monthlies, quarterlies, journals or reviews
Specialized in commerce, industry,
agriculture, professions, religion, govt, arts
and letters
Registro Mercantil de Manila (1824) -
products and commerce; lasted 8 years
La Illustracion Filipinas (1859) - one of the
1st illustrated journals w/c promoted culture
 Magazines in Spanish Period
El Trovador Filipino (1874) - 1st intellectual
journal
El Bello Sexo (1881) - 1st women's
magazine
Patnubay ng Katolika (1890) - 1st
publication entirely in Tagalog
La Semana Elegante (1884) satire
magazines w/c hit important people then
through sarcasm in literary pieces
 Journalism in Spanish Period
Marked by censorship by the church and
state
Characterized by financial instability
Published in Spanish w/ limited circulation,
reaching only Spaniards in the Phils. &
Spanish-speaking Filipino elite
By contemporary standards, newspapers
in this period were more of literary organs;
had literary style but faulty news writing;
lacked sense of news values
 Revolutionary Press
Rose in the latter part of Spanish rule and
early part of American occupation (approx
bet 1890 & 1905
La Solidaridad
Kalayaan
La Independencia
El Renacimiento
 La Solidaridad
Most famous of the revolutionary papers
Published in Spain & written in Spanish;
read by the Phil. Elite or Illustrados both in
Spain & in Phils.
Became the rallying point of Filipino
intellectual expatriates in Europe
Graciano Lopez Jaena first editor
Contributors were Jose Rizal, Marcelo H.
del Pilar, G. Lopez Jaena, Mariano Ponce
 La Solidaridad
Banned by Spanish authorities
Smuggled into the Phils.
Written in Spanish, limited circulation
 Kalayaan
Secretly put out by Andres Bonifacio &
Emilio Jacinto, leaders of the secret
revolutionary society Katipunan
Entirely in Tagalog
Only one issue came out but was credited
with having fanned the revolutionary fervor
of the Filipinos
Bonifacio destroyed the printing press
before Spanish authorities, who
discovered its location could move in
 La Independencia
Edited by Antonio Luna
Became mouthpiece of Filipino rebels in
the war against the Spanish and
Americans
Writers were Rafael Palma, Jose Palma,
Leon Ma. Guerrero, & Cecilio Apostol
Suppressed by American authorities
 El Renacimiento*
A nationalistic paper founded by Don
Edgardo Ocampo
Edited by Teodoro M. Kalaw
Famous in the early years of the American
regime due to aggressive staff of
intellectuals
Papers founded during the American
period were pro-American
Critical towards the Americans
 El Renacimiento*
Freedom of the press in the Phils. was
merely theoretical upon American takeover
Very strict libel laws making it easy for any
govt official or private person to win in
court
El Renacimiento was killed by a libel suit
in 1908 due to an editorial entitled Aves
de Rapina, w/c US Secretary of the
Interior, Dean Worcester, interpreted as an
attack against him
 Newspapers during American
Occupation
Manila Times (1898) - 1st daily newspaper
in English; established by Thomas Gowan
Existed for 32 years
Bought by first newspaper chain owner in
the Phils., Alejandro Roces, Sr. in 1927
Roces also owned Taliba (Tagalog daily),
La Vanguardia (Spanish daily) & Manila
Tribune (English daily)
Roces disbanded Manila Times
 Newspapers during American
Occupation
Manila Bulletin oldest existing
newspaper (1900)
Started out as a shipping journal
Founded by American Carson Taylor
Developed a reputation as the mouthpiece
of the American community in the Phils.
even after Phil. Independence was
granted in 1946 and as long as it was ran
by Taylor
 Manila Bulletin
Bought by Hans Menzi in 1957
Modernized the paper's format
Gave it a Filipino orientation
 Philippines Herald
Pro-American papers in the American
period
Phils. Herald published in 1920
Pro-Filipino newspaper; nationalistic
Founded at the suggestion of Manuel L.
Quezon, who became Phil. president
One of the early editors was Carlos P.
Romulo, who became president of the UN
General Assembly; famous in Phil.
diplomacy
 Newspapers and magazines came to the
Phils. by way of the colonizing countries
Spain then US
Movies and radio came to Phils. through
the US
 Movies
Period of the Silent Pictures (1897-1929)
Talking Pictures Period (1929-1970)
New Cinema (1970 onwards)
 Period of Silent Pictures
Three Stages
Dominance of the documentary film
Rise of the feature film
Establishment of Filipino film companies
 Documentary Film
On Jan 1897, six movies were exhibited
for the first time at the Salon Pertierra in
Escolta
Documentaries shown in the Phils.
featured
the eruption of Taal Volcano in 1911
local bullfighting
gold mining in Paracale
fiesta at Obando
films on Napoleon, assassination of Pres.
McKinley
 Rise of Feature Film
Started in 1912
American-produced films
La Vida de Rizal
El Fusilamiento de Rizal
Walang Sugat
Gomez, Burgos, and Zamora
Nena la Boxeadora
El Filibusterismo
Florante at Laura
 Rise of Feature Film
Adopted stories from sarsuwela, awit, &
novels
Historical events
Drew subject matter from popular culture
associating Filipino film w/ pop culture
 Establishment of Filipino Film
Companies
Malayan Movies was founded in 1917 by
Jose and Jesus Nepomuceno, first Filipino
producers
Dalagang Bukid produced by Jose
Nepomuceno in 1919
Based on sarswela starring original actors
Atang de la Rama & Marceliano Ilagan
 Establishment of Filipino Film
Companies
Nepomuceno filmed La Venganza de Don
Silvestre(1920) & Noli Me Tangere(1930)
Other Filipino film producers
Vicente Salumbides introduced new
camera techniques fm Hollywood
Julian Manansala produced movies on
political & nationalist themes
Carmen Concha used authentic
costumes & props for her movies
 Establishment of Filipino Film
Companies
Other Filipino film producers
Silos brothers
Carlos Vander Tolosa
Jose Domingo Badilla
Rafael Hernandez
 Talking Pictures
Ang Aswang - first Filipino talking picture
produced in 1932
Advent of big Filipino film companies
Philippine Films produced Zamboanga in
1936 for local & int'l release
Excelsior & Sampaguita Pictures were
founded in 1937
LVN Pictures (1938)
X'otic Films (1939)
 Talking Pictures
Significant developments
Star system
Rise of genre films
Action movie
Melodrama
Slapstick comedy
Films based on the life of a hero or
historical event
 Talking Pictures
Japanese occupation 1941 1945
Movie companies stopped production
Tatlong Maria was produced by the
Japanese
War pictures like Garrison 13 and Camp
O'Donnel were produced after the war
 Talking Pictures
Fifties Golden Age of Filipino Film
Award-giving bodies
The Maria Clara Awards of the Manila
Times Publishing Co
Filipino Academy of Movie Arts &
Sciences (FAMAS)
 Talking Pictures
Quality Filipino Films
Ifugao by Gerardo de Leon
Anak Dalita by Lamberto Avellana
Directors Gregorio Fernandez and
Ramon Estrella
 Talking Pictures
Big Four film studios in the fifties
Sampaguita, Lebran, LVN, and Premiere
Productions
Sixties
Closing down of some of the big studios
Proliferation of independent companies
Genre films still being produced
Towards end of 60's came the bomba
films
 New Cinema
Seventies
New breed of film directors and actors,
some of w/c studied abroad
Birth of new consciousness as the product
of activism in early 70's (Marcos era)
Freedom of expression was curtailed
through censors
Film artists were controlled
 New Cinema
Ishmael Bernal - Pagdating sa Dulo,
Relasyon, Broken Marriage - films on
the middle class
Lino Brocka - Maynila sa mga Kuko ng
Liwanag, Jaguar, Bayan Ko: Kapit sa
Patalim - films on the lower class
Marilou Diaz-Abaya - Brutal and Moral-
on the new generation
Peque Gallaga - Oro, Plata, Mata -
period film
 New Cinema
Short film
After assassination of Ninoy Aquino,
documentary films exposing abuses of the
Marcos regime
The Arrogance of Power
Signos
Lakbayan
 New Cinema
Feb 1983 Lino Brocka organized the 1st
Free-the-Artist, Free-the-Media rally
Brocka denounced the expansion of
powers of Marcos' Board of Review for
Motion Pictures and Television (Board of
Censors)
Pushed to oust censors chief, Maria
Kalaw-Katigbak
 New Cinema
Jul 1983 Free-the-Artist Movement
became the Concerned Artists of the Phils.
- the most militant artists group under the
Marcos regime
April 1986 - Brocka spearheaded founding
of Unyon ng mga Manggagawa ng
Pelikulang Pilipino (MPP) fought for
economic rights of film artists and
technicians
 New Cinema
Films like Broken Marriage, Brutal, and
Moral presented realities in society;
Sister Stella L sought to awaken movie
audience to political issues
Artists of the new cinema helped inspire
the formation of protest organization
during the Marcos regime
 Film-related gov't agencies
Agencies formed under Pres. Cory Aquino
Movie & Television Review &
Classification Board (MTRCB)
Video Regulatory Board (VRB)
Film Development Foundation of the
Phils, (FDFP)
NMPC Color Laboratory
Film Archives
 Radio
Radio came first to the Phils. as early as
1922 during the American regime
1st Phil. Radio stations were set up by
American Henry Hermann
In 1927 J. Amado Araneta bought 2 radio
stations fm their American owners w/c
started the trend in later years of media
monopoly - Araneta also owned DMHM
newspapers
 Radio
In 1929, radio was introduced to the
provinces, 1st in Cebu, set up by Radio
Corporation of the Phils.
Before WW II there were 6 commercial
radio stations in the country
Most prewar radio stations owned by
Americans also staffed by Americans;
language used was English; entertainment
and newscasts
 Radio
In 1942 during Japanese Occupation, all
radio stations were closed except for
KZRH renamed PIAM used by Japanese
for their broadcasts
Radio became the news and info medium
esp after the war in 1945
First call letters changed from K to D
Radio became mainly an entertainment
medium
 Newspaper Chains
Started during American occupation
First Filipino newspaper chain owner
Alejandro Roces Sr.
Sons Joaquin Chino and Ramon were to
inherit and expand mass media empire
Roces chain was known as TVT (Taliba-
Vanguardia-Tribune) started in 1916
Tribune became one of the 2 leading
papers during American period
 Newspaper Chains
The other leading paper was the Herald
part of newspaper chain, the DHMM (El
Debate-Mabuhay-Herald-Monday Post)
TVT & DHMM competed w/ each other
until the outbreak of WW II in 1941
First publication to be called a magazine
was the Philippine Magazine (1904), first
called Philippine Teacher
 Newspaper Chains
Chain of magazines in the vernacular was
started by Ramon Roces (1923)
Contents fiction, entertainment, how-to-
do articles
Liwayway (Tagalog)
Bisaya (E. Visayan region)
Hiligaynon (W. Visayan region)
Bannawag (Ilocos region)
 Newspaper Chains
Philippines Free Press founded in 1907,
taken over in 1908 by Robert McCullough
Dick
Leading English language magazine
before martial law in 1972
Fearless crusader against gov't corruption
Only Liwayway was the only prewar
publication allowed to publish during the
Japanese Occupation; used for Japanese
propaganda
 Advertising
Beginnings as a form of mass
communication date back to Spanish
period
16th & 17th centuries hand-painted bills
displayed in markets & public places;
anuncios were posted outside shops to
announce goods for sale
18th century merchants printed &
distributed handbills to potential customers
 Advertising
1st decade of 19th century- 1st printed ads
in newspapers (anuncios) - for products
& services in elite areas of Manila like
Binondo & Escolta
1920s one-man ad agencies, precursors
of modern ad agencies
Frank J. Herrier Napoleon of Philippine
Advertising; led big & successful ad
campaigns
San Miguel Brewery
 Advertising
Manuel Buenaventura first Filipino to
handle advertising accounts
Philippine Publicity Service, Inc. - 1st ad
agency
Two important names in Phil. advertising -
Antonio Lagos & Pedro Teodoro
Philippine Promotions Bureau or Philprom
(1945) - 1st all Filipino advertising agency
organized after the war; became one of
the top ad agencies in the country
 Advertising
By 1948 12 recognized ad agencies
In 1960s, Tagalog became more widely
used as a language of advertising;
advertising in television developed rapidly,
formerly dominated by radio
In 1974 41 ad agencies
Growth in advertising seen in the 1960s &
1970s
Closing of 5,000 business firms in 1984-
85, incl. less than 25% of ad agencies
 Postwar Newspapers
Manila Chronicle put up by prewar
newspaper men in 1945; later sold to Don
Eugenio Lopez, brother of VP Fernando
Lopez
Manila Bulletin & Philippines Herald were
revived
Joaquin Roces put up the new Manila
Times to replace The Tribune
Taliba was revived
 Postwar Newspapers
Roces put up Daily Mirror (afternoon
paper) and Weekly Women's Magazine
(leading women's magazine before martial
law)
 Postwar Period Television
Television arrived in the Phils. in the 50s
1952 FEATI University opened an
experimental TV station
1953 commercial television came to the
Phils
1st station DZAQ-TV Channel 3 was
opened by Alto Broadcasting System;
owned by Antonio Quirino, brother of then
Pres. Elpidio Quirino
 Postwar Period Television
Fernando (Phil. VP) & Eugenio Lopez
owned Chronicle Broadcasting Network
bought Alto Broadcasting Network in 1957
ABS-CBN became the 1st radio-TVnetwork
in the Phils., operating the only two TV
channels at the time
Republic Broadcasting System owned by
Bob Stewart, opened another TV station,
DZBB-TV Channel 7 in 1960
 Postwar Period Television
1st provincial TV station was Ch. 3 in Cebu
by ABS-CBN
In 1968, ABS-CBN became the largest
radio-television network in the Phils. - 5 TV
stations & 20 radio stations
In 1969, ABS-CBN made television history
when it covered live the landing of the first
men in moon, in color
 Phil. Mass Media before
Martial Law
Martial law was proclaimed on Sept. 21,
1972
Mass media were privately owned and
independent of gov't control
Multilingual but leadership was exercised
by the English language press
Manila-centered and underdeveloped in
the provinces
 Phil. Mass Media before
Martial Law

Enjoyed political freedom but controlled by

big businesses
Lacked ethics and professionalism