PRINT MEDIA

PRINT MEDIA HISTORY 

The history of the print media begins in China, where the invention of paper in AD 1045 is attributed to Tśai Lun, a Chinese official; and the first movable type printing press – made of ceramic plates – is said to have been invented by Pi Sheng some 40 years later. The large scale production of books did not begin in the Orient until the Ming Dynasty in the 13th century (Tsien, 1985). However, western historians give the credit to German Johannes Gutenburg, who built a metal movable type printing press in 1439, which had more efficient method of printing books and pamphlets.

 NEWSPAPER 

According to the World Association of Newspapers, the first newspaper in the modern sense was published by German Johann Carlous in 1605 and was named “Relation aller Furnemmen and gedenckwandigen”. In 1609, another newspaper was started from Germany, called “File”

In the Philippines, print media history began with Tomas Pinpin, a Chinese Filipino who started his own printing press after working in a press that belonged to the Domincan missionaries in 1609. The following year, he printed his famous “Librong Pagaaralan ng manga Tagalog nang Uicang Castilla”, a book that was meant to help Filipinos learn the Spanish language. Pinpin was responsible for the printing of the first known mass media form in the country. Example is the newsletter entitled “Sucesos Felices”, a 14-page newsletter that reported on Spanish military victories.

However, the first locally produced newspaper was the “Del Superior Govierno”, published in 1811, with the Spanish governor general as editor-in-chief. This was succeeded by “La Esperanza” in 1846, also a paper written for the local Spanish community and contained, apart from the news from Spain, subjects such as religion, science, and history.

 On the other hand, “Diaro de Manila”, was set up in 1848 to rival “La Esperanza”. With its editorial office in Binondo, the paper was edited by Felipe del Pan and published by Ramirez y Compañia. An 1865 edition contains the first known disaster reporting in the Philippines: an article written by Rev. Fr. Francisco Colina on the typhoon in September 1865. However, it was forcibly closed by the Spanish colonial government in February 1898 when authorities discovered that its printing press was secretly being used to print “Kalayaan” (1896), the newspaper of the Kaputineros, edited by Emilio Jacinto. It had only two (2) issues before it was discovered by the Spanish authorities. Published in Spain in 1889 by Filipino illustardos (Filipino elite), La Solidaridad is a nationalistic newspaper that served as a mouthpiece of the revolutionary movement. Its editors were Marcelo H. del Pilar, a.k.a. Plaridel; and Graciano Lopez JAena, a.k.a. Diego Laura. Among its distinghuished writers were Jose Rizal, who wrote under the pen name LAong Laan; and Antonio Luna whose pseudonym was Taga-Ilog.

Upon returning to the Philippines, Antonio Luna was instrumental in founding another revolutionary paper, “La Independencia” (1989-1900), which served as the official organ of the Magdalo chapter of the Katipunan. Luna was the Katipunan’s supreme army chief under Emilio Aguinaldo. This newspaper continued even during the Filipino-American War, with Rafael Palma as editor. The lyrics of the Philippine national anthem, written by Palma in Spanish, was published in this paper.

The American period was a new and influential era in Philippine journalism. Two (2) newspapers and a magazine that still exist today were set up by foreigners: The Manila Times (1898), the Manila Bulletin (1990), and the Philippine Free Press (1908).

The Manila Times was established in October 1989 by Thomas Gowan, an Englishman, to cater to the Americans and foreign community living in Manila. Primary readership were the US army men occupying the capital after the Americans defeated the Spanish and became the colonial masters. In 1917, the paper was bought by Alejandro Roces Sr. Under him, the paper shut down twice: first, by the Japanese occupation government during World War II; and again, by the Marcos administration during the martial law. The paper was reestablished by Joaquin (Chino) Roces in February 1986, with reports recording the days of EDSA I by then young journalists Sheila Coronel, Lorna Kalaw-Tirol, and Malou Mangahas. Since then, however, the paper changed ownership several times even as the Roces family coded ownership of the paper in 1989.

 Originally called The Manila Daily Bulletin, the newspaper was founded in February 1900 by American Carson Taylor as a shipping journal. In 1912, the paper began to publish current events and other articles outside of shipping information, and becoming a veritable mouthpiece of the American colonial government. In 1957 the paper was bought and modernized by Swiss expatriate Hans Menzi. During the martial law period, the paper changed its name to Bulletin Today and managed to evade closure by becoming a propaganda tool of the Marcos regime. After EDSA I, it changed back to Manila Bulletin and was later purchased by Chinese Filipino businessman Emilio Yap.

Continuing the revolutionary spirit during the American period is the short-lived Spanish-language newspapers “El Renacimiento” and Cebu-based “El Dia”. Edited by Teodoro M. Kalaw and Fidel Reyes, “El Renacimiento” is best known for publishing the editorial “Aves de Rapiña” (Birds of Prey), which used metaphorical language in attacking Dean Worcester, then American colonial government secretary interior, who was said to be plundering the country’s natural resources for his personal gain. Worcester sued the paper for libel and won. This forced the paper’s closure.

Another paper worth mentioning during this period is the Philippine Herald, a pro-Filipino newspaper founded by Manuel L. Quezon, with the aim of promoting the independence of the Philippines from American colonial government.

The post war era to premarital law period (1945-1972) is called by many scholars as the golden age of the Philippine journalism. The Philippine press began to be known as the “the freest in Asia.” Like today’s print media, however, newspapers of that era were owned by Taipans who had many business interests other than the newspaper business. Most notable in this era is the establishment of the Manila Chronicle in 1945 by businessman Eugenio Lopez Sr., brother of then vice president Fernando Lopez.

On September 21, 1972, then president Ferdinand E. Marcos issued Proclamation No. 1081, which proclaimed martial law and ordered the immediate “take over and control of all privately owned newspapers, magazines, radio and television facilities, and all other media communications.” Several editors and journalists were arrested and incarcerated in military prison camps. After the initial closure, only two (2) premarital law paper were allowed to open: the Daily Express and the Bulletin Today (the renamed Manila Bulletin). Meanwhile, a government newspaper, the now defunct Times Journal, was put up using the sequestered presses of the Manila Times. The three (3) papers served as mouthpieces of the Marcos regime.

Despite the tightly controlled media environment, however, a few brave souls set up the so-called mosquito press, defying government press regulations and reporting about human rights violations rampant in that era. These alternative media were nicknamed as such because they were small but could sting. The more prominent among them were the WE Forum (closed down by government in 1983) and “Pahayagang Malaya”, run by Jose Burgos Jr., the tabloid “Veritas”, edited by Felix Bautista and Melinda Q. de Jesus; Business Day (forerunner of Business World) by husband-and-wife team Raul and Leticia Locsin; and the Philippine Inquirer and Mr. & Ms. Magazine, both published by Eugenia D. Apostol and edited by Leticia J. Magsanoc.

After the EDSA I peaceful revolt in February 1986, which ousted the Marcos regime and installed Corazon Aquino as president, several of these alternative media turned mainstream. Among them were “Pahayagang Malaya” and the Inquirer, which changed its name to Philippine Daily Inquirer.

New daily newspapers also sprouted, such as the Philippine Star, which was founded by Betty Go-Belmonte; and the Cebubased Sun.Star chain of provincial papers began, setting up dailies in major cities around the country.

 MAGAZINE

During the Spanish era, several magazine-like publications existed. The most notable ones were “La Illustracion Filipinas” (1859), “El Bello Sexo” (1891), and “Patnubay ng Katoliko” (1890). However, the first magazine to be called as such is the Philippine Magazine, established in 1904 by Adrain Hardenthorp, a Thomasite.

In 1908, American Robert McCullough Dick founded the country’s first news magazine, the Philippine Free Press, which exemplified American-style hard-hitting journalism against corruption. When Dick passed away in 1960, coeditor Teodoro Locsin, Sr. took over as publisher and editor. It was closed down by the martial law in 1972. It resurfaced after EDSA I, under brothers Enrique and Teodoro Locsin Jr. Also notable was the establishment of vernacular magazines by Ramon Roces, son of Alejandro Roces. Among them were the Tagalog-language magazine “Liwayway” (1923), “Bisaya” (1932), and Ilocano “Bannawag” (1932).