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Introduction

Media has an ever-prevalent presence in the Philippines, its newest form, social media, even more so than its previous reiterations. From the newspapers of the revolutionaries to the fake news of the Adobo Chronicles, here is a Brief History of Philippine Media.

Pre-Colonial Traces

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From the late 1500s to the late 1600s, the Spanish extensively recorded the use of baybayin by the native Filipinos, noting that it was primarily used for personal use such as in poetry or letters. Aside from the use of baybayin as a form of media during the pre-colonial occupation period, we can see that by 1593, the first book has been printed, (Doctrina Christiana), a book that contained teachings of the Roman Catholic Church. Throughout the 16th and 19th century, dozens of independent newspapers were published, lasting for only a short time due to lack of funds or government censorship. 

Print Industry and Filipino Freedom

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One of the more notable newspapers published during the early days of the Spanish occupation was 'La Solidaridad', a pre-revolutionary newspaper famously staffed by Jose Rizal, Graciano Lopez Jaena and Marcelo H. Del Pilar. While being published in Spain, it frequented topics on the needs of Spain's colonies, primarily the Philippines, making it a highly controversial publishing. Eventually, the organization was unable to continue publishing due to lack of funding, in fact, toward the end of its run, del Pilar was sustaining it almost completely on his own. 

European Film Import

(A scene from Dalagang Bukid. Image from :http://andvirtualmedia.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-european-film-import.html)

When speaking about the "European" film importation wave in the Philippines, we can only really thank Carlo Naquera for introducing the native Filipinos to the advent of cinema. Cinematographe in hand, he held viewings of Spanish movies for the natives in 1897, effectively introducing the Filipino people to this new form of media.

Broadcast Industry

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The first noted broadcast that occurred in the Philippines was that of Mrs. Redgrave's, an American who began test broadcasts in Nichols Air Field in 1922. In spite of this, Henry Hermann is often credited as the first to broadcast in the Philippines, even in all of Asia, experimentally broadcasting music to radio stations throughout the Philippines, eventually selling his business to the Radio Corporation of the Philippines. Today, the radio broadcast industry has evolved into the television industry, headed by media superpowers such as ABS-CBN, GMA, and TV 5. 

Local Online Media

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With the advent of the internet, more and more Filipinos look to the World Wide Web for their scoop of news. Problem is, far too many people are getting fed the wrong information, thus the phenomenon known as fake news. Many online media outlets are incredibly selective about the news they report, making people who only use online media as a source of news often misinformed. On the brighter side, those outlets that choose to be unbiased and objective about the news they present help keep the Filipino informed.

Sources:

http://andvirtualmedia.blogspot.com/2018/01/the-european-film-import.html

http://www.msc.edu.ph/centennial/solidaridad.html

https://www.timetoast.com/timelines/pre-industrial-age-09873efd-8e2f-425b-9f91-9fafe550aee0

https://blog.baybayin.com/tutorials/baybayin-history/

https://www.oldradio.com/archives/international/philippines.html

https://prezi.com/pzi7nh4ln5sn/the-history-of-philippine-radio-and-television-broadcasting/