|
1972
- 1985 |
| The
Martial law period can be described
as the Era of Guided Media and
the Rise of the Alternative Press. |
| Mass
media controls were established.
Editors and journalists were among
the first to be arrested and incarcerated
in military prison camps. |
It
was a time of Marcos
media vs. Mosquito Press
or the alternative press.
|
| Media
ownership became more concentrated
in the hands of a few individuals
or families close to the regime. |
There
was monopolistic ownership
of telecommunications by the
regime's favored relatives
and friends. Telephoney was
monopolized by the Philippine
Long Distance Telephone Company,
domestic satellite by DomSat
Phils., and Cable Television
by Sining Makulay.
|
| "Transnationalization"
of the Philippine telecommunication
started as Marcos cronies were
forced to enter into joint venture
with foreign partners because
of the capital-intensive nature
of telecommunications. Among foreign
partners were Cable and Wireless,
Marubeni, and Siemens GTE. |
| We
Forum, started out as a weekly
for the youth; became forerunner
of what was called, the alternative
press in the early 1980s together
with the Philippine Collegian
of the University of the Philippines
|
In
the 70s, Press Foundation
for Asia batted for development
Journalism, highlighting issues
and events on population,
science and technology, health,
nutrition and education. Its
proponents were Juan Mercado,
Alan Chalkley, Jose Luna Castro
and Romeo Abundo.
|
The
1980s saw the Emergence
of the Alternative Press.
|
| The
assasination in 1983 of Senator
Benigno Aquino
released the floodgates
of press freedom in the Philippines.
|
Xerox
journalism and cassette journalism
made it impossible for the Marcos
regime to suppress information
on the tragic assasination of
Aquino. |
| There
was the pre-eminence of radio
as instrument of change: Radio
Veritas and Radyo Bandido.
|
| Campus
publications took an activist
stand on social issues. |
The
Philippine Daily Inquirer
founded on December 9, 1985
became the leading newspaper
after the EDSA Revolution
in 1986.
|
|
|
Milestones
of the Period include:
|
Emergence
of the Development Communication
as a field of study and
as a profession (1970)
|
Publication of communication and journalism books by Filipino
authors (1967, 1977, 1979,
etc.)
|
Convening
of the UNESCO International
Commission for the Study of
Communication (McBride Commission),
1977
|
In
December 1972, government
information officers organized
the Public Relations Organizations
of the Philippines (PROP)
to foster stronger fellowship
and cooperation among its
members and to raise the
status of PR practitioners
in the government through
continuing education.
|
In
1973, the Kapisanan ng mga
Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP)
was organized to provide mechanism
for self-regulation in the
broadcast industry.
|
Communication
Foundation for Asia (CFA)
founded in 1975 by Fr. Cornelio
Lagerway, MSC pioneered in
the use of mass media in spreading
the Word of God.
|
In
1976, UPLB Department of Development
Communication was the first
institution in the world to
offer undergraduate and graduate
courses in DevCom.
|
The
very first presidential decree
reorganized the government
bureaucracy and created the
Department of Public Information,
a first in Philippine History.
|
| Marcos
ordered all mass media closed
except for the government radio
and TV stations in Manila - the
Voice of the Philippines, (operated
by the National Media Production
Center) and the stations of the
Philippine Broadcasting System. |
Far
East Broadcasting Network,
owned and operated by Protestant
missionaries was allowed to
resume operation on September
25, 1972.
|
All
leading pre-martial law metropolitan
newspapers and magazines were
closed down. They include: Manila
Times and sister-paper Daily Mirror;
Manila Chronicle; Philippines
Free Press, the Graphic, and the
Nation.
|
Manila
Bulletin was the only
newspaper that was exempted
from being closed down by
Marcos; on November 22, 1972
it was revived under the new
name, Bulletin Today.
|
| Daily
Express, then four
months old (established June 1972)
was allowed to resume operations
(Juan Perez, Publisher (Reportedly
owned by Roberto S. Benedicto) |
Channel
9 was allowed to resume operations
(Kanlaon Broadcasting Corporation,
later renamed Radio Philippine
Network (also owned by Benedicto)
|
Benedicto,
a close Marcos ally took control
of:
o Radio Philippines
network (6 TV, 15 radio stations);
o Banahaw Broadcasting
Corporation (2 TV, 7 radio
stations);
o Inter-island
Broadcasting Corporation (8
TV, 4 radio stations)
|
Benedicto
was also a major stockholder in
telecommunications enterprises:
o Domestic Satellite
Corp.;
o Nivico Philippines,
Inc.;
o Oceanic Winders
Corp.; and
o Eastern Telecommunications
Philippines Inc. |
|
