Media Overview

Highs of the media's history in the islands include the Philippines' Constitution guaranteeing freedom of the press and the freedom of the press access to official documents. In contrast to these lofty ideals, the Philippines press from the time of its inception has faced American influence, confiscation of assets for those papers not among the ownership of a former leader, and mistrust of reporters due to shoddy reporting.

Newspapers were being published on board American ships as they first entered Manila Bay in 1898. The Bounding Billow was published on board Dewey's flag-ship, and other on-ship U.S. papers included the American Soldier, Freedom and the American, according to the Philippine Journalism Review. These early papers followed U.S. attempts to "civilize" the Filipinos. American journalists in the Philippines went so far as to characterize the natives as "little brown soldiers who enjoyed parading before the patient Americans," and as "a group of warlike tribes who will devour each other when American troops leave."

The Americans wasted no time in establishing a press system in the Philippines modeled on that of the one in place in the United States. The Manila Times published its first issue in October 1898, making it the first English-language newspaper in the islands. Newspapers published in the Philippines were under strong American influence and went so far as to champion the annexation of the islands by the United States. Among the newspapers taking this stance were La Democracia and Consolidacion Nacional. Among the papers holding out for independence were El Renacimiento, Muling Pagsilang, El Debate, La Opinion and Los Obreros.

Another influential newspaper was the Bulletin, which originally was established by H.G. Harris and Carson Taylor in 1900 as a shipping journal and to encourage shipping and commerce in the islands. The Bulletin used as its primary sources the news agencies Associated Press, United Press International and the Chicago Tribune Service. For its first three years the Bulletin was published free of charge; it became a full-fledged paper in 1912.

In 1917, Manuel Quezon purchased the Manila Times and held it for four years. Ownership changed hands a few times after that until the Times joined the press holdings of Alejandro Roces Sr. Among Roces' other newspapers at the time were Taliba, the Tribune and La Vanguardia.

Cable News, founded by Israel Putnam, was another renowned daily during the early part of the twentieth century. Later the paper joined with the American, and in 1920 the combined newspaper was purchased by Quezon.

Although founded on the principle of freedom of expression, newspapers in the Philippines were subjected to strict censorship by American military authorities, and later by American civilian administrators, according to the Philippine Journalism Review. Under Gen. Arthur McArthur, the military worked to keep propaganda against American forces out of the news as well as prevent communication between those opposing America's presence in the islands. Stories detailing resistance by Filipinos to American rule were suppressed, as well as stories that would help Filipinos learn what was happening beyond the Philippines' borders. Journalists were deported or imprisoned for exercising freedom of the press, and papers such as La Justicia, and the Cebuano newspaper El Nueva Dia, were suspended many times for championing nationalistic views.

Historians say El Renacimiento was the only true independent newspaper during these dark days, and its light was later extinguished by a libel case brought against the paper by an American official.

English-language newspapers dominated the press in the early part of the century until then Senate President Manuel Quezon established the Philippines Herald to represent the Filipino viewpoint in the fight for independence. In August 1920, disgruntled former Manila Times journalists left their jobs and formed the backbone of the Herald. Early staff members included Narciso Ramos, Antonio Escoda, Bernardo Garcia and Jose P. Bautista— names that would become among the most revered in the history of the Philippines' press.

The 1920s also saw the birth of English-language women's magazines, which were primarily the products of women's clubs. Women's Outlook was published 10 times a year and was the official publication of the Women's Club of Manila, according to the Philippine Journalism Review. Another prominent publication was Woman's World, the publication of the Philippine Association of University Women. In 1935 Woman's World joined Woman's Home Journal to become Woman's Home Journal World, and the combined magazine featured sections on food, fashion, beauty and gossip.

In April 1925, Alejandro Roces, who would also own the Manila Times and other papers, established the Tribune. Under the editorial leadership of Mauro Mendez, the Tribune tackled topics such as the alleged misuse of government funds; a plan to potentially cut the jobs of about 2,000 low-income government employees in order to save money; the merits of English being the language of instruction in schools; and a proposal to hand members of the House of Parliament a large lump sum for travel allowances, postage, stationery and clerical help with no accounting for how the money was spent. Mendez later transferred to the Herald and his journalistic attacks continued, this time venturing into topics such as peasant unrest in the 1930s, women's suffrage and the threat of Communism.

After the Philippines were granted independence, newspapers threw off their shackles and proceeded to write about wrongdoing in high places. Their motives may have been pure, but they tended to use unsubstantiated or one-source stories. As time went on, elite families took over newspaper ownership in Manila.

In 1972 then-President Ferdinand Marcos imposed martial law. He confiscated the assets of those newspapers not in his own coalition. Between 1972 and 1986, newspapers were under the rule of Marcos' friends, family members or others close to him. The press remained under these unfriendly conditions for 14 years.

The assassination of presidential hopeful Benigno ("Ninoy") Aquino Jr. in August 1983 united Filipinos, and eventually helped spur a return to a freer, more independent press. His growing unpopularity led Marcos to flee the country in 1986. After his departure the Commission on Good Government confiscated newspapers and their assets from Marcos' allies. The press rejoiced as it regained control; some newspapers were even returned to the families that had owned and operated them prior to Marcos' takeover.

By the early 1990s, there were about 30 daily papers of all sizes, types and political perspectives. News was offered by about a dozen English-language broadsheets, while around 14 tabloids—primarily in Tagalog and Cebuano—featured sensationalism as a staple. Papers were diverse, and four were published in Chinese.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, national newspapers numbered eight from a high of 22 in 1986, according to the World Press Review. Slightly more than 400 community newspapers, most weeklies or monthlies in English are found amid the nation's 7,100 islands. National dailies have circulations of between 10,000 and 400,000 while their provincial cousins have circulations between 500 and 45,000.

Grouped by circulation, there are about a dozen newspapers with a circulation between 100,000 and 300,000; about a dozen with a circulation between 50,000 and 100,000; three with circulation of between 25,000 and 50,000; one with circulation of between 10,000 and 25,000, and two with circulations below 10,000.

Publications are printed in a variety of languages. In English the three top are the Manila Bulletin (circulation of around 320,000), Philippines Star (222,900) and Philippines Inquirer (148,800). In Filipino they are People's Tonight (320,900), Pilipino Ngayaon (272,000) and Taliba (226,800). In Taglish, the top three are People's Journal (372,500), Headline Manila (105,100) and News Today (75,000). The top three Chinese papers are the World News (36,000), United Daily News (32,000) and China Times (30,000).

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