MEDIA AND INFORMATION LITERACY (MIL) A.
Books – considered being the oldest, which can be
(1ST Semester –G12 S.Y. 2023-2024) traced back as far as 3500 BCE with the invention of the
By end of this semester: It is hoped everyone will be the agent of change in the
Sumerian ancient style of writing, the cuneiform. In the
current Filipino media and information landscape.
early medieval period when printing press did not yet exist,
Chapter 1: Introduction of Media and Information books were not considered as primary means of
Literacy communication because only the educated and affluent can
have them. Books contain almost any kind of information;
Lesson 4: Types of Media a book can be a novel, an instructional material, an
anthology of creative works, etc.
Technological developments go as far as combining all B. Newspaper – in receiving news, however, people in the
traditional media into one, and utilizing computer and olden times mostly relied on newspapers. It is lightweight,
internet in almost every aspect of people’s lives, especially serial publication which comes out regularly (daily, weekly,
in the urban areas. or monthly), and contains news on current events of
Mass media can be classified into three forms: print, special or general interest. The first newspapers appeared
broadcast, and new media. in Germany, France, and Belgium in the 1600s, when
entrepreneurs set up newspaper publishing houses and
1. Print Media – the industry of printing and distributing home distribution systems. Newspapers can be regarded
information is the oldest form of the media. Early news as the first to reach the mass audience, serving all classes
sheets appeared in early 700-1000 BCE, when the Chinese in society. London’s Daily Courant was the first daily
imperial courts circulated the ti-pao (government gazette) newspaper (1702), while mass-circulation media began in
throughout China and when the Arabs carried Chinese 1833 with the first “penny press” newspaper, The Sun. The
techniques of papermaking in Europe. The ancient Roman first newspapers started in print size, until it grew into
government published a news sheet known as the Acta what came to be called broadsheet, which measures six
Diuma (Daily Events) carved on the stone or metal, which columns wide and 22/24 inches long. The most prominent
were regularly posted in the Roman Forum. Contributing to local broadsheets in the Philippines nowadays are Manila
the widespread use of the print medium is the Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and The Philippine Star.
development of the Gutenberg press in the 1440s. British Another type of newspaper is the tabloid, which is half the
philosopher Francis Bacon once regarded printing as one of size of a broadsheet. It is intended for the masses; with its
three inventions that “changed the whole face and state of price practically lower that broadsheet’s. There are about
things throughout the world,” the other two being 23 tabloid newspapers in the country, such as Abante,
gunpowder and compass. People’s Journal, Pilipino Star Ngayon, and Inquirer Libre.
The print medium has three different forms: C. Magazine – another popular form of print medium,
which target a variety of audiences by offering a
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smorgasbord of articles that aim to entertain, inform, or able to send messages to a large number of people in real
advertise. – time; producers of media content no longer need to
In 1731, Englishman Edward Cave, the publisher of The deliver their products (e.g. books, newspapers, etc.) to
Gentleman’s Magazine invented the term ‘magazine’ from physical stores, such as book stores and newsstands.
Arabic word makhazin, which means “storehouse’. 1600s
and 1700s is the genesis of the magazines when the The history of the broadcast medium can be traced to the
literacy rate of people had increased, in 1821 magazine development of technology in the electronic age, in 1877,
became mass media with the appearance of the Saturday Thomas Edison, introduced the cylinders for his
Evening Post in the USA. Today, magazines are phonograph. This followed by other forms of sound
characterized by their highly appealing and colorful prints recordings, in 1948, Columbia Records introduced long
on special papers. Some of the most popular magazines in playing (LP) 331/3-rpm disks, beginning a new mass
the world are National Geographic, Time and Reader’s medium since print was developed. Cassettes were
Digest. In the Philippines, magazines, printed on glossy invented in 1963, which used magnetic tapes, compact
papers or on newsprints, come in different varieties: show disks or CD, as popularly known, emerged as the dominant
business, fashion, home living, food, travel, and more. type of recording in the early 1980s until digital formats
D. Journal – is a periodic publication focusing on a specific were created in the late 1990s to early 2000s.
field of study. The main difference between a journal and a
magazine is that the former is peer reviewed, which means Film cameras and projectors were invented in the 1880s by
selected experts reviewed its content before having it mass Thomas Edison. In 1885, Auguste and Louis Lumiere
published. invented the cinematograph, a camera and developing
machine that can project visual images on screens. These
Other materials that fall under print media are comics, inventions led to the development of FILM or motion
flyers, and posters. picture. Early motion pictures were made without sound
and in black and white. Sound movies were first introduced
2. Broadcast Media – is commonly associated with two in 1927, while the colored format emerged in the late
forms: the radio and the television. As described by Robles 1930s.
and Tuazon (2014), “broadcasting is a form of mass
communication that utilizes radio and television to transmit Today, there are a lot of film types being shown in any
messages and programs via the airspace.” Airspace medium available, such as animation, biopic, chick flick,
means the part of the atmosphere where frequency documentary, epic, feature, and more. Each of this film
bands are available to transmit messages to and type has a specific theme where the gist of the story
from broadcast devices. The utilization of airspace is a revolves.
big development in media technology which introduced a
new form of communication. Through this, people are now
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In the Philippines, scholars consider the 1950s as the the radio became a formidable and an important mass
golden era of Philippine Cinema when filmmakers began medium among Filipinos, in fact radio played important
producing outstanding commercial films in black and white, role in many events in the country’s history;
this lasted until the 1970s to early 1980s, which featured - During the World War II, then KZRH broadcasted the
notable film directors such as Ishmael Bernal, Lino Brocka, “Voice of Freedom” from its transmitter in
Celso Ad. Castillo, and Peque Gallaga. Filipino films being Corregidor, Anchor Norman Reyes announced the
produced during this period reached approximately 200 fall of Bataan in 1942: “Bataan has fallen… But the
films a year. However, with the emergence of film piracy spirit that made it stand, a beacon to all liberty-
and the domination of foreign films in the late 1990s to loving peoples of the world, cannot fall.”
early 2000s, the Philippine film industry saw a dramatic - Another example of the important role of the radio
decline, with only around 20-30 films being produced was already mentioned in the previous chapter, the
yearly. 1986 People Power Revolution, which led to the fall
of the Marcos dictatorship, it started with an appeal
The first radio signals were transmitted by Guglielmo from the late Jaime Cardinal Sin aired over the
Marconi in 1895 (who used Morse code through his Catholic Radio, Radyo Veritas, to support then Gen.
invention wireless telegraph). Then, radio broadcasting Fidel V. Ramos and then Defense Minister Juan
began in the early 1900s with the first long distance voice Ponce Enrile as they defend themselves from
and music transmission done by physicist Reginald military troops loyal to then President Marcos who
Fessenden. Since then, radio became the primary were instructed to take control of Camp Aguinaldo.
transmitter of news and auditory entertainment (music and
audio dramas) in Western societies. Another famous broadcast medium is the television,
developed from the technology used in radio. The Pioneer
In the Philippines, radio was introduced in 1922 during a Corporation introduced the first television sets to the USA
test radio broadcast from the Nichols Air Field in Pasay, and the first television stations went on air in 1941. By
attributed to an American known as Mrs. Redgrave. This is 1948, almost three percent of all households in the USA
also considered as possibly the first radio broadcast in Asia already owned TV receivers (Potter, 2008). By the end of
(Braid and Tuazon, 1999). Commercial radio broadcasting 1955, almost 65 percent of American households owned
started in 1924 with the establishment of KZKZ (AM) by television sets ([Spigel, 1992] as cited by Croteau and
another American; Henry Herman Sr. The oldest radio Williams, 2008).
station in the country is DZRH, which first signed in as
KZRH in 1939. The Philippine Broadcasting System (PBS), It was not until the 1950s that it finally arrived in the
a government-owned radio broadcasting company, is Philippines, the University of Santo Tomas and FEATI
known to be the pioneer for development broadcasting University in Manila are credited for experimenting with
with its broad news and public affairs program. Since then, televisions before it turned commercial in 1953 through the
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opening of DZAQ-TV Channel 3 of the Alto Broadcasting The first local Bulletin Board System, otherwise
System in Manila, currently, there are three major local known as the BBS, is a computer system running software
television networks in the country, ABS-CBN Channel 2, that allows users to connect and exchange messages and
TV5, and GMA Channel 7. information using terminal program. It started as early as
1986 and was operated using software that ran on an IBM
The television became the major entertainment and XT Clone PC, with a modem that ran on 1200 bpm.
information medium of the public, resulting to a decrease Subscription fees ran as high as Php 1000 per month.
in movie attendances, radio listenership, and newspaper By 1987, inter-BBS connectivity was enabled
readership, because it provides the audiences both sound through the Philippine FidoNet exchange. One bulletin
and visual satisfaction, as well as individualized media board system in Metro Manila is now able to connect to
experience (people watch TV programs in the privacy of other bulletin board systems in the same area.
their own homes.0, public easily accepted the television as By the early years of the 90s, email gateways and
a source of entertainment and information better than services broadened, courtesy of some multinational
other media. corporations operating in the Philippines. By 1993, the
government would figure as a major player, mostly of the
3. New Media – technological advancement in the past role discharged by the Department of Science and
decades has led to profound changes in the field of Technology (DOST). With the support from the Industrial
communication and media. These developments paved way Research Foundation (IRF), the PhilNet project was
for the discovery of new media. launched, consisting of representatives from various
The term “new media” has been in use since the 1960s universities, such as the University of the Philippines-
(McQuail, 2010). Generally, it refers to digital media that Diliman, University of the Philippines-Los Baños, De La
are interactive, incorporating two-way communication, and Salle University, and Ateneo de Manila University. They
involving a form of computing (Logan, 2010). As opposed would team up with Dr. Rudy Villarica who would represent
to the traditional media, new media is linked with the Industrial Research Foundation.
information and communication technologies that have By July 1993, with full funding from the DOST, the
been developed in recent years. These include computers, PhilNet project scaled up. Students from the above stated
internet, satellite televisions, compact disks, e-book universities were able to connect to another gateway at the
readers, and more. Victoria University of Australia. By November 1993, an
additional grant of Php 12.5 M would flow to the purchase
Timeline of Internet in the Philippines: of equipment and lease of communication lines.
More than 12 years ago, March 29, 1994 to be By March 29, 1994, the Philippines were formally
exact, the free and open World Wide Web was launched in connected to the Internet, using the PLDT network center
the Philippines. in Makati City. On the same day, the First International E-
mail Conference was being held at the University of San
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Carlos in Cebu. Dr. John Brule, a professor emeritus from Another basic example of media convergence is in terms of
Syracuse University, announced “We’re in!” as the PhilNet content. Before, videos are only accessible through films
connection successful linked up with the global Internet. and televisions; news articles can be read in the
Cheers and enthusiastic applause greeted this historic newspapers (otherwise listened through the radio or
moment. watched through the television); novels can be read by
buying physical books. Specific content is only accessible
MEDIA CONVERGENCE through specific medium. However, with the introduction of
the internet, the once restricted content is now accessible
Technologies evolve through time so do media and
through various platforms. Books are now digitized,
information, three decades ago, a person had to cancel
television programs are available online, and newspapers
his/her plans for a certain time period in order to watch a
are turned into digital formats. This melding of print,
new episode of his/her favorite TV program, today one can
electronic, and photographic media into digitized form is
easily watch a missed TV episode via internet or purchased
also called technological convergence (Vivian, 2008).
DVDs.
This is what media convergence, the phenomenon
that connects different forms of media together. As
Britannica writer Terry Flew (2016) puts it, media
convergence is the result of the internet and of media
content digitization, rounding up the “three Cs” in media –
computing, communication, and content – into one.
Convergence in media does not only refer to the merging
of distinct technologies, but also to the interconnection
created by the melding of the different media platforms
today. According to Burnett and Marshall, as cited by Jeff Picture of Acta Diuma Guglielmo Marconi Image of Phonograph
Wilkinson (2005), convergence is the “blending of the
media, telecommunications and computer industries,” or
simply the process where all forms of mediated
communication come together into one digital form.
For example: television shows started using hashtags to
create a more inclusive interaction between the programs Sources:
Media and Information Literacy in the 21st Century pages 30 – 36
and its audiences. By posting comments, reactions, or
Media and Information Literacy by Maria Jovita E. Zarate
feedbacks online, the public are able to express their photobucket.com/images/phonograph#!
feelings toward the host, the artist, or the topic of the https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Invention_of_radio
program to which the hashtag is relevant.
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