Mass media in the Philippines

Mass media in the Philippines consists of several types of media: television, radio, newspapers, magazines, cinema, and websites.

In 2004, the Philippines had 225 television stations, 369 AM radio broadcast stations, 583 FM radio broadcast stations, 10 internet radio stations, 5 shortwave stations and 7 million newspapers in circulation.Philippines country profile. Library of Congress Federal Research Division (March 2006). This article incorporates text from this source, which is in the public domain.

Media outlets, such as PTV/RPN/IBC (television) and the Presidential Broadcast Service (radio), are government-run, while most outlets are privately owned.

The most trusted newspapers in the Philippines are the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, and The Philippine Star.

Newspapers

Newspapers in the Philippines include broadsheets Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and the Philippine Star, and tabloids Pilipino Star Ngayon, Bulgar, Abante, Balita, and Superbalita Cebu.

Radio

Radio is introduced to the Philippines under the American colonial era. Radio in the Philippines started in 1922 with KZKZ (AM) in Manila by Henry Herman Sr., owner of the

Electrical Supply Company in Manila. Radio broadcasting is regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC), on content, frequency and licensing matters. There are about 1,000 radio stations in the Philippines, both on the AM and FM bands.

Broadcast radio stations in the Philippines are assigned four-letter call signs, containing the two-letter prefixes DW, DX, DY and DZ. The suffix usually indicates the island group the station is in (DW and DZ used for Luzon, DX for Mindanao and DY for the Visayas). The Philippines is one of the few Asian countries that use call signs for broadcast radio stations (the others being Indonesia, Japan, South Korea and Taiwan).

Radio networks are primarily owned by private broadcasters, some of the largest being the MBC Media Group, Radio Mindanao Network, Aliw Broadcasting Corporation, GMA Network and TV5 Network. The remainder fall under government broadcasters such as the Presidential Broadcast Service (PBS) and religious broadcasters such as the Catholic Media Network (CMN) and the Far East Broadcasting Company (FEBC). AM stations usually broadcast in news and talk formats; FM stations usually broadcast both local and foreign popular music, but has also seen usage by news/talk and community radio broadcasters especially in the provinces. Most radio stations broadcast in Tagalog and regional languages, and the rest in English.

Government-owned radio broadcasting is primarily under the Presidential Broadcast Service (PBS), which operates a network of owned-and-operated news and talk stations in the AM and shortwave bands under the Radyo Pilipinas banner, as well as smaller community and information radio stations on both AM and FM bands, either as O&Os or through affiliates. Since 2017, PBS has also ventured into music broadcasting, with the top 40-formatted Republika FM1 and the adult contemporary-formatted Capital FM2, both located in Metro Manila. Other government agencies as well as local governments also operate their own radio stations.

The Philippines has not yet adopted a digital radio standard, but some stations in the larger cities have adopted North American HD Radio technology for digital broadcasting. Internet radio, in the form of live online audio streams of terrestrial radio stations and online-only stations, also has a presence, primarily aimed toward niche audiences and overseas Filipinos.

Television

James Lindenberg known as The Father of Philippine television founded in 1946 Bolinao Electronics Corporation (BEC) (which is now ABS-CBN), while in the 1950s Robert La Rue Stewart also known as "Uncle Bob" founded Loreto F. de Hemedes Inc. later renamed Republic Broadcasting System Inc. (RBS) which is now GMA Network. In 1960 Joaquin Pardo Roces also known as "Don Chino Roces" founded Associated Broadcasting Corporation (ABC) which is now TV5, while Dick Baldwin also set up Inter-Island Broadcasting Corporation which is now Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC) as well.

As with radio, the technicalities of television broadcasting are also regulated by the National Telecommunications Commission (NTC). Content regulation rests on the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board (MTRCB) except for political ads during campaign periods of which such has to have the Commission on Elections' approval. The majority of free-to-air TV networks are operated by private broadcasters, the largest by viewer share being All TV, A2Z, GMA Network and TV5. There are multiple government-owned networks, such as the Intercontinental Broadcasting Corporation (IBC), People's Television Network (PTV) and Radio Philippines Network (RPN), but these tend to be limited in scale and reach as far as conventional broadcasting is concerned. In the contemporary period, with the eventual improvement of internet access in the country over the years, most if not all of these TV channels have their corresponding live streaming avenues be it on the popular platform YouTube or Facebook Live among others, or their own such as iWant in the case of ABS-CBN. It has also become the norm to have the broadcast programs (episodes) to be publicly and freely available (Video on-demand) on such platforms, at least for some time.

Digital TV broadcasting in the Philippines was introduced in 2010, using the Japanese ISDB-T standard. Shutdown of analog TV transmissions is planned by the end of 2027, after being repeatedly rescheduled for over a decade since 2015.

Internet

Media culture Much media ownership is concentrated in the hands of prominent families and businesses. Consequently, some reports tend to be one-sided presentations favoring special interests. The privately owned press also tends toward sensationalism at times. State-owned media, according to media scholars, have been used for state propaganda and for discrediting dissenting voices, and exist alongside state-sponsored trolls tasked to amplify state propaganda.

While the media companies are predominantly owned by moneyed and influential tycoons, the Filipino readers are given the option with the advent of the new media and this has leveled the playing field. Online news publications or news portals, blog sites, and other online available resources have disrupted the readership of other giant news media companies.

The media companies have put up their respective online news portals during the late 90s to early 2000s, even before the advent of contemporary social media.

Alternative media outlets present in the Philippines include Tudla Productions, Southern Tagalog Exposure, Mayday Multimedia, Altermidya, and Bulatlat - these are often red-tagged.

Freedom of the press

Freedom of speech and freedom of the press are enshrined in the 1987 Constitution. According to the Constitution, under Article XVI, Section 10, the State is obligated to "provide the policy environment for … the balanced flow of information into, out of, and across the country, in accordance with a policy that respects the freedom of speech and of the press." The Constitution also guarantees freedom of the press under Article III, Section 4. The Office of the President is responsible for managing the government's policy toward the press.

The Philippines is also a signatory to the United Nations International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, which aims to protect freedom of expression and the freedom of the press.

The country launched the Philippine Plan of Action on the Safety of Journalists in 2019. The action plan aims to address the areas of integrity and professionalism, conducive working conditions, safety and protection mechanisms, criminal justice system, and public information, journalism education, and research.

Although independent observers credit the government with respecting freedom of the press in general, the government has been criticized for failing to investigate thoroughly summary killings of journalists and for subjecting journalists to harassment, red-tagging, and surveillance. In addition to killings, journalists in the Philippines have been victims of various forms of threats and attacks, including verbal assault and intimidation, physical assault, libel charges, arrests, and detentions. Journalists have also been blacklisted from covering public events. Attacks and threats may be carried out by state agents or private individuals. From July 2022 to April 2024, of these attacks, 50 were carried out by military, police, or other state agents, 28 by private individuals, and 27 by political figures.

Source protection In August 2019, President Rodrigo Duterte signed a law expanding the Shield Law or Sotto Law; the new law expanded protection of journalists to include broadcast and online journalists from disclosing confidential sources of "any news item, report or information appearing or being reported or disseminated" unless the court or Congress "finds that such revelation is demanded by the security of the State".

Violence against journalists

The Philippines is among the most dangerous countries in the world according to various media watchdogs. The fifth annual Worldwide Press Freedom Index released by the international press freedom watchdog Reporters Without Borders (RSF) has placed the Philippines among the worst-ranked countries for 2006 at 142nd place. It indicated the continuing murders of journalists and increased legal harassment in the form of libel suits as part of the problem in the Philippines. Between 1986 and 2005, 52 journalists have been murdered and most of their killers go unpunished.

The Committee to Protect Journalists ranked the Philippines among the deadliest and most dangerous places for journalists. The Philippines was also ranked as the most dangerous country in Asia for journalists in 2018 according to the Philippine Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility, which tallied 85 attacks on the media in 2018 under President Rodrigo Duterte. In the first year of the Bongbong Marcos presidency, the National Union of Journalists of the Philippines (NUJP) reported that 3 journalists were killed, 2 were physically assaulted, and 21 were subject to harassment.

United Nations Special Rapporteur on freedom of opinion and expression Irene Khan in 2024 urged the government to do more to stop the killing of journalists in the Philippines. Khan described the killings as "most egregious form of censorship".

Libel and cyber libel

Libel and online libel are criminal offenses in the Philippines. Penalties for online libel include imprisonment for a maximum of 12 years and a fine of a maximum of ₱1,000,000. Since the American colonial period in the Philippines, libel laws have been used to stifle dissent. Media organizations contend that libel has been "used by people in power to harass journalists and muzzle critical reportage".

In 2006, International Federation of Journalists protested the "outrageous" number of libel suits Jose Miguel Arroyo, husband of President Gloria Arroyo, filed against 45 journalists, such as Malaya columnist Ellen Tordesillas and Newsbreak magazine editor-in-chief Marites Vitug. Jose Miguel Arroyo sued for libel after the journalists published investigative reports about his undeclared properties in the United States.