CAMPUS

JOURNALISM

Journalism
 The word journalism is taken from the French journal which in turn comes from the Latin
word diurnal which means “daily”.
 It is the practice of gathering, recording, verifying, and reporting on information of public importance.
 It concerned, primarily, with the collection and dissemination of news through the print media as well
as the electronic media.
 Journalism provides citizens with the information they need to make good decisions for themselves and
their communities, and is essential for a functioning democracy.

Brief History of Journalism

In ancient Rome, the earliest reference to a journalistic product comes from Rome circa 59 B.C. At that time
government officials compiled events from battles, fires and election. They were carved those pieces of information
on stone or metal and then they put it on in the Forum, the main public square in ancient Rome, and displayed it in
public places. News was recorded in a circular called the Acta Diurna which means “daily events”. It was published
daily and hung in prominent places for many people to read it. It began under the reign of Julius Caesar, who
believed it was important to inform his citizens of events that would occur, politics, and his military. Acta Diurna
were used to communicate events other than military exploits, such as news concerning gladiatorial games,
government decisions, births and deaths, and even astrological readings.

In China during the Tang dynasty, a court circular called a dibao or bao, means “government report,” was
issued to government officials.

For over a thousand years people get the news this way. Until there was a German man called Johannes
Gutenberg invented a machine that created many pages of text, very quickly. He called this machine the Printing
Press. In 1454 AD, Gutenberg began to use his invention.

History of Journalism
in the Philippines

The history of journalism in the Philippines goes back to the 16th century, the same period when England
and Europe were starting on the proliferation of community newspapers. It was in the Spanish era in the year 1637
when the "Father of Filipino Printing", Tomas Pinpin, launched the first Philippine newsletter called "Successos
Felices" (Fortunate Events). The publication was written in Spanish and contained a 14-page report on current
events.
In 1799, following Pinpin's debut in printing, he again came up with his Hojas Volantes or "flying sheets". It
was titled "Aviso Al Publico" (Notices to the Public), which served the Spaniards and had a role comparative to a
"town crier."

Town crier - a person employed to make public announcements in the streets or marketplace of a town. It was the
job of the crier or bellman to inform the townspeople of the latest news, proclamations, bylaws and any other
important information, as at this time most folk were illiterate and could not read. The cry would then end with the
words, 'God save the King' or 'God save the Queen'.
Surprisingly, it took a gap of a little more than a decade before the first actual newspaper, "Del Superior
Govierno," was launched by Gov. Fernandez del Forgueras on August 8, 1811. It was the so-called first regularly
issued publication that reported developments about Spain and Europe. It was also the first newspaper that
included in its layout the name, date and place of its publication. Unfortunately, the paper only came up with 15
issues within its years of operation.
Due to the constraints of the church and government at that time, 35 years had lapsed before the Philippine
press continued on its development. From the first regular publication, then came the first daily newspaper on
December 1, 1846 called "La Esperanza" which means HOPE. La Esperanza dealt mostly with noncontroversial
subjects --historical, scientific and religious--- in order to be on safe. The paper, edited by Felipe Lacorte and
Evaristo Calderon, lasted only for three years. However, it gave way to the birth of other dailies such as "La
Estrella" in 1847 and "Diario de Manila" in 1848.
In 1862, a Tagalog publisher, Mariano Sevilla, founded El Catolico Filipino. It was considered the first
Philippine religious newspaper, unexpectedly not managed by the Church. It was also a paper which seriously dealt
with the problems of Filipinos.

After the Spaniards’ defeat from the Americans, English newspaper started to circulate. In 1920 Taliba-La
Vanguardia- Tribune (TVT) was considered the first newspaper chain in the Philippines. It was run by Alejandro
Rocess Sr. "Father of Modern Journalism."

History of Campus
Journalism in the Philippines

According to Jesus Valenzuela in the History of Journalism in the Philippine Islands (1933) and John Lent in
the Philippine Mass Communication (1964), the history of campus journalism in the Philippines started when the
University of Santo Tomas published El Liliputiense in 1890. It comes from lilliputian which means “tiny”

the University of the

Philippines
published The College Folio,
now The Philippine Collegian,
in1910
In 1910, the University of the Philippines (now, Philippine Collegian) published The College Folio. The
Torch of the Philippine Normal University, The Guidon of the Ateneo de Manila University, and The Varsitarian of
the University of Santo Tomas were also published two years later.

The first school paper in Manila public high schools and incidentally in the country was born in the
school year 1911-1912 was The Coconut of the old Manila High School (Araullo High School). It was a
mimeographed paper and under the editorship Carlo P. Romulo. The Coconut is now considered the oldest
officially recorded student publication in the Philippines.

Carlos Peña Romulo Sr. (January 14, 1899 – December 15, 1985) was a Filipino diplomat, statesman, soldier,
journalist and author. He was a reporter at the age of 16, a newspaper editor by 20 and a publisher at 32. He wrote
and published 18 books. In World War II Romulo was aide-de-camp to General Douglas MacArthur. As a
journalist he wrote a series of articles, after a tour of the Far East, about Japanese imperialism. For this he was
the only Asian to win an America’s coveted Pulitzer Prize in journalism.
In 1923, La Union High School in the Ilocos Region published The La Union Tab, the first printed and regularly
issued high school newspaper in the country. It is considered as the “pioneer of high school paper”. Since then, high
school newspapers came out one after the other.

The Pampangan (1925) Pampanga High School

The Leytean (1925) Leyte High School
The Rizalian (1926) Rizal High School
The Coconut (1927) Tayabas High School
The Volcano (1927) Batangas High School
The Toil (1928) La Union Trade School
The Samarinian (1928) Samar High School
The Melting Pot (1929) Tarlac High School
The Granary (1929) Nueva Ecija High School
The Torres Torch (1930) Torres High School
The Cagayan Student Chronicle (1931)

By 1931 high schools in the Philippines reached a considerable number, 106. Since then, high schools felt
the necessity of putting up their own school papers and paper organization though no memoranda or circulars
were issued. Only 30 schools registered their school papers in the Bureau of Public Schools. By 1950, it became
169, by 1954, 253, by 1975, 500 and by 1986 (the rebirth of f freedom), it became more than 900 secondary school
publications in Filipino and English.

Since there were already too many high school newspapers that came out, Circular Letter no. 34 s. 1925
was the first noted regulation to support school papers in the country by standardizing it. It was issued by the
Bureau of Education (which became Department of Education, Culture and Sports and now, Department of
Education). The Circular Letter was signed by the then Director Luther B. Bewley.

Formal Introduction
of Journalism

Although the first school paper in the City of Manila was published in the school year 1911-1912, formal
classroom instruction in high school journalism in high school journalism began only in 1952.

That was the time that Mrs. Sarah England, an American teacher of Mapa High school, she experimented the
teaching of journalism. Since it proved successful, the other four schools existing high school in the city followed
namely Araullo, Torres, Arelano, and Abad Santos high school. They formally offered journalism as a vocational
subject holding classes on a daily double period throughout the school year. Since then, journalism has been under
the supervision of English supervisor, but the grades are considered vocational subjects.

Scope of Journalism

Journalism may be divided into three areas, namely: written, oral, and visual. Periodicals such as
newspapers and magazines fall under written journalism. A periodical, defined broadly, is a publication that comes
out at regular intervals - daily, weekly, fortnightly, monthly, bi-monthly, quarterly, or annually.

Newspapers are the oldest and most traditional format for the inclusion of journalism. They are regularly
scheduled publications containing news of current events, informative articles, diverse features and advertising.
A newspaper, as compared to a magazine, prints more news, has no special cover, and is printed on a special paper
called newsprint. News is printed on the front page, as well as on the inside and the back pages.

A magazine, on the other hand, prints more features and human interest stories, has a special cover usually
with a big cut on it, and is often printed on bookpaper. They usually take a much more relaxed format than
newspapers, with a more informal style to their writing. They are also usually focused on a particular subject or
area of interest. Example of magazine are business magazine, fashion magazines, cooking magazines, sports
magazines, health magazines, travel magazines. If ever news is printed, it is brief, featurized, and found in the inside
pages.

Broadcasting is under oral journalism. Radio and television are examples of broadcast media, while movies
and documentaries are examples of film media. It is produced locally in a newsroom or by a broadcast network. It
sometimes also includes such additional material as sports coverage, weather forecasts, traffic reports,
commentary, and other material that the broadcaster considers relevant to the intended audience.

In visual journalism, photojournalism can be defined as the process of using photographs to tell a story. It is
a form of visual storytelling and reporting. Whereas conventional journalists will share their information by
employing pen and paper (or maybe a keyboard), photojournalists use a camera as their medium. A photojournalist
will use images to tell the entire story, from start to finish, and if executed properly a reader may not even need
words to fully understand the message being presented.

Photojournalists tell a story that would be difficult to capture with words alone. The images they present can be
vehicles for educating the public. A photo should be able to convey an entire story, but without words.

General News
Photography
General news photography pertains to any event that is planned ahead of time and is not considered
breaking news. Elections, the Olympics and other scheduled events fall under this category.
General news photography allows a journalist to become fully familiar with a story before reporting on the
results or the outcome. It is also an opportunity to educate readers and viewers on specific events as they occur.

Portrait Photojournalism

This type of photojournalism generally portrays prominent members of the government or the community
assuming a natural pose in their typical environment. A good example of portrait photography might be a picture of
the President working in the Oval Office, or a physician performing surgery in a hospital operating room.

Obituary Photography

Obituary photography seeks to showcase a life through a series of curated images. Its objective is to recall
and commemorate a deceased subject, recognizing their impact on a group, a community or society at large.
Obituary photography aims to tell the story of one’s life in images and to recognize the impact of the
personalities that have changed our world forever.

Feature
Photojournalism
This type of photojournalism runs concurrent with a headline story or photo series to offer more in-depth
coverage. Feature photojournalism brings context to the main story and offers supporting details about the people
and places involved, or additional perspectives on events and issues the main story explored.

Documentary Photojournalism

This is long-term photography that tells an unfolding story. Photojournalists might be assigned, for
instance, to tell the story of the Olympic Games or other sporting events that unfold over days and weeks or a
season.