MISTERYOSA.COM

Ricardo T. Jose’s “Fragments from the Past: Towards a History of the Philippine Press” has made me realize not only the similarity of History and Journalism, but also the inadequate information and historiography of Journalism. It’s really helpful for me, as a new Journalism student, in order for me to sort out facts.

I really had no intention of taking up Journalism. Honestly, I just tried my luck to transfer from the University of the Philippines Baguio, where I was taking up Bachelor of Arts in Language and Literature. I wasn’t even planning to transfer here in Diliman, but because my friends wanted to transfer, I did too. I chose Journalism only because it involves writing, which I love to do.

But I soon realized that in Journalism, one person has to have the passion for what he or she does, and that is exposing the truth to the society. I’ve had many apprehensions, but I’m beginning to develop the interest in Journalism. History of it is a good way to start.

As I learn more, I become more curious with how the press started. No one can deny the power the media has over the society, and I want to learn how this certain influential element has come about. Society shapes media; media shapes society.

I’ve never thought that History and Media are related to one another except for the fact that the media has played a vital part in the history of the Philippines. What has once been a colonized country is now free, with the help of media, especially the different newspapers which have contributed to the liberty we’ve all been wanting.

As I read the essay of Jose, I couldn’t help thinking that there’s still a lot of things to know about media. It’s not just a thing anymore, it’s an institution. We people have made it an institution, so we have to learn its origin and its evolution. The problem is that there are certain gaps which have to be filled in order for us to really understand the evolution of the media.

Philippine press has been written about so many times, but the articles, essays, and books available are either written by foreigners or the Filipinos who just concentrate on one media aspect. I think that maybe if we put all these elements together, we can come up with something comprehensible. Of course, we have to use the American and Spaniard books in context because of their biases against the Filipinos.

I learned in my History class that history of something should be written by someone who belongs in that certain society where “history” occurred. It goes without saying that Philippine media history should be written by no other than Filipinos, because they know what it’s like to be in the Philippines, and they know more than any other foreigner can even imagine knowing. Simply put, Philippine history and many of its aspects must be written by the people of the Philippines.

I’ve been wondering why Philippine schools most of the time use books and other materials – reference materials – from other countries, written by other people. The one thing I’m concerned at is that countries have their own distinction, and their own identity to preserve. I don’t know how we can contextualize one foreign idea in the Philippines because our country, its traditions and history, is different from the other society. Maybe that’s why the so-called conservatives have come about, because they want to preserve our own cultural traditions and thoughts.

What we need is a history with no biases and purely cultural in nature. No matter how influenced the Philippines is by other countries during that time, I’m pretty sure that with some deeper digging, we might come up with something fresh that will fit into the puzzle for it to make sense. History helps us make sense of the media: why it is the way it is nowadays.

Journalism is one tough course. I don’t know why I’ve taken it, but maybe I really have a purpose. Who knows, maybe I will be the next one who attempts to write a detailed and comprehensive history of the Philippine media. I just hope that someone, a Filipino, will be able to fill in all the gaps in the history of the press.