The History of Philippine Radio and Television Broadcasting

Philippine Radio and TV

A couple of 50-watt radio stations were established in Pasay and in Manila by Henry Hermann. Radio during Japanese
Occupation WORLD WAR II Shortly after the bombing of the Pearl Harbor in Hawaii, Japanese airplanes bombed Manila
and attacked Davao, Baguio, Clark Field in Pampanga, and the American Naval Base in Cavite. The Japanese Imperial Army
diversionary forces landed in Legaspi, Albay; Aparri, Cagayan; and Vigan, Ilocos Sur and the main invasion forces landed in
Lingayen, Pangasinan.

President Manuel Quezon, Vice President Sergio Osmeña, and Lt Gen Douglas MacArthur left Manila and departed for
Corregidor. As a new alternative, a similar shortwave relay station was provided for a few more days by the navy wireless
station but was destroyed when the Japanese forces attack Cavite. When the Filipino and the American troops retreated,
all radio stations, except KZRH, were destroyed as part of the “scorched earth policy” of General MacArthur. Subsequently,
the Japanese forces reactivated the three radio stations in Manila. These were the better-known KZRH and KZRM, and the
lesser-known KZRF.

1924, The first two call letters “KZ” was assigned to all radio stations in the Philippines in accordance with the laws of the
United States of America applicable to the country, which was then an American colony. KZKZ, a 100‐watt radio station,
replaced the 50‐watt radio stations established earlier by Hermann.

1929, KZRC, Radio Cebu, opened in Cebu and introduced radio broadcasting in the province. However, it was closed down
because shortwave relay signals were unsuccessful between Cebu and Manila. It reopened after a decade and fearlessly
went on air with the guerilla movements.

1931, the Commonwealth Act No. 3840, also known as the Radio Control Law, created the Radio Control Division, the
regulatory body of the broadcast industry under the supervision of the secretary of commerce and industry. Later, it was
renamed Radio Control Office that lasted until 1972 when President Ferdinand Marcos signed Proclamation No. 1081 and
“placed the entire country under martial law” and when the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkasters sa Pilipinas was established
“to police its own rank.” During that time, six commercial radio stations were already established, and these were KZEG,
KZIB, KZRC, KZRF, KZRH, and KZRM. Only one of these radio stations, KZRM, stayed on the air for a very long period.

December 28, 1941, three weeks after the attack of the Pearl Harbor, the United States provided a shortwave relay station
in the Philippines. Radio programs were compiled in Washington, sent out through the NBC network, relayed through the
KGEI in San Francisco, California, and beamed to the five radio stations in Manila and to the radio station in Cebu. This
long but cumbersome shortwave relay station lasted for six days and was discontinued when the Japanese forces entered
and occupied the City of Manila.

January 2, 1942 after General MacArthur declared Manila an open city to avoid further destruction and loss of civilian
lives. The following day, Gen Masaharu Homma, the Japanese Imperial Army commander in chief, announced the end of
the American occupation, the imposition of martial law, and the establishment of the Japanese Military Administration.
Among the three radio stations, two were noted in the United States and in the South Pacific under different call signs.
Station KZRH was noted as KAIN, PIAN, and PIRN, while station KZRM was noted as PIAM and PIRM. Obviously, under the
Japanese Military Administration, the first two call letters “PI” stood for Philippine Islands.

February 6, 1942, Gen Emilio Aguinaldo, in a broadcast over the Japanese controlled KZRH, urged General MacArthur to
surrender in view of the obvious superiority of Japanese arms contradicting his early pronouncements on June 12, 1941
urging the Filipino people to unite as one in body and soul and cooperate wholeheartedly with the United States if they
want to save democracy. On the other hand, the Far East Broadcasting Company operated two mobile shortwave stations
for outside broadcasts. It is likely that one of these stations, probably KZRB, was taken over by the US Army as a temporary
shortwave relay station from KGEI in San Francisco, California.

May 1945- Station KZRH was used by the Japanese Military Administration as its mouthpiece in the country. When World
War II was over, KZFM was the first radio station to return on the air. It reopened was operated by the US Army Office of
War Information.
September 11, 1946- US government turned it over to the Philippine government in.

1947- KZFM, renamed DZFM, became the nucleus of the Philippine Broadcasting System. Subsequently, the first two call
letters “KZ” was replaced by “DZ” for Manila, “DW” for Luzon, “DY” for the Visayas, and “DX” for Mindanao in Later, radio
stations in Luzon including Manila were required to change their first two call letters from “DW” to “DZ”. Radio was heavily
censored, controlled and monitored. Martial Law tore the yellow curtains of sensationalism and vulgar journalism. It
established government controls through the Broadcast Media Council, the KBP & the NTC. There was the pre‐eminence
of radio as an instrument of change: Radio Veritas & Radyo Bandido.

The first two call letters “KZ”. Francisco “Koko” Trinidad, regarded by broadcasters and broadcast faculty and students as
the father of Philippine broadcasting, represented the country in a conference of the International Telecommunications
Union in Atlantic City in the United States. In that conference, Trinidad insisted the change of the first two call letters “KZ”
to “RP” for Republic of the Philippines. He wanted to inform the world about the one-year-old republic in the South East
Asia. However, the union rejected the first two call letters because of the trouble it would cause in securing the approval
of the international broadcasting community. And because Germany used her radio stations to advance the ideologies of
Nazis, the union punished her by depriving her rights to use broadcast airwaves. The union then gave her rights to use the
call letter D for Deutscheland, the German name of Germany, to the Republic of the Philippines. Also in 1947, the
Philippine Broadcasting System under Trinidad introduced developmental communication in radio broadcasting.
Agricultural programs were broadcast on some radio stations in the country and in the region. During martial law dozens
of print and broadcast journalists were murdered or jailed. It proved to be a nightmare of one of the "freest" media in
Asia. Catholic‐church owned radio Veritas mobilized people power to support the rebel soldiers against Marcos’ military
power. Millions of Filipinos followed the historic events of the EDSA revolution from Radyo Bandido anchored by
JuneKiethley.

1950- The University of Santo Tomas and Feati University were experimenting with television. UST demonstrated its home-
made receiver, while Feati opened an experimental television station two years later.

October 23, 1953, the Alto Broadcasting System (ABS), the forerunner of ABS-CBN, made its first telecast as DZAQ-TV
Channel 3. The ABS offices were then located along Roxas Blvd. ABS was owned by Antonio Quirino, brother of former
president Elpidio Quirino. Consequently, the first telecast was that of a party at the owner’s residence, earning Elpidio
Quirino the honor of being the first Filipino to appear on television. The station operated on a four-hours-a-day schedule
(6-10PM), covering only a 50-mile radius. ABS was later sold to the Lopez family, who later transformed it into ABS-CBN.

1957, the Chronicle Broadcasting Network (CBN), owned by the Lopez family, operated two TV stations--DZAQ Channel 3
and DZXL-TV Channel 9.

1960, a third station was in operation, DZBB-TV Channel 7, or, the Republic Broadcasting System. It was owned by Bob
Stewart, a long-time American resident in the Philippines who also started with radio in 1950. RBS started with only 25
employees, a surplus transmitter, and two old cameras. During this time, the most popular horror series on Philippine
television was Gabi ng Lagim. During that time, the Filipinos readily accepted radio news and entertainment programs,
and local businessmen, who recognized its profitability, established their own radio stations to advertise their products
and services.

1961, the National Science Development Board was established. It was behind the earliest initiative to use local TV for
education, "Education on TV" and "Physics in the Atomic Age." In 1963, RBS TV Channel-7 Cebu was inaugurated

1966, the number of privately owned TV channels was 18; ABS-CBN was the biggest network by the time Martial Law was
declared.

1968, the daily television content consisted mostly of canned programs; only 10% of programs was locally produced. The
same year, ABS-CBN provided Filipinos with a live satellite feed of the Mexico Olympics. Filipino audiences also saw the
Apollo 11 landing live in 1969.
1970's During Martial Law, Ferdinand Marcos ordered the closure of all but three television stations: channels 9 and 13
were eventually controlled by then Ambassador Roberto Benedicto, and Bob Stewart’s Channel 7 was later allowed to
operate with limited three-month permits. ABS-CBN was seized from the Lopez family, and Eugenio Lopez Jr., then
president of the network, was imprisoned. In 1973, the Kapisanan ng mga Brodkaster sa Pilipinas (KBP) was organized to
provide a mechanism for self-regulation in the broadcast industry.

1973, Channel 7 was heavily in debt and was forced to sell 70% of the business to a group of investors, who changed the
name from RBS to Greater Manila Area (GMA) Radio Television Arts. Stewart was forced to cede majority control to
Gilberto Duavit, a Malacañang official, and RBS reopened under new ownership, with a new format as GMA-7. When the
smoke cleared, the viewer had channels 2, 9, 13, run by Benedicto; Duavit’s 7; and 4, which belonged to the Ministry of
Information. When DZXL-TV Channel 9 of CBN was sold to Roberto Benedicto, he changed the name from CBN to KBS,
Kanlaon Broadcasting System. So when a fire destroyed the KBS television studios in Pasay, the people of Benedicto took
over the ABS-CBN studios on Bohol Avenue, Quezon City. His employees moved in, and by August 1973, KBS was
broadcasting on all ABS-CBN channels. A year later, Salvador “Buddy” Tan, general manager of KBS, reopened Channel 2
as the Banahaw Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). The two Benedicto stations--KBS Channel 9 and BBC Channel 2—mainly
aired government propaganda. 1980's In 1980, Channels 2, 9, and 13 moved to the newly-built Broadcast City in Diliman,
Quezon City.

1980, Gregorio Cendaña was named Minister of Information. GTV Channel 4 became known as the Maharlika Broadcasting
System. When Benigno Aquino was assassinated in 1983, it was a small item on television news. GMA Channel 7 gave the
historic funeral procession 10 seconds of airtime.

1984, Imee Marcos, daughter of Ferdinand Marcos, attempted to take over GMA Channel 7, just as she did with the
Benedictos. However, she was foiled by GMA executives Menardo Jimenez and Felipe Gozon. On February 24, 1986, MBS
Channel 4 went off the air during a live news conference in Malacañang and during an exchange between Marcos and
then Chief of Staff General Fabian Ver. The network was eventually taken over by rebel forces and started broadcasting
for the Filipino people.

1986, Corazon Aquino restored democracy. In the process, she revised the constitution which now upholds the Bill of
Rights including the provision on an “invioable” Freedom of the Press. This injected much hope for the new media although
the Marcos legacy still live on‐‐‐the controls of the KBP & NTC.

September 14, 1986, ABS-CBN Channel 2 made a comeback and resumed broadcasting after 14 years.

Novermber 8, 1988, GMA inaugurated the “Tower of Power,” its 777-feet, 100kW transmitter, the country’s tallest man-
made structure.In 1988, PTV Channel 4, then MBS, was launched as “The People’s Station.”

1990s ABS-CBN launched the Sarimanok Home Page, the station’s Web presence, making it the first Philippine network
on the Internet.

February 21, 1992, ABC Channel 5 reopened with a new multi-million-peso studio complex in Novaliches.

1996, 89% of Filipinos and 57% of Philippine households watched television 6-7 days a week.

1997, the Children’s Television Act (RA8370), providing for the creation of a National Council for Children’s Media
Education, was passed. By 1997, 57% of Filipino households had at least one television. 100% of those in class AB had
televisions, as opposed to only 4% in class E. In 1997, the Mabuhay Philippines Satellite Corporation successfully launched
Agila II, the country’s first satellite.

1998, there were 137 television stations nationwide. On April 19, 1998, ZOE TV 11 of ZOE Broadcasting Network, Inc.,

owned by born-again evangelist Eddie Villanueva, was officially launched.

BROADCAST JOURNALISM

• Broadcast Journalism is the field of news and journals which are "broadcast", that is, published by electrical
methods, instead of the older methods, such as printed newspapers and posters. Broadcast methods include
radio (via air, cable, and Internet), television (via air, cable, and Internet), and, especially recently, the World
Wide Web. Such media disperse pictures (static and moving), visual text and/or sounds.

• Broadcast journalism is a powerful medium, it can shape public opinion, touch hearts, influence, and inspire.

PREAMBLE

WE BELIEVE

THAT broadcasting in the Philippines should reflect the hopes and dreams of a freedom loving people;

THAT broadcasting is a powerful medium in shaping our country's cultural, social and economic growth and development;

THAT broadcasting, because of its immediate and lasting impact on the public, demands of its practitioners a high sense
of responsibility, morality, fairness and honesty at all times.

THAT broadcasting has an obligation to uphold the properties and customs of civilized society, maintain the respect of the
rights and sensitivities of all people, preserve the honor and the sanctity of the family and home, protect the sacredness
of individual dignity, and promote national unity.

What are “Ethics”?

 Definition: Moral principles that govern a person's or group's behavior

 They are not “laws,” but rather “guidelines.”

 Can be interpreted differently by different people or groups

 Some organizations set up their own ethics guidelines

 Four main areas of the Society of Professional Journalists Code of Ethics:

 Seek truth and report it

 Minimize harm

 Act independently

 Be accountable

Fairness Formula

 A+B+C+D+E=F

 Accuracy +

 Balance +

 Completeness +

 Detachment +

 Ethics =

 FAIRNESS
Accuracy

 Basic component of fairness

 Should do a correction/retraction if incorrect information is given

 Newspapers regularly run corrections, TV less so

 Deliberate distortion is never allowed, even if it helps “sell” the story

 Identify sources whenever possible

 Avoid “staged” interviews

Balance

 Doesn’t mean all points of view need to be addressed, but important one should

 Give voice to the voiceless

 Support the open exchange of views

Completeness

 Need to tell the whole story, not just sound bites

 Give subjects of news stories the opportunity to respond to allegations

 Lack of airtime comes into play

Detachment

 Avoid preconceived notions about the story

 Avoid conflicts of interest

 Avoid associations or activities that may compromise integrity

Ethics

 Reporters’ preconceived notions come into play

 Editorial viewpoints should not be part of a news report

 Admit mistakes and correct them promptly

 Use sensitivity when reporting on those affected by tragedy or grief

 Balance a suspect’s rights with the public’s right to be informed