As mentioned earlier, media exist in many forms, the three main categories being: print, broadcast, and new media. These differ mainly in the platform that they use.
Print media refers to paper publications like newspapers, books, magazines, newsletters, and journals. It also includes brochures, posters, flyers, banners, and billboards. Print media is considered the oldest form of media as it is closely tied to the emergence of the printing press.
According to the National Commission for Culture and the Arts (NCCA), the Philippine press “played [a] critical role in the nation’s quest for freedom and independence” (Tuazon, 2015). Among the most notable nationalistic newspapers during the 19th century were the La Solidaridad, Kalayaan, La Independencia, and La Libertad. All of these served as “official organ[s] of the revolutionaries” (Tuazon, 21315). During the post-war era, the Philippine press became known as “the freest in Asia” (as cited in Tuazon, 2015). This freedom was challenged during Martial Law as the government started taking control of the press.
However, alternative press, xerox journalism, and campus publications paved the way for activism and aided in the People Power Revolution. Today, the print media that have the biggest daily circulation in the country are Manila Bulletin, Philippine Daily Inquirer, and Philippine Star (Tuazon, 2015).
The second category is broadcast media. Broadcast media includes radio and television—media that initially used the airwaves to reach their audience. Nowadays, radio and television both use direct satellite broadcasting, which helps them reach audiences worldwide (“Broadcasting,” 2016). One example of this is the sample weather report presented in the first part of the lesson.
Lastly, new media is composed of media that use digital technologies like the Internet to distribute or exhibit content (Manovich, 2006). Under this category are social media, blogs, websites, and streaming media. Producers of print media and broadcast media have increasingly relied on new media as a platform because it helps them gain a wider audience and because more and more people are now using new media as a means of communication. Some examples of new media are Facebook, YouTube, and WordPress.
