History of Mass Communication Essay

On June 19, 1965 Republic Act No. 4379 was passed, providing for the establishment of the University of the Philippines Institute of Mass Communication (UP-IMC). Dr. Gloria Feliciano was appointed director, and later dean, of the Institute. UP-IMC was formally established as an academic unit on August 23, 1966 offering journalism courses leading to the A.B. Journalism degree. In school year 1966-67, the A.B. Broadcast Communication and the M.A. programs were instituted. It was also in May 1967 that the Institute graduated its first batch of students—nine A.B. Journalism majors. By September 9, 1969, the Institute had transferred from the College of Arts and Sciences to Plaridel Hall. The third undergraduate program of IMC, the A.B. Communication Research, was instituted on April 7, 1975. Seven years later, in school year 1982-83, the Ph.D. in Communication program was instituted. It was also during this school year that the merging of the three undergraduate programs into one B.A. Communication program with major in any of the three old programs (journalism, broadcast communication, and communication research) was undertaken. Likewise, the three masteral programs were merged into one M.A. in Communication program and students could major in either broadcast communication, journalism or communication research. In school year 1984-85, the Film and Audiovisual Communication’s program was added to the Institute’s undergraduate course offerings. The following school year, Prof. Georgina R. Encanto was appointed new Dean of the Institute, succeeding Dr. Gloria D. Feliciano. December 1, 1987 marked the reactivation of the DZUP under the management of the institute. On April 28, 1988, almost 23 years after it was established, the UP IMC was elevated by the UP Board of Regents. Dr. Delia R. Barcelona then became the Dean in 1991. Prof. Luis V. Teodoro was dean from 1994 to 2000. During his term, the A.B. Communication program was divided once more into four distinct courses. Construction of the new Mass Media Center began in late 1996 during the term of Dean Teodoro, who conceptualized the Center to prepare the College for the 21st century, and raised the initial funds for its construction. In 1998, the Commission on Higher Education named the Journalism and Communication Research departments as its Centers of Excellence in the study of communication. The Broadcast Communication and the Film departments, meanwhile, are candidates for Centers of Development. In 2002, during the deanship of Prof. Ellen Paglinauan, a new MA Media Studies program was instituted with specializations in Broadcast Communication, Journalism, Film. The latter is considered to be the first (and only) graduate program in film in the Philippines. Dean Nicanor Tiongson, meanwhile, started two new Mass Communication institutions: the Plaridel Journal and the Gawad Plaridel.