University of the Philippines College of Mass Communication

University of the Philippines Diliman
College of Mass Communication

Unibersidad ng Pilipinas Diliman Kolehiyo ng Komunikasyong Pangmadla
Former name	Institute of Mass Communication
Type	Public University; Research University; Degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman
Established	June 19, 1965
Parent institution	University of the Philippines Diliman
Dean	Fernando C. Paragas
Academic staff	103
Administrative staff	73
Total staff	176
Students	930
Undergraduates	710
Postgraduates	175
Doctoral students	45
Address	Plaridel Hall, Ylanan Street, Diliman , Quezon City
Establishing Act	Republic Act No. 4379
Website	https://ocsgsdguide.wixsite.com/cmc-temp-site

The University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication is an academic degree-granting unit of the University of the Philippines Diliman specializing in the study, usage, and ethics surrounding mass media including the press, radio, television, film, and other technological resources.^[1]

The College of Mass Communication is a CHED Center of Excellence in Broadcasting, Communication, and Journalism under the discipline of Mass Communication and Documentation.^[2] The College also operates the Plaridel Journal of Communication, Media and Society, a bi-annual national journal specializing in media studies, journalism, political economy, and mass media. The journal's articles undergo a double-blind peer-review process and cover media and communication research in the Philippines and in the larger Asia region.^[3]

On June 19, 1965, the Institute of Mass Communication was established by Republic Act No. 4379, and formally began operations on August 23,1966.^[4] Offered initially were Journalism courses as part of the AB Journalism program. Later on, the AB Broadcast Communication and its subsequent graduate studies program were instituted.

The IMC transferred from the College of Arts and Sciences building (Palma Hall), to its current home in Plaridel Hall on September 9, 1969.

On April 7, 1975, the AB Communication Research program was established.

Starting in AY 1982 - 1983, the PhD in Communication program began to be offered. Alongside the addition of the PhD program, the baccalaureate offerings were rationalized into a singular BA Communication program majoring in either journalism, broadcast communication, and communication research. Likewise, a singular MA Communication program was also established offering majors in the 3 fields.

The BA Film and Audiovisual Communication program would be also be offered starting AY 1984 - 1985.

On December 1, 1987, the DZUP would be placed under the management of the IMC upon its reactivation.

On April 28, 1988, the IMC became the College of Mass Communication upon the confirmation of the Board of Regents.

In 2001, the Master's programs majoring in Broadcast Communication and Journalism changed their names from to MA Media Studies to " give emphasis to the study of media as a consciousness industry and as a cultural practice."

The following year, Film was added as a new specialization under the MA Media Studies program alongside the institution of the BA Film program. The BA Media Studies program would also be disestablished the same year to produce the BA Broadcast Communication and BA Journalism degrees alongside BA Film.

In 2012, the MA Journalism was created alongside the PhD in Media Studies to be offered by the Department of Journalism and Department of Graduate Studies, respectively.^[1]

In the same year, the College published a statement in opposition to the Cybercrime Prevention Act, which was then under review by the Supreme Court. The College argued against the law as it sought to penalize libelous content on social media as well as photos, videos, blogs, and chatrooms which can be considered libelous. Highlighting the broader implications of the law, the College argued that the push to criminalize libel on digital spaces can be used to stifle free speech and communication with particular focus on online journalists who utilize social media as part of their investigative reporting. Further highlighted by the College was the law's vague description of “data interference” which could target satirical memes or posts. The College also expressed concern with the empowerment of the Philippine National Police and the National Bureau of Investigation to collect and record internet traffic, and restrict or block access upon suspected of a violation of the law.^[5]

The College celebrated its 50th anniversary on June 19, 2015 with the theme "CMC@50 – Fifty Shades of Great." The golden jubilee was organized by the College's alumni association, and featured artists such as Ogie Alcasid, Dennis Trillo, and Tom Rodriguez. The event was also sponsored by PLDT Home.^[6]

In 2016, the Department of Broadcast Communication, Department of Journalism, and the Department of Communication Research received the Center of Excellence award from Commission on Higher Education.^[7]

In 2022, to celebrate the 100th anniversary of the introduction of radio broadcasting to the Philippines, the College of Mass Communication opened a conference entitled "100 Years of Broadcasting in the Philippines" which aimed to revisit the history of mass communication and broadcasting in the country, the evolution of media, and the usage of media as a platform for identity, questions on ethics, gender, and social justice.^[8]

For the year 2023, the College of Mass Communication conferred the Gawad Gloria Feliciano (known alternatively as the Glory Award) to 5 select alumni to the College for excellence in the fields of journalism, filmmaking, cultural preservation, and public service. The Gawad Gloria Feliciano is named in honor of the College's first dean, Dr. Gloria Feliciano, PhD, who served from 1965 to 1985.^[9][10]

In 2024, the College of Mass Communication would begin consultations with shareholders on a possible change into the College of Media and Communication to better reflect the scope of media and communication. Describing the present name as "limited and limiting," the college seeks to better reflect the role of media and communication and embrace new paradigms in those fields, rather than current name's focus on traditional mass media.^[11]

The Department of Broadcast Communication focuses on the study of broadcast, digital, and other novel media as well as the media ecosystems and ethics that make media indispensable to public service. Additionally, the Department also focuses on media education and responsible media practices in furtherance of its six core values:

1. Integrity, Ethics, Excellence
2. Creative and Critical Knowledge and Practice
3. Inclusive and Transformative Leadership
4. Resilient, Sustainable, Adaptive
5. Malaya at Mapagpalaya (Free and Emancipatory)
6. Makatao at Makatarungan (Humane and Just)^[12]

The Department also operates the DZUP 1602, the campus radio of the University of the Philippines Diliman. Originally established under the College of Engineering, with programming supplied by the Department of Speech and Drama of former College of Liberal Arts, since 1987, the campus radio has been operated by the College of Mass Communication as its laboratory training facility with its own in-house programming created by students and faculty of the College.^[13]

Taught by Dr. Cherish Aileen Brillon, the Department also offers an elective on Taylor Swift studies offered to Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Media Arts and Studies students. The elective focuses on the conception and performance of Taylor Swift and the relationship of the media surrounding her in the context of class, politics, gender, and fantasies of success, to study "how Filipinos have appropriated Taylor Swift as an icon." The Department also plans to offer future electives on other celebrities such as SB19 as part of its push to offer celebrity studies courses to study the broader implications of celebrities on contemporary society.^[14][15]

Programs Offered:

• Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Communication
• Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Media Arts and Studies

The Department of Communication Research, founded in 1975, focuses on the study of communication in media, its spaces and ecologies, and its use in advocacy, public communication, and misinformation. In response to digital technology, the Department also studies the usage of social media in advocacy and education and its opposing usage as a vehicle for disinformation and misinformation. To achieve its goals, the Department often conducts research conferences with partner organizations and universities.

The Department, with the support of its partners and select keynote speakers, convenes the Communication Research International Conference (CRIC), an international conference on communication research open to both senior high school and undergraduate students, faculty from other universities, and professionals in the field. Its 3rd and most recent iteration, which took place on November 17 and 18, 2023, entitled "Mediagenda: The Mediatization of Communication in Asia" sought to shed light on issues about digital culture, mediatized spaces, marginalization in media, media advocacy, misinformation, media pedagogies, post-pandemic media ecologies, and public communication, among else.^[16]

For its 2023 incarnation, the conference had the following partner universities:^[17]

• Atma Jaya University Yogyakarta
• Chulalongkorn University Faculty of Communication Arts
• National Chengchi University
• Nanyang Technological University Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
• National Taiwan Normal University Graduate Institute of Mass Communication
• Tarakanita College of Communication Sciences and Secretarial Studies
• Sunway University School of Arts
• Universitas Multimedia Nusantara
• Untag Surabaya Indonesia - Faculty of Social and Political Sciences

The Department also convenes the annual National Communication Research Conference (NCRC), together with the De La Salle University College of Liberal Arts Department of Communication and the Philippine Association for Communication and Media Research, Inc., as a platform for discussion for students, College and Department faculty, as well as communication and media professionals of the country to share and discuss their studies surrounding communication research.^[18] Started in 2012, the conference is the expansion of the previous Communication Research Student Conference held by the Department to highlight studies undertaken by students. For 2024, the conference bears the theme "Blueprints and Imprints: The UN Sustainable Development Goals (UN SDGs) in Communication and Media Research."^[19][20]

Program Offered:

• Bachelor of Arts in Communication Research

Established in March 2003 upon the merger of the UP Film Center and the Film and Audiovisual Communication Department, the Film Institute aims to develop a sense of social responsibility in the implementation of creative and technical skills for use in mainstream film and media, television, public information, advertisement, and corporate communications. The Film Institute is also the only academic institute in the Philippines that is a member of the International Association of Film and Television Schools (CILECT).^[21]

The Film Institute also operates the Cine Adarna, an 800-seat cinema that screens films across a broad selection of cinema and filmmaking genres, free from censorship and regulation by the MTRCB. The cinema often features a series of films to commemorate periods of remembrance or commemoration, such as the anniversary of the declaration of Martial Law to highlight and celebrate the lives of the activists and victims of the Marcos Regime.^[22]

Program Offered:

• Bachelor of Arts in Film

The Department of Journalism, the oldest of the departments of the College, specializes in journalism and its surrounding issues such as journalism ethics, online journalism, investigative journalism, business reporting, and environmental reporting. The Department aims to further the discipline of journalism in the country while holding its students to journalistic standards.^[23]

The current chair of the Department is Kara David, a documentarist and broadcast journalism who has been an assistant professor at the College since 2017.^[24]

The Department, alongside the University of Santo Tomas and the Polytechnic University of the Philippines College of Communication, also organizes the annual Philippine Journalism Research Conference which aims to recognizes student excellence in the categories of investigative journalism, journalism research, news documentary, photo essay, and special projects in journalism. For its 2023 iteration, the conference bore the theme “Journalism and Generation Truth” and included submissions from students of the organizing universities, Ateneo de Zamboanga University, Biliran State University, Mindoro State University, Palawan State University, and other universities. The conference was also supported by the Office of the Vice Chancellor for Research and Development (Office of Extension Coordination) of UP Diliman, the UP CMC Foundation Inc., the Embassy of Canada, VERA Files, the Philippine Press Institute, and the Simbulan family.^[25][26]

Program Offered:

• Bachelor of Arts in Journalism

• Master of Arts in Media Studies (Broadcast)
• Master of Arts in Communication
• Master of Arts in Media Studies (Film)
• Master of Arts in Journalism
• Doctor of Philosophy in Communication
• Doctor of Philosophy in Media Studies

The Plaridel: A Journal of Communication, Media, and Society was established in 2004 as "the national journal of communication." Plaridel specializes in qualitative and quantitative research on journalism studies, media, communication, political economy, and subcultural practices. Published every July and December, Plaridel accepts user-submitted articles, written in either English or Filipino, focusing on any aspect of communication and media, even reviews of existing media. Submissions are refereed to the Editorial Board composed of both UP and non-UP professors and media and communication experts for review.^[27]

The journal is included in the Web of Science Core Collection and indexed in the Emerging Sources Citation Index and the ASEAN Citation Index.^[3][28][29]

Its present Editor-in-Chief is Fernando de la Cruz Paragas, Ph.D, the present dean of the College.^[30]