Guru for decolonizing journ/com education

Philippine communication “guru” Dr. Crispin C. Maslog, the first Filipino journalist to acquire a doctorate in mass communication, has proposed a drastic revision of the way Philippine journalism has been taught and practised in the Philippines.

In a lecture to communication students and practitioners at the University of Santo Tomas, his alma mater, last December 10, Maslog said that the first Filipino journalists and journalism students were taught by the early American journalists to practice and teach journalism in the Philippines the American way.

American Journalism

“Go direct to the point—present the 5 Ws and 1 H. Who, what, where, when, why and how. Don’t beat around the bush,” the early American practitioners said.

Among them were the pioneers in Philippine journalism in English–American Carson Taylor of Manila Bulletin, the oldest English language newspaper in the Philippines, and Scotsman Robert McCullough Dick of the Philippines Free Press.

Among their first English journalism disciples were Teodoro M. Locsin Sr., Armando Malay, Ramon Roces, Max Soliven and Teodoro C. Benigno. The Manila Bulletin, Manila Times and Manila Chronicle led the way in early Philippine journalism.

The first Filipino communication scholars to the U.S. under the Fulbright-Smith Mundt, Rockefeller and Ford scholarship programs–including Maslog, Nora Quebral, Juan Jamias, Gloria Feliciano, Josefina Patron and Fr. Alberto Ampil, S.J.– were trained in English journalism and mass communication and returned to set up the first English mass com programs in the country.

The University of Santo Tomas established in 1936 a journalism major within its Faculty of Philosophy and Letters and taught English journalism with a vengeance, offering seven English journalism/writing courses in its undergraduate degree program alone. And the medium of instruction was English.

The tradition of English journalism was thus established in the post World War II years and Filipino students became disciples of European and American schools of communication.

American Indian and Filipino Communication

Maslog said it took his two-year experience teaching communication and living on an American Indian Reservation in Fort Yates, South Dakota, in 2008-2010 to discover that Philippine culture was different from white American culture, and Filipino ways of communication were different from the white man’s ways.

There are more similarities between Filipino and American Indian culture and communication.

They share values such as strong family ties, respect for the elderly, humility, generosity, sense of gratitude, honor, humor, wisdom and love for education.

He also said the Native Americans have a unique style of oratory, which is indirect, non-confrontational, consensual, respectful and humble. This style resembles the traditional Filipino way of communication before the Westerners came to the Philippines.

Media Asia increases citations, sustains
fast turnaround time in its golden year

By Danilo Araña Arao
Editor, Media Asia

As Media Asia celebrates its 50th year in 2023, the journal’s citation metrics show improvement as the turnaround time is sustained.

The journal’s latest CiteScore (https://www.scopus.com/sourceid/23067) has improved to 0.8 as of January 5, 2023. Based on Scopus data, this score is based on Media Asia’s 52 citations out of 65 indexed documents to date.

When the new editorial board took over in 2020 and Media Asia got re-indexed on Scopus, the CiteScore ranged from 0.0 to 0.5.

For the past three years, the five most cited articles were published in 2020 and 2021. They all focus on media and the COVID-19 pandemic (https://www.tandfonline.com/action/showMostCitedArticles?journalCode=rmea20).

In 2022, new manuscript submissions increased by 10.6 percent compared to 2021. This is the case even if the latest rejection rates are pegged at 84.93 percent (refereed articles) and 58.47 percent (non-refereed editorials, commentaries and reviews).

Based on unsolicited feedback from some authors, they seem to appreciate the relatively quick turnaround time (TAT) that does not compromise the quality of editorial and peer reviews. As of this writing, the average TAT from submission to online publication for refereed publications is 214.00 days. On the other hand, the average TAT for non-refereed ones is 49.96 days.

Media Asia is a peer reviewed journal that focuses on practices in journalism, advertising, public relations, entertainment and other aspects of media in Asia. The journal’s editorial board is composed of nine women and four men who are based in nine locations in Asia, Europe and North America.

The Editor is Danilo Araña Arao (University of the Philippines Diliman, Philippines). The Associate Editors are Lisa Brooten (Southern Illinois University Carbondale, USA), Roselyn Du (California State University Fullerton, USA), Paromita Pain (University of Nevada Reno, USA), Ma. Theresa M. Rivera (Far Eastern University Manila, Philippines) and Nick Y. Zhang (Hong Kong Baptist University, Hong Kong).

The members of the Editorial Advisory Board are Sarah Cardey (University of Reading, UK), Ataharul Chowdhury (University of Guelph, Canada), Minjeong Kim (Hankuk University of Foreign Studies, South Korea), Eunice Barbara C. Novio (Vongchavalitkul University, Thailand), Sheau-Wen Ong (Wenzhou-Kean University, China), Deborah N. Simorangkir (Swiss German University, Indonesia) and Tom Sykes (University of Portsmouth, UK).

AMIC Chair honored by UPLB-CDC

Dr. Crispin Maslog, Chair, AMIC Board of Directors, was honored by the University of the Philippines Los Banos – College of Development Communication as one of its luminaries during its 24^th anniversary celebration last December 19, 2022. Maslog had been in the UPLB-CDC faculty for many decades.

The college launched the Legacy Corner, a special spot in its Reading Room which will house the works of “Devcom luminaries,” including Dr. Maslog’s textbook collection, which he donated to the college.

The Maslog collection includes 41 books he authored and other journalism and communication books. Signed copies of his books are available for sale. After the launching, Maslog delivered a speech through a hybrid event entitled, “Devcom: A Many Splendored Thing,” where he shared his journey as a scholar and practitioner. Among those in attendance were CDC Dean Maria Stella C. Tirol, faculty, staff, and students.

New AMIC history book just out

AMIC@50: Turning Gold, A History of the Asian Media and Information Centre,  has just come out in December 2022. This 272-page book commemorates the golden jubilee of AMIC, the main association of communication educators in Asia, founded by 13 communication educators in a unique travelling seminar to 11 cities in Asia in September 1971.

The book narrates the founding and development of AMIC by the first secretary-general Lakshman Rao and the contribution of succeeding SG’s—P.R. Sinha, Vijay Menon. Jose Ma. G. Carlos, Indrajit Banerjee, Sundeep R. Muppidi, Maria Mercedes F. Robles, Martin Hadlow, and Ramon R. Tuazon. American scholar John Lent has contributed an epilogue.

It is edited by Crispin C. Maslog, current AMIC chair of the board, who is one of two surviving members of the travelling seminar. The book is informative and loaded with historical facts, but is easy to read and illustrated with pictures.  It is available at Shopee and at the AMIC office at Philippine Women’s University, Taft Ave., Manila. Price: P550. ###

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Source: Ramon G. Tuazon, rrtuazon722@yahoo.com/CP 0920-926-0963
Asian Media Information and Communication Centre, PWU, Taft Ave., Manila

AI expert: Education on AI Ethics and Regulation needed

A global expert on Artificial Intelligence and cybersecurity said people need to be educated on the ethical use of technology for society to counter the malicious threats posed by AI.

Dr. Mohamed El-Guindy, Cybersecurity Expert at the UN Office on Drugs and Crime and ICT Consultant at UNESCO, spoke at the webinar, “Malicious Use of Artificial Intelligence: Legal and Ethical Implications,” held last October, the first in a series on the topic, sponsored by the Asian Media Information and Communication Centre (AMIC).

AI, the science that enables machines to think and do tasks in complex environments without constant human supervision or being explicitly programmed, is reshaping our lives and the global economy, he said.

These computer systems are fed with data, which are then stored in large databases, controlled by private sector, used to train AI, linked to identities, user IPs, devices, etc., and sold to data brokers, advertisers, governments, friends and foes.

Data is the “new oil” that fuels the digital economy, he said.

AI has been used for good—in education, business, medicine, communication, transportation, crime prevention, and almost all facets of modern life.

Yet AI has also engendered new issues in privacy, security, social bias, social equality, and integrity of mediated information.

“Privacy is an issue now in the cyber world. Crime is on the rise in the cyber world, because people are not aware” of what these systems can do to them.

“From the security perspective, these apps can steal your info, can be used in accessing sensitive data on your device.”

Balancing pre-crime detection with human rights of suspects is another issue, because computer systems programmers can have bias against certain groups.

“We are not guaranteed that these AI are giving us the right direction…And this is important because we are dealing with human rights… the privacy of people, human dignity itself.”

He observed that AI will radically change media–like movies using AI instead of actors, TV shows presented by AI robots instead of TV anchors, and media being used to spread fake information.

He said young people are most vulnerable to fake information because of their heavy dependence on social media rather than traditional media for their information needs.

Technology is changing media theories, as machines are now able to send you things that do not exist, he said.

So we need media scholars and students to study the effect of AI on the media industry and to train people who design the algorithm and also audit the algorithm design and usage, he added.

Colleges and universities need to teach the legal and ethical aspects of AI, and not just the technology itself, he said.

In addition, regulation of AI is still a big debate, because while AI is being designed by the private sector, governments do not have the power to interfere due to lack of technological understanding.

Some governments favor regulation, like the UK and the European Commission which have enacted laws on AI. Others, like the United States, argue against it, saying regulation stifles innovation and creativity.

The European Commission has identified seven principles for ethical AI systems ethics and regulation: human agency and oversight, technical robustness and safety, privacy and data governance, transparency, diversity/non-discrimination/fairness, societal and environmental well-being, and accountability.

The webinar was attended by 180 participants from nine countries.

AMIC Country Representative edits newly launched Bengali daily

Ajker Patrika, a daily hit the market in Bangladesh on 27 June 2021 and became third highest circulated newspaper in four months of its inception.

A Bengali daily with a slogan, “Country’s Local Newspaper,” with 10 editions became popular among families in the country. Ajker Patrika publishes the highest number of regional editions emphasizing regional news to cater its local readers in the country.

Keeping proximity as a focus, the paper strives to provide the readers with relevant news, as well as investigate and explain news and events in detail. The paper has a working force of about 550 people, along with a network of 350 correspondents across the country. The paper is equally popular with its e-paper and online services.

A group of young, enthusiastic journalists and business professionals have joined the ranks and are led by industry veterans with many years of domain knowledge and experience. The Editor of Ajker Patrika Professor Dr. Md. Golam Rahman is a leading educationist, media researcher and communication expert of Bangladesh. He has served as the Chief Information Commissioner of Government of Bangladesh and also served as the Chairman of Bangladesh Sangbad Sangstha (BSS), a national news agency as well as the Chairman of the Department of Mass Communication and Journalism of University of Dhaka. He taught about four decades in the university.

Ajker Patrika has introduced a section called ‘fact-checking,’ because of fake information that are occupied in social media. The paper adopts a multilevel fact-checking process to confirm the overall authenticity of the news before publishing it on the print or digital platform. The paper maintains its Ethics Policy.

Ajker Patrika belongs to Bijoy Bangla Limited and is a sister concern of US-Bangla Airlines.