The Philippines' history, as we know it, is greatly influenced by colonial powers, a proof that the country's years spent under their rule was a justification that the colonization done is for the good of the nation they have colonized. Language, culture, education, religion, beliefs, material products; only a few of the many things colonization has brought the Philippines. The nations who were willing to colonize the Philippines has seen the opportunity in which they can assure their legacy and influence be passed down onto the next generation, be it in their own country or another, and this legacy is very much present in our reality today, manifesting in the influences we find engraved in our very identity as a nation.
An aspect in which has been passed down to us by colonial influences that we see in our daily lives to this very day is the media. Ever since the Philippines has experienced its first taste of war, the colonial powers has used media as a weapon in which they found useful during such crisis. The first media reports found out about the Philippines served the colonizer's people by providing information and discoveries about the country. And up until know, media has evolved tremendously. National press serve as a means of informing the masses of a whole country the much-needed information they need to appease their curiosity for all the happenings in the country. And another form of press, the local press, although smaller, is there to spread news about the happenings in a certain locality.
Pangasinan, known for its abundance in salt and marine-based products, has suck local press. Dubbed the SUNDAY PUNCH, it was founded in Dagupan City, Philippines on July 5, 1956 by Ermin Erfe Garcia, its editor-publisher. Before the tragic incident of being murdered in his office on May 20, 1966, the SUNDAY PUNCH was awarded by the National Press Club and Esso Philippines as the Best Edited Provincial Newspaper in the Philippines, a big feat for a local press at that time. Ermin Jr., the only son of SUNDAY PUNCH's late editor-publisher, assumed the role of manager after graduating college. Since then, the press has been recognized for its excellence in journalism, particularly in economic reporting, editorial writing, reporting on environment and photojournalism by the Philippine Press Institute and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation. It was also cited as one of the ten (10) most successful community newspaper in Asia in a UNESCO report.
The SUNDAY PUNCH is an example of just how important local press is to the people, no matter how limited its reach can be. Through it, and the hard work of the people who worked hard to keep it running as the years went by, many Pangasinenses found themselves being informed of the right news by the right people whenever they find themselves lacking the knowledge of the happenings in their local community. Although not as important nor as big as the Manila Bulletin, Inquirer, etc., the SUNDAY PUNCH became a necessary source of information in Pangasinan, as it helped the locality acquire the information they need in their daily lives through the news the local press provides for them.
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