Baguio Midland Courier

Last updated

Baguio Midland Courier
Fair, Fearless, Friendly, Free
Baguio Midland Courier masthead.png
Baguio Midland Courier front page 20240721.jpg
The front page of the Baguio Midland Courier on July 21, 2024
Type Weekly newspaper
Owner(s)Hamada Printers and Publishers Corporation
Founder(s)Oseo and Sinai Hamada
FoundedApril 28, 1947;77 years ago (1947-04-28)
Language English
Ceased publicationJuly 21, 2024 (2024-07-21)
Headquarters16 Kisad Road
City Baguio
Country Philippines
Sister newspapersLowland Courier
ISSN 0115-9186
OCLC number 16251812
Website Official website

The Baguio Midland Courier was an English-language weekly community newspaper published by Hamada Printers and Publishers Corporation in Baguio, Philippines. [1] It served the Cordillera and nearby regions every Sunday from 1947 to 2024. [lower-alpha 1]

Contents

History

Establishment

The first Baguio weekly was the Baguio Banner, the city's pioneer newspaper that was born circa 1945. Banner's proprietors entered into a joint venture with Sinai starting with a used P20,000 printing press, which printed BMC's first issues.

The 10-centavo four-page edition Baguio Midland Courier published its first issue on April 28, 1947, [3] by its founder Sinai C. Hamada, [4] [5] with his brother, Oseo managing the publication. Sinai served as its longest-lasting editor-in-chief. [6] [7]

The newspaper's name was derived from the location of Baguio, between the highlands and lowlands of northern Luzon. [8] An Ilocano-language counterpart, the Lowland Courier, was published in La Union during the 1970s. [1] [9]

Early years

The history of the Courier is closely entwined with that of its printing press, which was originally established Baguio Printers and Publishers Co., Inc. in 1946, a year before the Courier. It started out with a secondhand printing press purchased in Manila, and two platen presses purchased from the Episcopal Mission in Sagada; and the Courier was its first customer before it started accepting commercial print jobs. [1]

The first issues were only four pages and had a print fun of only 200. [3] The first headline involved the reopening of the Benguet Road (which would later be renamed Kennon Road) route to Baguio at the end of World War II, and some of the earliest stories were the arrival of the first batch of Philippine Military Academy (PMA) cadets for the reopening of the Philippine Military Academy, and then their later move to the new PMA campus at Camp Henry T. Allen. [1] [10]

Soon after the Courier was established, a private citizen named Ben Palispis bought most of the shares of Baguio Printers and Publishers Corporation. Philippine media historian Crispin Maslog notes that Palispis had "practically had full control of the corporation" [1] for many years, even as Palispis became Mayor of Tuba, Benguet, from 1964 to 1967, [11] and from 1986 to 1974 while he was Governor of Benguet. [12] [1]

The Courier was deeply involved in community advocacy work from its inception. [1] It promoted the interest of the Cordilleran peoples and development of what would become the Cordillera Administrative Region, spoke out against squatting in the city of Baguio, advocated for the development of a water system in the city, and called for adequate public services for its citizens. [1]

For the first 15 years of its existence, the Courier was fiscally dependent on the printing press for its continued existence. But by 1963, the Baguio Midland Courier's circulation had gone up to 7,500 sold copies in Baguio City and the Cordilleras, and its circulation would remain the highest among the printed regional newspapers in Northern Luzon throughout its lifetime. [3]

Martial law era

The Courier itself was able to continue its publication run after President Ferdinand Marcos placed the whole country under martial law in 1972. [13] [14] Although some of the Courier's staff were jailed, particularly Ibaloi activist Kathleen Okubo, who became a political detainee at Camp Holmes Internment Camp (later renamed Camp Bado Dangwa). Even after her release, Okubo had to report weekly in person to her former detention center throughout the martial law years. [15]

One of the notable changes that took place in the Courier during the earliest days of martial law was that the Hamada family bought back Governor Palispis' shares in Baguio Printers and Publishers Corporation, putting control of the Courier firmly back in the hands of the Hamada family one year after the establishment of martial law. [1]

It was also in 1974 that the Courier purchased the La Union-based newspaper The Lowland Herald, which it then renamed The Lowland Courier. [1] [9] The Lowland Courier was distributed throughout the Ilocos Region, but was eventually phased out in 1983. [1]

In 1984, Sinai and his son Stever launched his second publication, the Cordillera Post, while Oseo solely managed Midland Courier. In 2007, its website was launched, while its Facebook page had 130,000 followers.

Later years and closure

The Courier was also able to maintain its continuous publication despite the devastation of Baguio during the 1990 Luzon earthquake, [13] and during the nationwide lockdowns resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic in the Philippines. [13] The COVID-19 pandemic proved very difficult for the Courier, though, as the loss of ad revenue forced it to let go of some of its hours and to reduce its hours of operations. [6]

In 2022, it had 25,000 weekly circulation.

In its June 30, 2024, issue, the publishers announced that the Baguio Midland Courier will end its operations starting July 22, 2024, [16] attributing the closure to high publishing costs and a diminished demand in the city for traditional print media. [17]

At its closure, its editorial board was composed of editor Harley Palangchao assisted by staff Jane Cadalig, Rimaliza Opiña, Hanna Lacsamana and Ofelia Empian, all under publisher Gloria Antoinette Hamada. Editor Harley Palangchao, a protégé of former publisher Charles Hamada, printed BMC's final edition with the last July 21 headline: "BMC wraps up 77 years of journalism excellence." [18] The 77-year-old BGM issued its final edition on July 21, 2024. [19]

Archives

Past issues of the Baguio Midland Courier are stored in their offices with copies provided to the Ateneo de Manila University and the Philippine Press Institute, while their website contains articles published since 2007. [20] Some of its issues from the late 1940s to the early 1950s are accessible through a digital platform hosted by the University Library, University of the Philippines Diliman. [21]

In their closure announcement published on June 30, 2024, publishers of the Baguio Midland Courier announced that they would be looking for ways to preserve its past issues. [22]

Recognition

In 2017, the Baguio Midland Courier received numerous awards from the Philippine Press Institute (PPI) that it was elevated to the PPI's Hall of Fame. By then, it had received awards for Best Edited Weekly Newspaper five times, Best Editorial Page seven times, and Best in Science and Environment Reporting three times. [3]

Notes

  1. ↑ A Baguio Midland Courier issue was released once on a Wednesday (October 12, 1949) because the issue scheduled for October 9, 1949, was belatedly published. [2]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Baguio</span> Largest highly urbanized city in Benguet, Philippines

Baguio, officially the City of Baguio, is a 1st class highly urbanized city in the Cordillera Administrative Region, Philippines. It is known as the "Summer Capital of the Philippines", owing to its cool climate since the city is located approximately 4,810 feet above mean sea level, often cited as 1,540 meters in the Luzon tropical pine forests ecoregion, which also makes it conducive for the growth of mossy plants, orchids and pine trees, to which it attributes its other moniker as the "City of Pines".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Benguet</span> Province in Cordillera, Philippines

Benguet, officially the Province of Benguet, is a landlocked province of the Philippines located in the southern tip of the Cordillera Administrative Region in the island of Luzon. Its capital is La Trinidad.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cordillera Administrative Region</span> Administrative region of the Philippines

The Cordillera Administrative Region, also known as the Cordillera Region and Cordillera, is an administrative region in the Philippines, situated within the island of Luzon. It is the only landlocked region in the insular country, bordered by the Ilocos Region to the west and southwest, and by the Cagayan Valley Region to the north, east, and southeast. It is the least populous region in the Philippines, with a population less than that of the city of Manila. Baguio is the regional center and largest city.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Igorot people</span> Ethnic group in the Philippines

The indigenous peoples of the Cordillera in northern Luzon, Philippines, often referred to by the exonym Igorot people, or more recently, as the Cordilleran peoples, are an ethnic group composed of nine main ethnolinguistic groups whose domains are in the Cordillera Mountain Range, altogether numbering about 1.8 million people in the early 21st century.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">La Trinidad, Benguet</span> Capital of Benguet, Philippines

La Trinidad, officially the Municipality of La Trinidad, is a 1st class municipality and capital of the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 137,404 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Itogon</span> Municipality in Benguet, Philippines

Itogon, officially the Municipality of Itogon,, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 61,498 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Tuba, Benguet</span> Municipality in Benguet, Philippines

Tuba, officially the Municipality of Tuba,, is a 1st class municipality in the province of Benguet, Philippines. According to the 2020 census, it has a population of 48,312 people.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Kennon Road</span> Road in Luzon, Philippines

Kennon Road, also known as the Rosario–Baguio Road, is a two lane 33.53-kilometer (20.83 mi) roadway in Benguet province in the Philippines connecting the mountain city of Baguio in Benguet to the lowland town of Rosario in La Union province. Originally called Benguet Road, it was later renamed in honor of its builder, Col. Lyman Walter Vere Kennon of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mount Cabuyao</span> Mountain in Benguet, Philippines

Mount Cabuyao is a mountain in the Philippines located in the municipality of Tuba in the province of Benguet. Its summit, rising to more than 2,000 metres (6,600 ft) above sea level, overlooks the city of Baguio. It is commonly mistaken as Mount Santo Tomas, a taller mountain just beside it.

The University of the Cordilleras, formerly known as the Baguio Colleges Foundation (BCF), is a private coeducational university in Baguio, Philippines. Founded by Benjamin R. Salvosa and his wife Evangelina D. Salvosa in 1946, it offers programs at the elementary, secondary, undergraduate and graduate levels catering to around 21,000 students.

Philippine Science High School Cordillera Administrative Region Campus (PSHS-CARC) is one of the two campuses of the Philippine Science High School System established in 2009. The other one is Philippine Science High School Central Luzon Campus located in Clark, Pampanga. The PSHS-CARC was established through the congressional efforts of Baguio Representative Mauricio G. Domogan.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Metro Baguio</span> Metropolitan area in Philippines

Metro Baguio, also known as BLISTT, is an agglomeration of the city of Baguio and five municipalities of the Philippine province of Benguet, namely: La Trinidad, Itogon, Sablan, Tuba, and Tublay.

Goshen Land Capital is a family-owned real estate company in Northern Luzon, Philippines.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Aspiras–Palispis Highway</span> Road in Luzon, Philippines

The Aspiras–Palispis Highway is a Philippine major highway in northern Luzon that runs from the city of Baguio in the province of Benguet to the municipality of Agoo in the province of La Union.

The Balili River, also known as the Naguilian River, is a river in the province of Benguet on the island of Luzon, Philippines. With a total length of 62.7 km (39.0 mi), it traverses the city of Baguio, and the municipalities of La Trinidad and Sablan before entering the province of La Union, where the midstream is called the Naguilian River. It drains into the South China Sea through the town of Bauang, where the downstream is also known as Balili River.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">D-8-XM-TV</span> Television station in Baguio

D-8-XM-TV known on-air as PTV Cordillera, is a television station in North Central Luzon, Philippines, a regional of Philippine-government owned television network People's Television Network. Its studio is located at the PTV Cordillera Broadcast Hub, PIA Northern Luzon Compound, Romulo Drive, Brgy. Lualhati, Baguio City and its transmitter is located at Mount Santo Tomas, Tuba, Benguet Province.

The COVID-19 pandemic in the Cordillera Administrative Region is part of the worldwide pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2. The virus reached the Cordillera Administrative Region on March 20, 2020, when the first case of the disease was confirmed to involve a resident of Manabo, Abra. All provinces, as well as the independent city of Baguio has recorded at least one confirmed COVID-19 case.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Upper Agno River Basin Resource Reserve</span>

The Upper Agno River Basin Resource Reserve is a protected area located on the southeast flank of the Cordillera Central in the Philippine province of Benguet along its border with Ifugao and Nueva Vizcaya. It is a resource reserve located high in the Central and Polis ranges protecting the headwaters of the Agno River. According to section 4 of the National Integrated Protected Areas System Act, a resource reserve is an extensive and relatively isolated area designated as such to preserve the natural resources of the area. The reserve comprises 77,561 hectares of the catchment area that feeds the Ambuklao and Binga dams, two of the country's oldest hydroelectric plants that supply power to the city of Baguio and entire Benguet province. Upper Agno is north of and contiguous with the Lower Agno Watershed Forest Reserve that preserves the immediate downstream of the Binga Dam where the Agno River is impounded by a third dam, the San Roque Dam, the largest in the Philippines and the main source of water, electric energy and irrigation for surrounding regions in Luzon.

Sinai Cariño Hamada was a Filipino writer, journalist, and lawyer. He was the founder and editor of the Baguio Midland Courier and The Cordillera Post.

Kathleen Okubo was a Filipino journalist, activist, columnist, dissident and writer based in Baguio.

References

  1. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 11 Maslog, Crispin C. (1993). "The Baguio Midland Courier: Fair, Fearless, Friendly, and Free". The rise and fall of Philippine community newspapers. Manila: Philippine Press Institute. pp. 55–73. ISBN   978-971-8703-09-0.
  2. ↑ Cimatu, Frank (April 28, 2024). "The most important stint: Primitivo Mijares and his short stay in Midland". Baguio Midland Courier. Hamada Printers & Publishers Corporation. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  3. 1 2 3 4 "Baguio Midland Courier to halt operations after 77 years". Center for Media Freedom and Resonsibility. July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  4. ↑ Cimatu, Frank; Malanes, Maurice (June 13, 2012). "Veteran Ibaloi journalist, Baguio 'witch' is gone". Inquirer.net . Inquirer Interactive Inc. Archived from the original on September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023. [...]Sinai [...] and founded the Baguio Midland Courier in 1947[...]
  5. ↑ Abela, Gary Paul (July 28, 2021). "Baguio's Iron Lady: A Story of Love, Advocacy, and Dismay". Igorotage. Retrieved February 29, 2024.
  6. 1 2 "Baguio Midland Courier at 75: Sustaining the founders' great legacy". Baguio Midland Courier. Hamada Printers & Publishers Corporation. May 1, 2022. Archived from the original on September 16, 2023. Retrieved September 16, 2023.
  7. ↑ Pacete, Ver F. (March 21, 2014). "Dacawi: Baguio media notes and anecdotes". SunStar Publishing Inc. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  8. ↑ Castro, Leia. "Behind the scenes: searching the Midland Archives". Baguio Midland Courier. Hamada Printers & Publishers Corporation. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2023. That's where the word 'Midland' term came from, to differentiate it from the highlands and the lowlands. It was right smack in the middle of the Northern Luzon Island.
  9. 1 2 Castro, Leia. "Behind the scenes: searching the Midland Archives". Baguio Midland Courier. Hamada Printers & Publishers Corporation. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2023. Midland, which has always used English as its medium also had an Ilocano counterpart, called the Lowland Courier. It was based in La Union and was edited by Abe Belena some time in the 1960s and 1970s before it too folded up.
  10. ↑ Empian, Ofelia (April 28, 2024). "Baguio Midland Courier: An amplifier of public issues, events through the decades – Baguio Midland Courier". Archived from the original on July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  11. ↑ "Former Mayors – Municipality of Tuba".
  12. ↑ "Former Governors – Province of Benguet".
  13. 1 2 3 "COURIER'S TALE OF SURVIVAL FROM DISASTERS TO COVID-19 – Baguio Midland Courier". April 25, 2020. Archived from the original on June 9, 2023. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  14. ↑ Bandonill, Guillermo Jr. (April 28, 2024). "The Baguio Midland Courier's legacy". Baguio Midland Courier. Archived from the original on July 5, 2024. Retrieved July 5, 2024.
  15. ↑ CMFR Staff (April 8, 2024). "Kathleen Okubo, 71". Center for Media Freedom and Responsibility. Archived from the original on June 19, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  16. ↑ Fokno, Mia Magdalena. "Iconic Baguio Midland Courier to close after 77 years". Rappler . Archived from the original on June 30, 2024. Retrieved June 30, 2024.
  17. ↑ Cabreza, Vincent (July 1, 2024). "Baguio's oldest newspaper closes after 77 years". Archived from the original on July 3, 2024. Retrieved July 3, 2024.
  18. ↑ Cabreza, Vincent (July 21, 2024). "Baguio press pillar writes 30". Philippine Daily Inquirer . Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  19. ↑ Reyes, Ronald (July 21, 2024). "Closure of iconic community newspaper Baguio Midland Courier saddens Filipinos". SunStar . Retrieved July 21, 2024.
  20. ↑ Castro, Leia. "Behind the scenes: searching the Midland Archives". Baguio Midland Courier. Hamada Printers & Publishers Corporation. Archived from the original on October 17, 2010. Retrieved September 16, 2023. The print outs [...] are neatly kept in the newly renovated Midland offices. [...] [Copies] of the archives are sent yearly to Ateneo and the Philippine Press Institute. Our website also contains archives since May 2007 [...].
  21. ↑ "Open Access Repository @UPD". University Library, University of the Philippines Diliman. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
  22. ↑ Tobias, Jap (June 30, 2024). "Baguio Midland Courier to shut down after 77 years". Philippine Star . Philstar Global Corporation. Archived from the original on July 4, 2024. Retrieved July 4, 2024.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.