MANILA, Philippines — The University of the Philippines Diliman College of Mass Communication is now eyeing to rename itself as the UP College of Media and Communication, dropping the word “mass communication” from its name for the first time since its establishment in 1965.
In a resolution passed by college faculty and staff on August 1, the college explained that the term “mass communication” has become “limited and limiting” due to its traditional view of a “homogenous mass audience” and focus on legacy media platforms.
The college has also been “significantly enriching its philosophies, programs and pedagogies beyond those of mass communication” since its foundation in 1965 and elevation from an institute to a college in 1988.
“… [There] has been a palpable need for a new name for the College that includes, embraces, and anticipates developments in, as well as places it at the forefront of, its field,” the resolution read.
The resolution was passed during a college planning workshop following two years of consultations.
The proposed renaming of the college to the UP College of Media and Communication keeps its historical acronym of CMC while highlighting “the interplay of the means of production (media) and means of communication (communication process),” according to the resolution.
Alongside the proposed rebrand, the college is also eyeing to review or improve its instructional, research, public service and personnel and facilities development agenda.
The college announced in a post on Monday that its dean, Fernando Paragas, along with representatives of the college executive board and the “reimagination committee,” will hold public discussions on the proposed name change on August 23 and 24.
The discussion is open to enrolled students, alumni and interested members of the public.
“After the informational activities, it will be submitted for consideration through various channels in the University,” the college announced.
‘Mass’ communication outdated?
In a discussion paper attached to the announcement, Elizabeth Enriquez, professor emeritus of broadcasting at the college, explained that the terms “mass communication” or “mass media” have historical baggages.
“The use of the term mass communication derives from the emphasis on communication technologies as the principal driver of the media,” Enriquez wrote in the paper dated July 23.
“The seemingly unproblematic use of the term ‘mass,’ which tends to put everyone in a single category, as if the so-called masses were homogeneous, ignores the diversity of peoples, communities, and cultures, and worse, often derogatorily refers to a particular demographic,” she added.
Arguing for the name change to the “College of Media and Communication,” journalist and journalism professor Diosa Labiste, a member of the college’s “reimagination committee,” wrote that the new name “intends to capture the breadth and variability in the field of media and communication.”
“The old mass communication has to fade away because the study of media and communication is delimited by the phrase mass-communication,” Labiste said.
Proposals to change the name of colleges in UP become final once approved by the university’s Board of Regents, its highest decision-making body.
Several alumni of the UP College of Mass Communication have been recognized as industry leaders in the fields of broadcast journalism, print and online media, advertising and public relations.
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