Partisan passions
Cebuano journalism flourished in the 20th century. Since the century began with the US occupation, partisan passions were high and these passions played out in the press, as shown in the suppression of the first Cebuano-owned newspapers, the volatile nationalist Vicente Sotto’s
La Justicia (1899) and
El Nacional (1899). But opposition to US rule would quickly give way to a spirit of accommodation, as exemplified by Sergio Osmeña’s
El Nuevo Dia (1900-03).
Other kinds of media partisanship would emerge. Catholic anxieties over rising secularism, the Aglipayan breakaway and the entry of Protestantism instigated the appearance of the pro-Catholic newspaper
Ang Camatuoran (1902-11), published by Imprenta del Seminario de San Carlos upon the instance of prelate (later bishop) Juan Gorordo and the Vincentian Pedro Julia. More important, the advent of electoral politics and the fierce competition for local leadership would fuel the proliferation of newspapers.
It is remarkable that all the major newspapers of the prewar period were either owned by or allied to politicians. The Sotto brothers, Vicente and Filemon, singly owned
El Pueblo (1900),
Ang Suga (1901-12),
Ang Kaluwasan (1902-10), and
La Revolucion (1910-41). The Cuencos (Mariano Albao Cuenco, a failed candidate for governor, and his sons Mariano Jesus and Jose Maria Cuenco) owned
El Precursor (1907-41) and
El Boletin Catolico (1915-30). Vicente Rama owned
La Nueva Fuerza/Bag-ong Kusog (1915-40), while Paulino Gullas published
The Freeman (1919+).
HERO AND VILLAIN. On July 22, 1927,
Bag-ong Kusog owner-publisher Vicente Rama wrote and published the thinly disguised story “Si Amar ug si Leon” under a pen name portraying Rama (Amar) as the hero and his congressional rival Maximino Noel (Leon) as the villain.
There were many newspapers that presented themselves as party organs, like the Nacionalistas’
El Nacionalista, published intermittently between 1909 and 1921, and Partido Democrata’s
El Democrata, between 1919 and 1927. But these were mostly election-season publications and the good thing that can be said about them is that they openly identified their bias.
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