section_path: Culture/Media
section_name: Media
paragraph_text: Media
  
  Philippine media primarily uses Filipino and English, although broadcasting has shifted to Filipino. Television shows, commercials, and films are regulated by the Movie and Television Review and Classification Board. Most Filipinos obtain news and information from television, the Internet, and social media. The country's flagship state-owned broadcast-television network is the People's Television Network (PTV). ABS-CBN and GMA, both free-to-air, were the dominant TV networks; before the May 2020 Philippine government denial of ABS-CBN's franchise renewal, it was the country's largest network. Philippine television dramas, known as teleserye s and mainly produced by ABS-CBN and GMA, are also seen in several other countries.
  
  Local film-making began in 1919 with the release of the first Filipino-produced feature film: Dalagang Bukid (A Girl from the Country), directed by Jose Nepomuceno.: 8 Production companies remained small during the silent film era, but sound films and larger productions emerged in 1933. The postwar 1940s to the early 1960s are considered a high point for Philippine cinema. The 1962–1971 decade saw a decline in quality films, although the commercial film industry expanded until the 1980s. Critically acclaimed Philippine films include Himala (Miracle) and Oro, Plata, Mata (Gold, Silver, Death), both released in 1982. Since the turn of the 21st century, the country's film industry has struggled to compete with larger-budget foreign films (particularly Hollywood films). Art films have thrived, however, and several indie films have been successful domestically and abroad.
  
  The Philippines has a large number of radio stations and newspapers. English broadsheets are popular among executives, professionals and students.: 233–251 Less-expensive Tagalog tabloids, which grew during the 1990s, are popular (particularly in Manila); however, overall newspaper readership is declining in favor of online news. The top three newspapers, by nationwide readership and credibility,: 233 are the Philippine Daily Inquirer, Manila Bulletin, and The Philippine Star. Although freedom of the press is protected by the constitution, the country was listed as the seventh-most-dangerous country for journalists in 2022 by the Committee to Protect Journalists due to 13 unsolved murders of journalists.
  
  The Philippine population are the world's top Internet users. In early 2021, 67 percent of Filipinos (73.91 million) had Internet access; the overwhelming majority used smartphones.