DZMC 98.3 is a low-powerFMcampus radio station owned by the Polytechnic University of the Philippines, ManilaCollege of Communication - Broadcast Circle from 2006-2008 and the PUP Young Communicators' Guild since July 2018. It is housed at the College of Communication Building, Polytechnic University of the Philippines, Anonas Street, Sta. Mesa, Manila. It is used as a laboratory for the College of Communication students of the university. Its programming at the onset of both histories of operation include news, sports, educational/children's programs, talk shows, commentaries, to music programs and request shows, mostly geared towards the interests of students, faculty and administration. The station operates on the weekdays from 8:00 AM to 5:00 PM, except during semestral breaks and regular holidays. The station was on hiatus from November 2008 until recommencing test broadcasts in July 2018 with resumption of full operations since September 2018, but its ongoing conflict with a pirate station on the same frequency is still unresolved.
Callsign history
The DZMC callsign has been used by two unrelated entities prior and after the dormancy of the PUP outlet. It was first used by the current DWTJ 99.3 Spirit FM in Alaminos, Pangasinan during the 1990s as The Music Center before incorporating the nationwide Spirit FM brand within the Catholic Media Network. A Tarlac City-based station operated by Acacia Broadcasting at 91.1 FM reused the call letters three years after the PUP station first went dormant and is still in operation.
Station history
2006-2008: Inaugural operations
DZMC 98.3 was launched in September 2006 through the efforts of the DBC Chairperson Edna T. Bernabe and Prof. Albert Torres, who was also the continuity announcer of GMA Network. During the school year 2007-2008, the radio station went on a test broadcast run by COC students and facilitated by the DBC student organization, BroadCircle. In the summer of 2008, DBC held workshops to train COC students who will be handling the campus radio station. Upon commencement of the school year 2008-2009, the test broadcast continued along with some simulation broadcasts featuring the trained student organizations. Prof. John Gemperle, also known as Papa Jack - a radio announcer at the time at 90.7 Love Radio provided assistance and training to students and faculty on the basics of announcing and technical know-how. Prof. Ricky Rosales, a radio announcer from DWIZ, gave lectures on news writing and reporting. Due to the limited capacity of its transmitting signal, DZMC can only be heard within the vicinity of the PUP Manila campus and its surrounding communities along Santa Mesa, Manila. Plans to make the station available to as many listeners as possible were being considered had the NTC license been approved. DZMC planned to utilize a regular programming by October 2008. Prior to the full-scale operations, auditions and trainings for in-house DJs, announcers, technical personnel and writers/researchers were held.
Inaugural DZMC Logo
In September 2008, the station was relaunched by BBrC III-4D and II-4D as part of their requirement in Communication Campaigns. They distributed brochures containing info about the station such as objectives and programming. A logo for DZMC was created by JM of BBrC159, which was derived from the design of COC's logo. The said logo waz seen in a banner displayed at the radio station, and in pin buttons being given away to students. The red half-arch on the left represents Broadcast Communication, the green half-arch represents Journalism, while the blue color represents Communication Research. The purple globe represents the administration and faculty of PUP College of Communication. A transponder engraved with the letters PUP and COC on the base is DZMC's commitment to produce globally competitive students equipped with the skills and knowledge needed for the broadcast media industry. Written on the logo are the station's call letters, frequency band, and frequency.
November 2008-July 2018: Hiatus
On a breaking news posted on the website of PUP-COC's The Communicator, it was reported that all operations have been put on hold, due to reasons of pending license application. Relatively, an opinion article regarding the matter is also featured on the September–November 2008 print issue of The Communicator. In the interim, the university brokered an hour on Saturdays via Radyo Veritas 846 as the PUP Campus Hour and only conducted short-term transmissions during the school's annual College Week before going dormant.
2018: Revived operations
On July 2017, the DZMC Young Communicators' Guild started its online presence, remaining as such until a year later when test broadcasts on FM were made with programming simulcast on Facebook Live, eventually resuming regular operations in September.
Ongoing frequency conflict
From the latter part of 2015, the 98.3 MHz position used by the station prior to its 2008 hiatus started to be occupied by pirate radio stationRadyo Kontra Droga, operated by two-way radio proprietor Ron Flores Cruz beaming from Paco, Manila. With the proximity of Santa Mesa from Paco and given the higher transmitting power used by the pirate station, its signal was decently received within the university complex. Currently, the situation is still unresolved.
