Journalists are not slaves of state nor pawns of the market

 

A centre to study the “professionalism” of Malaysian journalism? No, prime minister. 

We don’t need any more motherhood statements, notwithstanding your belief that journalists are allowed to operate without interference. They are not.

What we need is for the government to keep out and let journalists do their job: to keep a pulse of the people’s plights, to question the official narrative, to investigate and report in depth.  

Yes, to report in greater depth.  That, the Bernama’s article on the “Malacca Declaration 2022” stopped short of doing.  Other news portals, likewise, failed to follow up.

Professional journalists do not just report what the prime minister said.  They follow up with common sense questions.  Like, what will he do to repeal all restrictive media laws?  

Or what does the PM think a journalism studies centre can achieve when existing cash-strapped media advocacy movements have been doing similar tasks? 

Or why do we need a Malaysian Journalists Association when we have a National Union of Journalists?

Leaving aside Bernama’s reporting format, the real questions are:  What if, by chance, Malaysian journalists are given more room to probe into public affairs? 

Will the diversity and depth of their coverage be any better?  Will it significantly improve public trust in the media?

That’s hard to know given our short-lived optimism for media reforms when Pakatan Harapan took over the government in 2018. 

The roadblocks to best practices in Malaysian journalism are more fundamental.  They are rooted in our journalism culture.  

 

The media crackdown in Operasi Lalang in 1987, and costly libel suits by the state have long intimidated journalists and buried them deeper in the pit of censorship - as proscribed by external media laws, learned and internalised from within the newsroom. 

Here’s how the culture of self-censorship happens. Journalists judge what is newsworthy through a “professionalisation” process in the newsroom.

They take their cues from editors and senior colleagues.  The newsroom culture shapes their judgment, choice of news sources, story angles, and the final copy published online.

Hence the protocol stories from Bernama, compliant reporting from mainstream papers, crass coverage from the tabloids, and occasional crossing of the red lines by more “independent” media outlets. 

To that extent, our media contents are relatively mixed, although predictable and dull.

We can do better, much better. 

Overworked and underpaid

Regular reports by the NGOs and civil societies show there are many stories that have gone unreported – from environmental degradation, unsustainable development and urban crimes to labour rights, declining education standards, and social justice issues.  That’s just part of a very long list.

Why are these stories overlooked?  Time, money, editorial leadership, and investigative skills. That’s why. 

For context, our journalists are generally overworked and underpaid, which leads to journalistic fatigue exacerbated by their inaccessibility to critical sources, and lack of support or assurance from editors.  

These obstacles as listed in the joint report by the National Union of Journalists Malaysia and the International Federation of Journalists, also exist in other countries where journalists are exposed to daily intimidation and deadly threats for exposing the underbelly of public corruption and organised crime.

Journalism is not just another job. The profession is meant to represent the voiceless and those historically marginalised by the power structure. 

Professional journalists believe their investigative stories could make a difference in the national conversation. 

Higher professional standards in Malaysian journalism, therefore, start from within the newsroom where veteran editors should provide a working model for their millennial generation reporters, some of whom may have gone through formal journalism training at colleges and universities of unverifiable professional standards.  

In my years of teaching journalism and conducting training workshops in different countries, I was guided by the practicalities of reporting with a purpose. 

Purposive journalism, which takes a series of lengthy articles, is guided by realistic goals in mind.  

The main goal is to stir public discussion, to shape the public agenda in the hope that it will lead someone to do something about a systemic problem. 

And, taking the PM’s word at face value, “the government always takes note of reports published in the media”. 

While journalists are expected to question the official narrative, the people likewise expect journalists to seek the truth and report it with accountability. 

Such a public ethic will provide a crucial countervailing force to corrupt politics and “unprofessional” media practices.  

If, and when, such a public ethic does emerge on our home front to exert its influence, the onus will fall on journalists to live by their professional creed – to serve the people, not those with financial and political power. 

Do not fall into the commercial cycle of treating news and information as merely revenue-generating click baits, important as they are to continue operating.  

The challenge is to find a good mix but skewed towards the public interest. It is time for editors and their journalists to put up a slogan in the newsroom - that they are neither slaves of the government nor pawns of the market. 

It is to the people that they are responsible for, above all. - Mkini

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ERIC LOO is a former journalist, journalism educator and trainer in parts of Asia and Australia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT