What is the role of a public broadcaster?

 

Who does a public media organisation run by the state actually serve? As a comparison, let’s look at whose interest a private broadcaster or media organisation serve when it comes to their content.

In an ideal world, media should serve the public as they are supposed to be the watchdog for the people. But being private, they also need to make revenue or profit in order to pay for their resources.

So, as much as a media organisation tries to serve the public, at the end of the day, reality sets in and they probably have to serve their paymasters (i.e. their advertisers, sponsors or investors).

They can strive to be objective but the public still needs to be media savvy enough to realise that there is a chance that this can be compromised, whether intentionally or not.

For example, let’s say a television station called TVA has an ice cream company as a major advertiser.

Then, in its news programme, they run a food review segment for desserts and they slot in a review of the ice cream made by its advertiser. Lo and behold, the review is a positive one and the ice cream is just the best in the world.

Is that really serving the best interest of the public?

Personally, I think this isn’t the worst crime a media organisation can do. However, in order to be ethical, the best thing to do is for the media organisation to be transparent about the situation by stating that the ice cream company is an advertiser, or at the very least, label the review as a paid editorial instead of masking it as an objective news story.

So now back to my first question earlier - who does a public media organisation run by the state actually serve? Should it actually serve the state who runs it, as in the government of the day?

Or should it serve the advertisers or funders since that is where they get their revenue? Or should it serve the people who are watching, listening and reading their content?

Public broadcasters in an ideal situation

In my humble opinion, a public or state media organisation needs to serve the people. They are actually operating in the most ideal situation to do this.

As it is administered by the government of the day, allocated a budget by the State (from taxes paid by the people) and serves no financial overlord, it should be beholden to no one other than the people who elected for the government.

Yes, I am talking about Jabatan Penerangan Malaysia or RTM (Radio Television Malaysia).

Being the national broadcaster, it needs to understand that they serve every layer of society in the country. They need to make sure that the content produced serves the different groups of people, ethnicities, religions and regions that make up Malaysia.

In a sense, they already do. RTM has news content in all major languages such as Bahasa Malaysia, English, Mandarin and Tamil. In fact, there is also content that is in the different indigenous languages such as Jakun, Semai and Temiar.

There are local radio stations that even serve states and towns speaking in local Malay dialects. Quite a feat seeing that Malaysia has diverse cultures and people.

But, being a responsible public broadcaster isn’t just about having content in the different languages that represent the people. It also needs to be a responsible watchdog for the interest of the people.

It shouldn’t be the mouthpiece of the government or political coalition of the day. In fact, it should protect the people from any abuse or misuse of power by the government of the day (if it does happen, of course).

The government can use RTM as a mouthpiece as far as addressing the people and making important announcements but they need to realise that the broadcaster is not a propaganda tool for them to use and deploy as they please.

The Communication and Digital Ministry and the government are just the caretakers. Those in RTM - the producers, editors and journalists - still need to answer to the people.

Take the BBC in the United Kingdom as an example. They are state-run and receive funding from the government, but they have a committee that runs the organisation independently of the government.

The main objective is to provide information - that is in the best interest of the people and the government or those in power.

Minister Fahmi Fadzil recently made an announcement that Suhaimi Sulaiman has been appointed the new director-general of RTM. Suhaimi has decades of experience as a journalist and broadcaster.

He started his career at TV3 as a producer and anchor, and has led newsrooms at Astro Awani, Sarawak Media Group and was also chairperson of Bernama.

RTM director-general Suhaimi Sulaiman

Aside from that, he is also someone I see as a mentor and friend. At one time, he was even my boss. I would like to take this opportunity to publicly congratulate him on the appointment.

I see no one better to take up this role. With that being said, as the new chief of RTM, Suhaimi needs to understand the role of a public broadcaster (he already knows this anyway!).

I am excited to see how RTM will develop under his leadership. The public broadcaster has so much potential and can play such an important role for the country and the people.

I also hope that Suhaimi will be given the right support from the ministry and government to achieve the best. So, in the words of the great broadcast journalist Edward R Murrow - Goodnight and good luck, Che Mi! - Mkini

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ZAN AZLEE is a writer, documentary film-maker, journalist and academic. The Sheraton move really frustrated him but maybe after November 2022, he can start feeling better again. Visit fatbidin.com to view his work.

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