Govt to help media survive while paying attention to reader needs

 

Communications and Digital Minister Fahmi Fadzil said the government will try to help media organisations and practitioners who may need to change their business models.

The government will do this in line with current developments for their survival in the media industry while paying attention to readers’ needs if they have to pay for news on social media.

“Today’s media environment is very different compared to before…there were only print and broadcast media, but now there are diverse issues…

“We have social media and citizen journalists where anyone with a mobile phone can become a media partner, causing media organisations to face unprecedented pressure,” he said.

Fahmi said this when officiating the pre-launch of National Journalists Day (Hawana) 2023 at Wisma Bernama in Kuala Lumpur today.

To do this, the minister said the government is looking into a win-win-win (3W) situation involving media organisations, media practitioners, and readers.

This should be explored following the change in reading patterns including social media content, he added.

Also at the event were the Ministry of Communications and Digital (KKD) deputy secretary-general (Strategic Communications and Creative Industries) Mastura Ahmad Mustafa and Bernama chief executive officer Roslan Ariffin.

“Not all news material is content and not all content is news, it has an impact on the economy, so as the government we are concerned with this development and are ready to work with the industry to find a way to help our media partners.

“Do paywalls work? Does paying make consumers read the news? So I believe the debate is still ongoing.

“But it is clear that many media outlets are also starting to change strategies, but their readers want information, so we hope that if the government can look into this matter, there will be a win-win-win situation,” said Fahmi.

Charging social media platforms

Asked if the government would charge social media platforms for news content as implemented in Australia and Canada, Fahmi said KKD together with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) are examining developments in the two countries.

He added that the ministry also held engagement sessions with the media industry and social media platform providers to study methods that can be implemented in this country.

“We haven’t reached the stage of drafting a bill on the matter (imposing fees). But the MCMC chairperson has held a meeting recently with Meta (Meta Plaforms Inc) and TikTok in Singapore,” he said.

Fahmi also reiterated the federal government’s stance to continue defending media freedom and look after the welfare of the practitioners but reminded the group to continue to comply with ethics and the law.

“Observe the ethics of journalism so that the professionalism of media practitioners is always protected. In this context, we must ensure that the information received is accurate, authentic, and true and avoid conveying false information,” he added.

- Bernama