Time to establish media council, veteran editor says

 

It is seen as timely and relevant to the industry's needs to establish a media council now to improve media practitioners’ welfare and the quality of news, according to a senior editor.

BebasNews.My editorial adviser Zaini Hassan said the establishment of a media council would raise the professionalism of journalists to a higher level, thus creating a new benchmark for the profession.

“Several other senior journalists and I have always spoken about this matter. Now is the time for us to establish a media council. Let the media council be the arbiter of what is done by an individual or a media organisation.

“We have to differentiate between social media practitioners and real journalists. As journalists, we know the tenets of journalism because we were taught and trained in professional journalism.

“Let these journalists have an institution that will monitor and protect them,” he said in the Malaysia Petang Ini programme entitled ‘‘World Press Freedom Day Celebration’ broadcast by Bernama TV yesterday.

Commenting on the World Press Freedom Day celebration, Zaini, also a former senior editor of Utusan Malaysia, said the celebration was seen as significant and the true meaning of freedom needs to be appreciated to increase the role of media practitioners in news reporting based on professionalism.

“As a media organisation, we are responsible for giving criticisms, comments and opinions to all parties. If we look at Indonesia, they already report (news) freely without fear of certain parties.

“If it is true that Malaysia is ranked 73rd in the 2023 World Press Freedom Index, then we need to practise press freedom. The government should carry out reforms so that this matter can be implemented,” he said.

- Bernama