News media have played an immense role in shaping how we see the world since the dawn of time. From newspapers to radios and tv, they act as watchdogs to keep us informed of the changing events around the globe. Some may say they represent the public by posing as the Fourth Estate, airing the dirty laundry of the untouchable. To me, the role of the news media is not only to disseminate information to the people but also to empower the informed to make sound decisions and hold the powerful accountable for their disgraced actions. No doubt, the form of news media has been evolving from time to time. In this digital age, our generation has been the first to grow up using the Internet regularly since at a young age. Along with the internet comes the inevitable use of social media.
Social media has become more firmly embedded in our day-to-day communication. Hence, it is only understandable that their importance and relevance to news organizations have grown as well. With newspaper companies shut down and the halting of physical publications, social network sites are becoming essential to how people experience news. Free of charge and accessible with just a google search away, many individuals get their daily news through social media. This, in return, has made social media an imperative tool for news companies to deliver their information within the online space. Its interactive approach has also allowed a diverse array of opinions from all parts of the world to be exposed. Never in our lifetimes have we ever felt this connected. My first priority when I browse through my social media is a combination of entertainment, news, truth, and public service.
For me, I rely on MalaysiaKini, The Star’s R.age, The New York Times as well as The New Yorker for my food of source. Not only do I look up to these publications, but I also hold them as ‘trustworthy’ compared to other news media. In Malaysia where the majority of the news is regulated by the government, there is little to no alternative news to be found. News that points out the mistakes or rather shines a bad light on ministers are not very common in the country, which upsets me because as an aspiring journalist, our duty is to always serve the public the truth. I found MalaysiaKini and R.age to be one of the few news outlets that braved through dangers and did reporting justice. For example, MalaysiaKini did an interactive story on custody deaths of Indians in Malaysia. R.age covered the corruption of officials in the Pangolin trades. These are stories that Malaysians do not, until this day, have a clue about because no one talks about them.
The role of the news media is to spotlight underrepresented issues and highlight voices of the suppressed and minority communities, all of which was done by MalaysiaKini and The Star’s R.age. I have noticed how numerous news outlets resort to clickbait and easy scapegoat articles by simply rehashing stories from one another or writing news based on another scandalous social media post that was not newsworthy at all. Not to mention, a lot of how these news frames women are problematic. More often you can find the way they write their news titles are so demeaning and disrespectful to women. Just last week I encountered a Chinese media outlet that wrote a story about the suicide of a Korean Youtuber. The title wrote ‘Sexy Youtuber Passed Away, was sexually harassed when she was alive’, which I found distasteful.
Perhaps one thing that I really admired about these mentioned news outlets is their transparency. Author names are always displayed clearly unless stated otherwise and you can see the amount of effort put into their research. Recently, R.age did a coverage on the Orang Asli community and how illegal logging has destroyed their homes. What R.age did that I think deserved recognition was actually reaching out to the Orang Asli communities and going to their villages to see the situation themselves. They went down the field to talk to them instead of probably finding an interviewee who is probably more well-known and would be easier to get. This allows us, readers, to understand the issue further as we listen to the stories as told by the Orang Asli themselves. The source wasn’t from a third party but from someone who actually underwent the experience and saw the horrendous act of their homes being destroyed.
The New York Times and The New Yorker, on the other hand, have been awarded numerous esteemed journalism prizes such as the Peabody Award, the James Beard Award, as well as the Pulitzer Prize, and gladly so. Both of these publications have always put in their best efforts to give in-depth coverage and represent the voices of the minority. Not to mention, the writing presented is beautiful and extremely well-written. I have longed to admire the style and great editing. Not only do I go to these news outlets for my international news source but I see them as platforms for me to indulge and improve my writing. In addition, their op-eds are always very insightful to read as they feature vastly different opinions from the public. This helps me get a sense of what the community is thinking instead of just a one-sided party and form my opinions better. Their profile feature is worth reading due to the various, interesting individuals they have chosen to write about.
I rarely share news and if I do, I would only share the ones that I mentioned above, mainly because I believe their credentials. As a journalism student, I, myself, stress the importance of not believing everything you read and to fact check everything before spreading it to your family and friends. Misinformation can be dangerous and scary as it can affect the lives of others. With social media and its easy-to-post format, we have to be wary about the things we put online. Just last year when the lockdown was imposed due to the pandemic, a social enterprise was affected by an individual who was under the impression that their workers who were taking a break from work were customers lounging around the shop. They took pictures of the shop and posted them online, causing their reputation to take a plunge. In my opinion, this just proves that people don’t realize how much power they hold with social media and they don’t understand the implications of their reckless actions hence it is always important to fact-check everything before you tap the send button. While the pandemic might be deadly, misinfodemic is just as bad.
