Thursday, June 26, 2008

Shame on you BH, RTM, Bernama

For the whole of Tuesday, the Press corp were up in arms against the administrators of Parliament House. So much so that they ignored the Press Conferences of Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and his deputy, Najib Tun Razak.

The reason? They were cordoned into a small area in the Parliament lobby and told that their their operations area were confined behind a taped surrounding. They were also told that each media houise could only send five personnel to cover the proceedings in the Dewan Rakyat.

With the unofficial support from their bosses, they boycotted the separate PCs called by Abdullah and Najib. Bernama and RTM broke ranks to cover them, as did Berita Harian. What a shame!

One day after the boycott, the restriction was lifted and things went back as before. Speaker Pandikar Amin Mula called off the restriction when the Backbenchers Club took up the journalists grievances.

Such impediment to media work is not new. There were functions when the media was barred from covering. The organisers got away with this many times because the media is not united. If they are, they can speak with one voice and state their terms clearly and firmly.

Alas, given the present leadership at media organisations, such disunity can be expected to continue. The editors are not likely to stick their out and defend their boys and girls, let alone their right to discharge their responsibilities professionally.

Monday, June 23, 2008

Is the Sun kinder to MB Perak than NST?

The New Straits Times and the Sun today ran separate interviews with Perak MB, Mohamad Nizar Jamaluddin, to mark this 100 days in office. Both newspapers devoted ample space to the interview.

The NST accompanied the Q and A with quotes from various people including a former rubber tapper, a legal firm employee, a market stall owner and a handicraft stall owner. This was intended to give a man-in-the-street feel about the MB.

Legal firm employee S Gunaseelan said: "Please be transparent. Tell us your plans.Many promises have been made for our community but very little has been delivered. We need to know what the new government has in store for us."

Handicraft stall operator Zambri Chukarnian said: " BN has ruled Perak for many years and development has stalled for some time. Will the Pakatan Rakyat goernment be better? We voted for them vecause we wanted change. We hope to see the changes soon."

Interviewed by a team of Ipoh-based reporters (Jaspal Singh, P Chandra Sagaran, Brenda Lim and Veena Babulai), the NST carried 12 questions with a half page commentary by M Husairy Othman. It carries the heading 'Rakyat unsure what's going on.'

The heading for the interview carries a heading "Mohamad Nizar upbeat about Perak's future."

Much space is wasted with the mugshots of the layman interviewed. The space could have been filled with more direct Q and A, considering the NST sent four people to do the interview.

The Sun's interview was done by Humayun Kabir and carries 22 questions. The Q and A appear to carry more of Mohamad Nizar's quotes compared to the NST's. This would give readers a better perspective of the questions asked and the MB's answers.

The newspaper also carry a short introduction before the Q and A. It says: "...Mohamad Nizar talks about about getting down to business after a shaky start to transition of power. Prudent spending and reducing red tape are priorities under his administration..."

The Sun also gives a listing of the state Government's report card. Is the Sun kinder to the MB than the NST?

Saturday, June 21, 2008

Shabery Cheek continues to woo bloggers

If Zainudin Maidin is still the Information Minister, there's no way bloggers will get any recognition from the Government. But his successor, Ahmad Shabery Cheek, is a different person altogether - younger, more IT savvy, and not bogged with baggages of the past. Certainly not a goblok.

This was proven a couple of nights ago when he invited bloggers to a forum at Iptar, RTM's training institute on the Angkasapuri hill. I was told the bloggers had much to say during the forum, which was also attended by several professors and media practitioners from RTM.

Shabery himself moderated the forum with papers presented by blogger Ahmad Talib, aka Pahit Manis and one academician Azhar. In the audience were well-known bloggers like Rocky Bru, the Scribe, Ancient Mariner, Kuda Kepang, Dunia Tiger, Jalan Sudin and few others.

Hanafiah Man and Rosli from Agenda Daily were also there.

It seems that the forum participants were quite happy with the open and free discussion. One suggestion made by one of the participants was well received. It seemed that Shabery was asked to give media accreditation to bloggers, thus giving them a chance to cover assignments like other media practitioners.

For all that Shabery has done in his open engagement with bloggers, I doubt if he has enough clout to do that! Imagine Rocky Bru attending a PC and asking Abdullah Ahmad Badawi on when he's passing the baton to Najib Razak! Or the Scribe grilling Shahrir Samad on domestic trade policies, especially the increase in food prices and what not! Imagine too Jalan Sudin stalking Rafidah Aziz or Shahrizat Jalil on Wanita Umno matters.

Journalists on the local beat no longer ask tough questions when facing ministers, be they BN ones or those from Pakatan Rakyat. That's why these bigwigs no longer fear, or respect, local journos. Which is why Shabery won't be allowed to dish out media accreditation to bloggers.

The likes of Kalimullah Hassan and Anuar Zaini, through their business associates Wong Chun Wai and Hishamudin Aun, have seen to the demise of the hard-hitting journalism in Malaysia. Khalid Mohd and Yong Gemok at Utusan and Bernama are wage earners and are just as restricted in their work.

Shabery is not your ordinary BN minister. He's smart. He's a politician first and last. Since he knows that the mainstream media are being discredited, Shabery is doing two things which will benefit him most.

He's trying to reestablish RTM's credibility (where he has complete control of operations) and woo the bloggers, who are fast gaining popularity and acceptance by the general public. In this way, Shabery no longer need the main newspapers to pursue his personal and political agenda.

Wednesday, June 18, 2008

End of the road for AU, Khalid Mohd

Everyone is watching everyone nowadays. I think i'll just relax and watch the media go by. There are so many things happening in the world of the media that I think we should pay attention to it.

The media watches us, and we must then watch the media. The media gives us stories. We must then also share stories about the media. Many people in the media who have left the profession are now blogging.

A Kadir Jasin, Ahirudin Attan, Nuraina a Samad, Syed Imran, Ruhanie Ahmad, Ahmad A Talib, Maria A Samad and Ibrahim Yahya used to grace the front pages of their newspapers. Now they have gone to cyberspace to write about whatever they want to write.

Will we see Azman Ujang and Khalid Mohd blogging in the near future? Word from the Press Club has it that Azman or AU may be put to pasture once his contract as the GM of Bernama expires soon. Same thing with Khalid at Utusan.

Both are expected to exit the world of journalism. Will they claim their own stake in cyberspace? Anyone heard anything? Both are loyal servants of journalism and will soon have to reinvent their lives once their term of service expires.

When this happens, Yong Soo Heong and Aziz Ishak are likely to take over at Bernama and Utusan respectively.