A Shaolin Tiger Mauling In The 4th Estate?

DESIDERATA was pleasantly "surprised" by a fellow Blogger -- not from the Press -- sharing some observations about the Malaysian 4th Estate which I found highly accurate. Playing a sort of moderator this morning, Desi thanks the Shaolin Tiger for permit to "reprise" his thoughts -- Yes, we all all following the trail blazed by JeffOoi of Screenshots fame -- to THINKING ALLOWED. I'll follow with some whsipered comments if you continue to lend me your ears. Or give me back an earful if you dissent. We are aloud to be disagreeable you know at Desi's Place. Just be genteel about IT because I always love the feminine touch! Oouch!

April 27, 2006 from a smiling tiger, mauling somewhere in an estate in Kuala Lumpur:

The State of Traditional Media and Newspapers in Malaysia

Smart people don't seem to read the local newspapers, nor any businessmen worth their salt (The Edge anyone?). As they are all pretty much biased, washed out tabloid trash.

Smart people read news online (BBC, CNN, Malaysiakini, Jeff Ooi) or read foreign papers, even those papers such as The Times of India are much better.

It seems people prefer to pay more for some decent news rather than the local papers which are only good for wrapping tomorrows nasi lemak in.

Even in the US the traditional media has shifted its paradigm toward the online medium, advertisers are pulling out of the printed papers and spending more heavily on the websites (Below the Line).

Look at the Washington Post for example, it's an amazing site with a blog, trackbacks and integrated Technorati features.

According to a new forecast by Forrester Research, as much as 8 percent of all advertising spending will shift online by the year 2010. Much of this shift will come at the expense of tradional media channels such as magazines, direct mail and newspapers.

The problem with local media in my opinion is:

1) It's sloppy, there are spelling mistakes, factual mistakes, research mistakes and so on, it's basic Journalism 101, please check your facts before publishing

2) It's heavily censored, only what the government wants to come out comes out (seems to be the current government too, or whichever party that paper has an alliance to), sometimes feels a little like China

3) The content is poor, often syndicated and unoriginal, where is the real journalism, the hard talk, the cutting edge stories?

4) The specialist sections are just as bad, In-tech? Anyone even know which days it comes out? Anyone use it for anything other than eating their dinner on?

The television is just as bad, magazines are pretty poor too but seem to be getting better at least.

People just don't care about newspapers here, stats show more than half of people that read newspapers don't actually buy them, they just read them in the office because they are there. It's a vicious circle, people don't care, people don't read, papers stay crappy, biased and with low circulations.

For example I got a URL in a national newspapers and saw a massive surge in hits of 0, yeah 0, no extra hits, no one read the paper and went online. Well if they did, it was less than 100 people, so I didn't notice the difference.

If you did that in UK you'd get at least 100,000 hits over a week as BryanBoy saw when he was published in the UK Telegraph.

Sadly I don't know what we can do to fix it, but well some of us are working on something to bring the new media and traditional media closer together, at least it's a step in the right direction. It just seems to be taking forever to get started.

Bah I don't even want to start on the quality of the television shows, argh! Comedy? You call that comedy? I call it 4 decades outdated slapstick that only appeals to people with IQs of 60 or below.

Here ends the Post stolen as Nutgift from shaolintiger.comflagging off
"Inane Ramblings of a Brit in Malaysia Eating, Drinking, Diving and Partying!"

where this noesybody left a footprint, again C&P here, with my ER' indulgence. Care not I if thy indulgence is reluctantly giv'n!

ylchong says:

"When media are all directly or indirectly controlled by BN component parties, what do you expect the senior journalists do?

They play politics! They write and bow in accordance with the best wishes of the political masters, and at the workplace, it's THE SAME as in government departments -- or worse, as the end-product is on public display in all its pub'ic display in all its naked (and nu'es) glory!

I've been a member there -- where PR has got two connotations -- both -ve -- public relations (I almost was tempted to put an apostrophe in place of the ""l" again...) and PROstitution.

But at least the oldest profession practitioners don't scream they are the 4th Estate! Silently some real personal estate.

I agree with one commenter: Is the so called emerging 5th Estate any better? Also aligned with political and NGO interests -- motivation is also the same -- almighty $ sign unless you're some "socialists" (dying breed) which even the Government won't wish to "register" as a group, and some smartass "anarchists" fronting as Online Democrats.

April 28th, 2006 at 1:29 pm


I hope the following conversationist won't mind my "borrowing" his comment to be also shared here as a Nugget?~~~~~~~~

vincent says:

"Actually dude, while I agreee that mainstream sucks, a lot of the online shit is just as bad.

Compare Star and NST with Malaysiakini and JeffOoi?

Different lie. Same bullshit."

DESIDERATA: My dear raeders, chew over the Post by Shaolin Tiger and share your esteemed views? Also do you agree with those mighty "strong" words by Vincent? Starry, scary nights, my 4th and 5th Estaters?

Now can I try to entertain thee with a couple of anecdotes, a reward for thy patience?

I was in the newsroom surfing the LAN message board when an interesting memo caught my roving eys. It's was a Memo from a Senior Editor to the reporters of less than 100 words, like those schooldays advice from your Principal advising proper behavior by the pupils read out at Monday assembly, remember? You know, emphasising discipline, be good boys and girls, show manners to teachers and elders, etc...

Except the newsroom Memo of about 80 words contained one dozen HOWLERS...You know the mistakes in grammar, sentence construction that make the reader howl! Alamak! from a senior Editor!

It would have been ignored except one cheeky More Senior Editor followed up with a Comment pointing out the dozen mistakes.Soon three quarters of the newsroom were buzzing (blogspeak : "kaypohciking?") with hilarious remarks about their seniors Raja's -- or was it Jaguh Kampong? -- Engrish.

Half an hour later there was complete pandemonium (No-lah, it's Desi using hyperbole, boleh-kan?) when another kaypoh Senior Editor came to the defence of the first err-ing Editor by pointing out half a dozen mistakes in the More Senior Editor's Comment!

Aiyah, Desi was about to arbitrate with his Shake up the 'hole newsroom with A-spearing finale but he was stopped in his tracks. The Editor-in_chief said there is now a complete ban of all comments on the issue.

Now you can see Shaolin Tiger's grounds about ..."It's sloppy, there are spelling mistakes, factual mistakes, research mistakes and so on, it's basic Journalism 101, please check your facts before publishing"...?

I REST. SHAOLIN'S CASE. Mine2. Vincent3.

"Starry, starry nights..."
Yeah, I was uploading @1.15AM after paying my respects at fellow journalist MGG Pillai's residence in Brickfields at the wake marking the passing on of an icon of the 4th & 5th Estates. I'm looking out of my window at the moon, the stars, and I say a silent prayer that My Buddy Rest In Peace. A LIfe TRuly WEll LIved. WEll LOved.
Amen.