SHAH ALAM: Journalists must leave the old media concept of merely seeking information and channeling it to the masses.
With the ever-evolving digital age and the concept of news convergence that is being practiced by newsrooms globally, journalists must adjust themselves to carry out duties beyond just getting information and writing articles.
Associate Professor Dr Dorien Kartikawangi, head of the school of communication of Atma Jaya Catholic University in Jakarta, Indonesia, said journalists should redefine themselves as multitaskers.
“They should not only be focused on reporting, but be content creators where they are able to take pictures and videos as well as edit the visual materials,” she said at the International Communication Association (ICA) Regional Conference 2018 at the Intekma Resort and Convention Centre, here, today.
“Many newsrooms are now geared towards a one-man show platform, where they no longer send a journalist and a photographer to a certain assignment.
“The old media only had one platform where journalists were assigned to dig for information, write it and feed it to the desk while photographers had their own tasks.
“But, now, in the convergence platform, many media companies are only sending one journalist to one assignment and they will have to multitask.
“The media industry is evolving and journalists should ideally catch up with the concept of convergence.
“The convergence must be comprehensive and holistic. Media companies must ensure that they provide training and send journalists to workshops or courses to develop their skills.
“On top of that, media companies must consider the aspect of better remuneration to motivate journalists.”
The two-day conference which ends tomorrow is hosted by ICA in collaboration with Universiti Teknologi Mara’s (UiTM) faculty of communication and media studies.
She was one of the four panelists in the plenary session of the conference themed “Media Transformation: Shifting Paradigms and Global Challenges”.
The other panelists were UiTM faculty of communication and media studies dean Professor Dr Azizul Halim Yahya, Singapore’s Nanyang Technological University Professor Dr Ang Peng Hwa and Media Prima Bhd Primeworks Studios chief executive officer and Communication and Multimedia Content Forum of Malaysia chairman Datuk Ahmad Izham Omar.
