Media organizations need to know their audience to compete with social media
IPOH: Media organizations need to change the way they deliver news to remain relevant by using social media as a platform as well as a source of news, said a panelist at the HAWANA Media Forum 2023 today.
During a session titled “Survival of Traditional Media in the Digital Era”, panelists discussed how social media has taken over traditional modes of news dissemination, often exposing issues that may otherwise go unreported.
They agree that social media is changing the way people consume news, therefore, media organizations need to adopt the platform.
First of all, it requires a change of mind.
“I think the ability of newsrooms to change, to go to the next level in creating … content is very, very critical,” said Nicholas Sagau, Chief Operating Officer of REV Media Group.
He said agility needs to be the most important aspect of changing mindsets, to multitask and better adapt to changes in technology.
The panelists said news organizations also remain important content creators, but the challenge is to get people to consume the content they publish.
Mindshare Group CEO Sheila Shanmugam says the next step is to “follow the view”.
He said now most people get news and content in social media through mobile phones, as opposed to reading or watching news. He said, the concept of one news is suitable for all can no longer be done with various platforms, whether traditional media or through social media.
“It’s about understanding the platform, understanding the audience within the platform and how you actually create content. The same story set in a different way, to connect with the audience,” he said.
Sheila said that while traditional media releases lag behind social media releases, catering to niche audiences on social media will overcome that issue.
However, the panelists also warned against the manipulation of social media, which is used to shape social opinion or achieve certain objectives.
Acknowledging social media as the main driver of news today, The Jakarta Post Editor-in-Chief M Taufiqurrahman said it is important to realize that ignoring traditional media has negative effects.
“There is a tendency for politicians to also ignore traditional media. They have an army that uses social media to approach voters and voters, and they can drive certain agendas without having to deal with traditional media,” he said.
Sheila agreed saying: “Everyone is a content creator now, everyone wants to be popular”.
He also called for the establishment of guidelines to regulate the situation in social media to curb hate speech and racial insults, while reducing restrictions on the topics to be reported.
The media forum, which was organized together with the Malaysian National News Organization (Bernama) and the Tun Abdul Razak Institute of Broadcasting and Information (IPPTAR) in conjunction with the 2023 National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA), was attended by participants consisting of journalists, correspondents and academics from Singapore, the Philippines, Vietnam, Indonesia, China, Japan and Kuwait.
HAWANA is celebrated on 29 May every year to celebrate journalists and media practitioners in Malaysia with the first event being held in the nation’s capital in 2018.
