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I want to see the time when all of our journalists have at least a master's degree in journalism before he/she can become one so that journalism can be better appreciated and respected by members of society many, of whom are better qualified in all fields. by Mansor Puteh
Freedom of the press has been used as an excuse by many journalists to cover for their own inadequacies. They had gone on the bandwagon to become nothing but 'investigative reporters' who like to come up with exposes to beat the other reporters and papers in the game oneupmanship. They are purely driven by commercial consideration. Some of them had seen 'All the president's men' and had followed the Watergate scandal in America. First of all, as a former journalist of some years standing and having covered everything including both houses of parliament I believe I am qualified to also talk about this subject more than those who do not. I was also a member of the National Union of Journalists (NUJ) during that period. First, in order to have a good and free journalism, we need to have a good and excellent crop of journalists, as we do need to have a good crop of lawyers, architects, engineers, scientists, etc, etc, we need to have professionalism and discipline. One cannot be a lawyer if one is not properly and formally trained. How many of our journalists and their sub-editors and editors are those who have proper qualification in journalism? They seem to come from everywhere. No wonder when they retire, most are not qualified to teach journalism at any of our universities; they end up creating their own blogs or go into other fields to sustain themselves. Only a few who have formal training in journalism but they ended up teaching at the universities or become editors in publishing companies. It seems those who think they can write can also be journalists; and those who have the money can publish a newspaper or magazine. But why can't those who can fight in court also be allowed to be lawyers and become members of the bar? This won't happen and the lawyers won't allow it. The universities and schools that teach journalism in Malaysia are not one of the popular ones; and no one says he wants to be a journalist and as such will want to enrol into any of such schools like I did. So there are many who are not qualified journalists but who work as one. There was only one student in my secondary school in Melaka who said he wanted to be a journalist but he ended up not being one, but I who at that time thought the word 'journalist' was too big, as I only knew the word 'reporter', ended up being one instead. I want to see the time when all of our journalists have at least a master's degree in journalism before he/she can become one so that journalism can be better appreciated and respected by members of society, many of whom are better qualified in all fields. There is no doubt that a person with such a degree will be more discipline than the others who do not have it, and he will be more responsible in executing his duties as journalists. It also makes it difficult for anyone to be chosen to be editors, especially when they do not have better academic qualification and professional experiences than these journalists. As a filmmaker by training, I feel sorry when I look at the entertainment columns of the newspapers. They publish nothing exciting fo anyone to read, other than by their own editors and sub-editors, and what they write are mostly of poor quality. No wonder none of our entertainment journalists especially those working with the English language papers have gone far, to work in publications abroad.
Therefore, unlike in other professions, especially medicine, there is no brain drain in journalism where our journalists have been bought over by publications in other more advanced countries that offer them better renumeration. I will respect and admire any journalist or editor working in Malaysia, who is offered to work in more influential and respected newspapers in America and England. I find that the film reviews and their analyses of the cinema to be very bad. No wonder none of them had ever been invited to talk about them in any forum anywhere in the country, least of all outside of the country where it matters more. Many of the journalists today will scoff as such an idea about the need for them to have formal training in journalism. They will think that there is no need for them to be formally trained in journalism and they can still become a journalist. It's true. But what has happened now? And what has become of the newspapers that we have especially those in Malay and English language? Are they good? Have they managed to shape the thinking of their readers and society and taught them about things and issues that they had not known of before? Many of the editors and journalists, don't even know what is news anymore. To them news is what happens abroad, and is reported in foreign papers. So no wonder most of the news that were published in these publications are reprinted in our local newspapers. I am shocked that even today we still get more stories or write-ups on anything that were distributed by the syndicated publications. So this must make the job of the editors very easy since he only needs to find which story to publish and his job is done.
It's the same with the editors of the news bulletins on television whom almost blindly broadcast stories of anything even when they are of no relevance to the country and its viewers. Even minor and insignificant Hollywood film clips are shown at the end of the news bulletin!
Some of them also broadcast stories of what their own station and staff do like they are news! These should only be published in their company bulletins for their own staff to read, but not shared by the general public. It is therefore very easy for the editors of newspapers and television bulletins in Malaysia to function. Why do they want to demand freedom of the press then? It is just empty talk. It will only make their jobs very difficult. Firstly, they have to be better educated so they are able to choose which information to publish and secondly, they have to be more original and creative. All this will make their jobs more difficult. Why demand such freedom in the first place? In Malaysia, Hollywood gossips are news when in America they can't even make it to the tabloids but in the cheap entertainment magazines. Here, they make headline news and they are special columns that publish these. The funny thing is most of the personalities who are constantly in the news in such papers, are insignificant personalities in Hollywood. There is a need to increase the level of journalism in Malaysia. The write-ups and reports I see in most of the papers are somewhat sub-standard; with the emphasis on nothing but foreign. So no wonder many of our English language newspapers and magazines are nothing but fake foreign publications. I also hate the fake American and British accents that the write-ups express and the western lifestyle and the expensive goods that they try to promote like they can afford to enjoy them, too, with their small pay. They tend to look like they are serving other countries particularly America, Hong Kong and India. Whereas in these countries Malaysia does not make any news unless there is calamity. There must be a good reason why these publications are over-promoting cultures of these countries and not so much of Malaysia. Is it to promote cultural chauvinism, so the young generation of Chinese and Tamils do not relate with the local culture? If not for the local section that is devoted mostly to internal party political strives and crime stories; otherwise, these papers have nothing to write about. And if there is freedom of information and of the press, surely, all the government agencies and ministries will have to buck up, or they will become fodder to the press. Do they want that now, since most of these agencies are not yet ready to face the challenge? On the other hand, supposing if all the government agencies and ministries and officials are excellent and are able to do their jobs well, and there are no unnecessary issues, however petty, then what is there for the press to report on? I wonder, what do they write about in Singapore in this squeaky-clean city where everything is done above-board, that does not brook any indiscpline? I got to check their papers the next time I am in the republic so I can make a comparison. In Malaysia, most of the 'news' are on nothing but government inefficiencies and public apathy or crimes. No wonder we get to see police officers appearing on television with lawyers coming up next in the line of importance or exposure. Other than that, we have the small-time politicians spouting nonsensical commentaries. But what if the government, is efficient? What is there for the papers to write on that can be considered to be newsworthy? Nothing. In developed countries one hardly see the type of news that are routinely published in the papers, that often quote minor and insignfiicant political sideshows. And because the countries are developed, they have to create more interesting news that are mostly of international quality. Here, in Malaysia, none of this can be expected; even those who tried to create world records, however preposterous, can never get exposure in the media of the neighboring countries. They are nobody internationally and are just local heroes. So what makes news in Malaysia, that the editors and publishers of the newspapers in the country consider to be worthy news? I cringe each time I open any English language and Malay newspaper. There is nothing interesting. Everyday I read about the activities of the Hong Kong, American and Indian film, television and music industries. While the Chinese and Tamil press go overboard by publishing excessively stories of the Hong Kong and Indian cinema, like they are serving the interests of the Hong Kong and India governments.
There is nothing on the Malaysian (read Malay) cinema.
So with freedom of the press one can expect such papers to become even worst; they won't serve the country more, but the other countries and in the end encourage the their readers comprising of the different races to behave as though they are imaginary citizens of these countries.
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