Week 8 -- How the Tools discussed in the readings will change or have changed the way reporters work

Technology has brought about major changes to the way reporters gathered and disseminated news. There are several important tools in the hands of the journalists, and one of them is photography. For example, with the advent of digital camera, photojournalists will eventually do away with dark room processing and time consuming manipulations with the enlarger. The digital camera would set for the photographer the best aperture and shutter speed combinations.

Word processors have also eased the job of reporters as far as journalists dealing with languages using Roman and similar scripts are concerned. In those days, reporters used to change paper after paper on the typewriter till they could type in a good lead. Now, a reporter can just modify the lead without much hassle.

In addition to that, computer has speeded up the transmission of news. For example, a reporter can work at home with a computer and file his or her report over telephone lines. However, this has yet to become common in the journalism world for now.

Another advantage of the tools of reporters can be seen in news gathering process. In fact, most newspaper today receive press releases and statement over fax and of course, it has speeded up delivery.

In many countries including Malaysia, press hand outs are now being issued through the Internet or E-mail. In other words, it is now possible to release information simultaneously around the globe, and this new development in technology augurs well for reporters in performing their day-to-day work in this era of globalisation.

I believe the Internet will emerge as major source of news in the coming years, although it may not dislodge any of the established media such as newspaper, radio and television in the near future. And even now the ability to combine text, voice and pictures gives added strength to Internet as a medium.

In my view, convergence of various media plays an important role in enhancing reporters' ability to harness the power of Information technology (ICT) as far as journalism profession is concerned.

The Potential of Blogs and Moblogs

Blogs have become more influential than ever. In some ways, blogging has changed the way reporters work, and there are indications that bloggers may become an important part of the media in the future.

For example, blogs served or were used extensively as forums for discussion or political activities during the 2004 US Presidential Election. And as far as media was concerned, American bloggers were successful in placing themselves at the centre of the political dialogue by breaking stories and trying to be the watchdog for public interest.

That means bloggers have to a certain extent changed the political landscape of America amidst the mighty of mainstream media. It is interesting to see what impact this will have on Asian countries' future elections.

As for now, the impact of blogging is quite minimal in the election process in this region including Malaysia. But, the potential of blogging is there to be explored although there are some limitations to bloggers' rights to freedom of expression.

I think blogging is full challenges. Many bloggers are viewed as suspect while others are gaining in credibility and attention. The bloggers can say anything they wish, true or false, prejudicial or not. So, readers should be diligent in assessing what is written.

There is no doubt that some important stories have evolved from bloggers but these same stories could just as easily have come from accredited journalists. The basic principles of journalism -- to tell the truth and credible stories are always observed by accredited journalists but bloggers are not held to this standard and generally, the public are gullible enough to accept what is posted or printed without the challenge of critical thinking.

As for moblogs or mobile phone logs that consist of photos taken primarily with mobile camera phones and posted on the internet, it helps a lot in transmitting pictures without a computer. For example, the bloggers can post personal content from mobile camera phones directly to websites for sharing with friends and the public.

In other words, if you are a reporter covering certain emergencency events such as disasters, you can still use photos taken from a mobile camera phone as a last resort (because of poor quality) and post on the internet. To me, although moblog is not likely to become a mainstream activity for now, it is an interesting development as far as the immediacy of the technology is concerned.

DIFFICULTIES FACED BY REPORTERS IN BLOGGING

A blog is defined as a personal online journal that is frequently updated and intended for general public consumption. For reporters, blogging is one of the communication tools to disseminate information.

The question is whether reporters are free to post whatever articles they have. I believe the whole issue boils down to press freedom. This shows the difficulties bloggers are facing in countries where the situation of press freedom is critical.

In Malaysia, although its Constitution recognizes several rights including freedom of speech or expression and the government does not censor the Internet, the bloggers are still subject to other related laws, and these include the Official Secret Act (OSA), the Internal Security Act, Sedition Act and Defamation Act.

For example, even if a reporter has access to some government documents that can be labelled as ‘State Secret’, he or she cannot divulge the information on his or her website because under the OSA, state secret documents are not eligible for release to the public. In other words, there is a limit to reporter's right to freedom of expression.

The same thing with the Internal Security Act which allows detention without trial. In the past, a number of reporters or journalists have been arrested under this law, and the law also applies to bloggers.

In December 2006, Deputy Science and Technology Minister Kong Cho Ha was quoted by the AFP as saying that Malaysia might introduce tough Internet laws to control bloggers and prevent them from spreading "disharmony, chaos, seditious material and lies" on their websites.
Kong cited the posting of a photo on an opposition politician's website in November (2006) of a Muslim male and Muslim female lawmaker, reportedly showing the man in a bathrobe with the woman lying on his chest, in what appeared to be a hotel room that sparked a political scandal.

Obviously, this underlined the many challenges confronting bloggers in Malaysia. In my view, although reporters do enjoy the so called "press freedom" in blogging, this right comes with responsibility -- to give equal respect to the rights of others, state and the nation.