IPOH: The media industry is grappling with the bitter reality that news production and consumption is being overtaken by social media.
The matter was discussed during the Media Forum entitled "The Future of Media", held in conjunction with the National Journalists' Day (Hawana) 2023 at Casuarina Hotel @ Meru here, today.
The forum focused on the survival of traditional media in the digital era.
Jakarta Post chief editor M. Taufiqurrahman said social media has emerged as the primary source of information, challenging traditional media's role.
"Social media such as Twitter and Instagram (IG) have, in a way, replaced old media. We must also consider the power of TikTok in Indonesia," he said.
"Someone uploaded a 15-second clip criticising the poor roads in Lampung.
"It made national headlines and the president visited Lampung to check the roads. This is completely bypassed traditional media," he said.
REV Media chief operating officer Nicholas Sagau said quality content remained paramount, and that presenting accurate facts and comprehensive details was still important.
"Content always reigns supreme when it comes to transforming distribution or editing across various media platforms.
"Without compelling content, the distribution will inevitably be affected," Sagau said.
He further discussed the need to adapt content creation and delivery for different platforms, such as TikTok, Facebook, and Twitter: "We must transform and produce content more effectively for these platforms.
"I work closely with my colleagues in Media Prima to change the way we deliver content. I always remind them that they are the best content creators in town; they just need to refine their delivery methods."
However, Sagau said collaboration between the digital and traditional teams (editorial) in the process of transforming traditional media into a more hybrid form was vital.
"When observing the newsroom's content creation and angles, I work with our digital team to find ways to enhance the delivery of news. We must work together constantly, not just weekly or monthly, but every hour.
"It is not an easy thing and one thing I would like to emphasise is the culture of the newsroom that needs to change as it is very important for the distribution of content.
"No matter how many presentations, how many floors of changes, I think the ability for the newsroom to change is very critical," he added.
Mindshare Group chief executive officer Sheila Shanmugam shared her perspective on survival in the industry, stating, "I believe it's more about the survival of media itself than just traditional media."
She said the was a need for guidelines on hate speech and racial slurs on social media.
"Today, none of us would walk out of home, we may leave our kids behind but not put our phone behind. Is it? That is the last thing you see before you go to bed no matter what time and the first thing you see when you wake up.
"So, that is how the internet and mobile have invaded our life. But what is internet and mobile? It's about content that we are consuming and social media have actually taken too many leaps and bounds beyond our imagination.
"It wasn't traditional media that brought the people together, it is social media. Social media is huge.
"We can't underestimate the social media movement but I do agree that we have to bring certain order in social media," she said.