KANGAR: The development of communication technology and the transition to social media today requires a journalist to be more sensitive to the validity of information before reporting the news to uphold the ethics of the profession.
Veteran journalist, Ramli Ismail, 74, said social media indeed makes it easier for journalists to carry out tasks, but ethical 'news writers' cannot take lightly any content that is published, especially regarding the validity of facts.
Ramli, who has 47 years of experience as a journalist, said the spread of fake news is one of the biggest challenges for media practitioners, especially those new to the field of journalism because they have to work hard to verify them.
"Now I see a lot of fake news spreading on social media, so as a journalist I have to report only authenticated news through existing facilities, I have to correct information that is not true," he told Bernama.
Ramli worked as a Utusan Malaysia reporter in Perlis from 1972 to 1995 before becoming a part-time reporter (stringer) of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) for the Perlis Bureau from 1997 to 2021.
However, Ramli does not deny the emergence of new media such as WhatsApp and Tiktok applications can further strengthen the field of journalism in this country as the public can get information on current issues quicker and up-to-date.
In addition, he said, the use of the WhatsApp platform enables and facilitates journalists in the field to report news quickly to editors in the office to convey to the public.
"When I was a journalist in the early 70's, if I wanted to send a written report or a photo (film) I had to type with a typewriter at night, then I had to wait and post it with a van, to send it to Kuala Lumpur.
"Now it's very easy, you don't need to travel a lot, just type straight to Kuala Lumpur, it doesn't matter where you are, you can send news. This new media is very helpful for journalists now," he said.
As an 'old-timer' in the field of journalism, Ramli believes that newspapers are still relevant today because there are people who choose the medium to find out about current developments, although he does not deny that the newspaper printing industry is declining.
"As information is easily available just at the tip of the finger, it is not necessary that newspapers will disappear, I myself subscribe to newspapers every month because I am more comfortable reading and getting more 'detailed' information when reading newspapers," he said.
Ramli, who is no longer as fit as he used to be because of high blood pressure, is one of the recipients of Tabung Kasih@HAWANA assistance which was presented by Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil at his residence in Taman Guru Jaya here on April 26.
To appreciate the contributions and services of media practitioners, May 29 every year has been gazetted as National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) since 2018.
HAWANA 2024 themed "Ethics at the Core of Sustainable Journalism" will be held for three days starting today in Kuching, Sarawak and the celebration will be launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on May 27.– BERNAMA