KUALA LUMPUR: The government will assist media companies to cope with revenue loss from advertising expenditures, said Communications Minister Fahmi Fadzil.
Previously, he said the government would not intervene but would instead allow engagement sessions between media and social media platforms to facilitate a commercial agreement.
He said some measures would be taken to help media companies deal with the changes in advertising demands, as nowadays companies prefer to invest in social media instead of using the same service offered by the traditional media.
"Since social media became the largest intermediary (to the public), many companies are no longer spending their advertising budgets in traditional media. As such, the estimated annual loss in advertising expenditures for media companies is around RM 2.5 billion.
"In the past, before social media became as popular as it is now, companies used to advertise heavily in traditional media, buying advertisements in newspapers, on billboards, television and radio.
"My commitment to our media partners is that we will work on several initiatives to help the media through this transition, (but) we will never go back to those good old days (practice)," Fahmi said at the launch of the National Institute of Public Administration Minister's Conversation.
Last week, he said from the estimated RM4.5 billion in total advertising expenditure in Malaysia, social media platforms had captured RM2.5 billion, significantly cutting into the revenue of traditional news media companies.
As these companies face increasing challenges in sustaining quality journalism, he said the government would allow engagement sessions between media and social media platforms to facilitate a commercial agreement.
In July last year, Fahmi announced that the ministry would draft a bill related to the return of advertising expenditure for the survival of media organisations in this country.
He said the drafting of the bill was important because he did not want to see more media practitioners lose their jobs or undertake a voluntary separation scheme.