The 4th estate has failed us? Politically-appointed editors to blame?
The role of the mainstream media (MSM) came under heavy scrutiny at the Bloggers' Universe Malaysia 2008 held for the second year in a row at the Lake View Club, Subang. Haris Ibrahim of People's Parliament says the 4th Estate has failed the people and called on Malaysians to reclaim the integrity of the profession. Citizen Nades defended journalists and blamed politically-appointed Editors and draconian Press laws for the failure of a big chunk of the MSM in serving the people. Zorro, Kee Tuan Chye, Jeyapelan Mahesan, and Desiderata, among others, spoke on the the issue.Jeff Ooi took part in the conference via a pre-recorded video clip. Steven Gan could not make it but BUM 2008 had Nades and RPK. I spoke of what the National Alliance of Bloggers was up to the last one year and of my fear that the New Media, bloggers in particular, may one day entertain self-censorship as a compromise with advertisers and Government.
The 2pm-midnight event attracted some 200 bloggers, activists, journalists and politicians. Desi and Zorro moderated the two sessions and they have both kindly agreed to plan for BUM 2009.
Syabas to Desi and Gang for another excellent party!
p.s. RTM, Bernama, the Star, Utusan, the (new!) Malay Mail and several other papers covered the event.
Friday, May 02, 2008
Bum2008
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Thank you to organisers for event success!
ReplyDeleteI will post the videos up in my website: http:mylivingwall.com
Hey Rocky,
ReplyDeleteKali and Geng need refresher course in Journo 101. I took only one class in 1988 as an elective, but still can remember... Ada orang pandai2 cakap..."Beware, lest the fourth estate becomes the fifth column"... I think it already did for BN in the last elections...cuma kena tuan sendiri...hehe...
Here Kali FOC:
Lesson 1:
(with due credit to Jeffrey Archer-I'm no plagiarist...heh heh)
"In May 1789, [King] Louis XVI summoned to Versailles a full meeting of the "Estates General.
The First Estate consisted of 300 Nobles,
The Second Estate consisted of 300 Clergy;
The Third Estate, 600 Commoners.
Some years later, after the French Revolution, Edmund Burke, looking at the Press Gallery of the House of Commons said, "Yonder sits the Fourth Estate, and they more important than them all. " "
Lesson 2:
"The task of the journalist is to comfort the afflicted and to afflict the comfortable" --Finley Peter Dunne
Lesson 3:
"Freedom of the press is limited to those who own one" --H L Mencken
Very easy and very catchy meh can remember or not?...don't bottoms up too much...nanti affect brain cells and you guys forget very fast what being a journo is about.
Weh Rocky,looking at the BUM 2008 pic, I would like to make a public appeal for you to grow your hair back...as a concerned citizen, I demand so...heh heh.
Umno prostituted journalism. Umno killed journalism. Umno killed NST. Umno turned journalism into a dirty word. Umno created pseudo journalists like Ahmad Talib and Kadir Jasin. And the rest is history.
ReplyDeleteThe MSM covered the event for what. The Star, the champion apologist for the MCA will never published such event so why are you being so happy about the presence of MSM. NST is no better.
ReplyDeleteSo lets forget about MSM. Lets promote blogging as the real alternatives so that people like Kalimullah and Wong Chun Wai will wake up to realities that the people are more important then Bodohwi, son, son-in-law and cronies like Kalimullah, TOny Fernandes, Patrick Bodohwi and many more.
Another high profile Event for high profile people and big ego. Look at the speakers. Only big popular names.An event with all popular names will come to nothing but hot air blowing. Even the press is there to help in the blowing.
ReplyDeleteThe mainstream media have to shoulder part of the blame, it is true that they have been quite subsiervent, but post 2008 GE it is quite apparent that most mainstream media players have made a u-turn and the pakatan rakyat seems to be the main beneficiary.
ReplyDeleteHopefully the so called independant and alternative media i.e the online media will do the same and stop being the mouthpiece of the opposition and give the BN more space.
technically speaking..since blogs and Malaysia Kini normally champion the cause of opposition, thus I presume you all will be carrying more reports of BN in Perak, Kedah, Kelantan and Selangor....no?
ReplyDeletedo these group of 'alternative media' practice neutrality or paid to cover PKR, DAP and PAS only?
No better than MSM...Hypocrite..no?
You guys got to change your way of thinking and standing.
ReplyDeleteFew years back your shouting echoing the needs of your so-called thousands of people. But now, yours are more like Sendirian Berhad.
The rules of the game have change guys. Its about time to be more open and liberal toward all parties. Or else, make it clear on which side of the fence you all are. And stop masking under the name of the people.
Spealing from first-hand experience, I agree completely with nstman.
ReplyDeleteKee Thuan Chye is spot on. I still remember the reign of terror in the NST under Kadir Jasin and Ahmad Talib which was followed by another reign of terror under Abdullah Ahmad. Good journalists, like me and Thuan Chye, for instance, were brutally silenced and reduced to pathetic wrecks. Journalism has never recovered from its holocaust . Of course, NST died. Today NST is half dead, or nyawa ikan. Ladies and gentlemen, we must always remember the mistakes of the past. As Santayana said, those who do not remember the mistakes of the past are condemned to repeat it. Umno chose not to remember the past. Umno is paying a heavy price.
ReplyDelete