KUALA LUMPUR: The fast development of on-line media publications necessitates proactive measures by the federal government to make sure that print media corporations stay related, say specialists.
Lecturers consider that among the many measures that may be carried out is to require ministries, companies, and authorities departments to buy promoting house in native newspapers to create steady demand and provide.
Senior Lecturer on the Division of Political Science, Public Administration, and Improvement Research on the College of Malaya, Dr Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub, mentioned this step was well timed, contemplating the growing challenges confronted by print media corporations as a consequence of technological developments that had been driving readers in the direction of digital content material.
“The federal government must also mandate subscriptions to printed newspapers in all authorities workplaces and implement particular initiatives for civil servants who buy newspapers, comparable to incorporating it into their annual KPI (Key Efficiency Indicator) evaluations, which may assist enhance newspaper gross sales and revitalise print newspaper subscriptions within the nation,“ he informed Bernama.
Moreover, he steered that the federal government may scale back paper taxes to offset manufacturing prices and supply different tax incentives for print media corporations, comparable to transportation tax aid, to assist make sure the trade’s longevity.
Mohammad Tawfik burdened that the print media trade performed a vital position for segments of society searching for data and the newest information, as not everybody was tech-savvy sufficient to make use of on-line platforms.
Safety and Political Analyst on the Centre for Media and Data Warfare Research, Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM), Dr Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin, mentioned that the survival of native newspaper corporations was important to supply checks and balances to on-line information.
He additional famous that print media additionally served as a reference for readers searching for verified information in a bodily type.
Due to this fact, he steered that the federal government ought to proceed to stress on-line platform house owners like Google, Meta, and TikTok to pay for information content material from native media corporations, which additionally publish print newspapers, to assist cowl the rising prices of printing.
He additionally urged native media corporations with print platforms to accentuate their efforts and be extra inventive in attracting extra promoting from non-public corporations, authorities companies, and non-governmental organisations.
“Steady efforts are wanted to make sure the survival of print media corporations as a result of the general public wants a type of studying materials that’s formally recognised and tangible, which might stimulate curiosity in studying.
“As well as, the position of print media is significant in shaping the ideas and perceptions of the general public with extra moral and managed reporting, versus some information parts on social media that could be deceptive,“ he mentioned.
Journalism Lecturer on the School of Communication and Media Research, UiTM, Fadzillah Aishah Ismail, believes the federal government ought to encourage the general public to purchase or subscribe to studying supplies by growing particular person tax aid beneath the Way of life class, which is at present capped at RM2,500.
She mentioned this step may encourage public participation in persevering with to make use of bodily studying supplies and represented a win-win effort to foster a studying tradition among the many folks whereas additionally boosting demand for print media.
