The first presentation in tutorial was about dollars and cents on journalism, with the group using Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) as an example. SPH's annual report and profitability were analysed. Beyond that, the fundamental question posted in everyone's mind is, 'Is journalism sustainable?'
It is certainly evident that the profitability of journalism is on the decline. From the presentation, we can observe that SPH is venturing into the property market. With declining readership of its print copy, I agree that this is a wise move to ensure sustainability and to prepare for stormy days ahead. However, critics have argued that private funding and running media corporations similar to a business model is detrimental to a country pledging allegiance democratic values. McChesney (1998) argues that the concentration of media powers and commercialisation 'are a disaster' to democracy. McChesney suggested for reforms such as public broadcasting and noncommercial media. But, truth be told, publicly funded media organisations are struggling to find a foothold in the market in the current age.
Coming back to the issue of sustainability, we must first understand that journalism stems from the need for the public to be informed and for journalists to satisfy this need. People never get tired of latest news. It is true that with the rise of citizen journalism, mainstream media runs the risk of being ousted. However, in my opinion, journalism will never die off. It's mainstream that needs to reinvent itself. To keep it running, mainstream media could venture more into different variety of delivery, such as online methods or even interactive styles.
Reference List
McChesney, RW 1998, Making Media Democratic, Viewed 23 May 2011,
http://bostonreview.net/BR23.3/mcchesney.html
- AndyWang
Great point of pointing out the ethical issues of where the money is coming from, Andy!
ReplyDeleteWould you happen to have alternatives for money sources for the current mainstream media? Would love to hear if you do. Or do you think that print media is dying out and that they should start to incorporate new media so as to act as a safety buffer?
- ZR
Hi Zhen Ru!
ReplyDeletePrint media definitely still has a place in journalism. However its profits are evidently on a decline. I would suggest studying the press model in Australia, where they have both publicly and privately funded media organisations. Its publicly funded newspapers are deemed as credible and trustworthy thus far.
Hi Andy, I agree that it is a good move by SPH to move into the property market so that they do not have to depend on advertisers and the pressures that come from them. However, it is really difficult to see SPH struggle due to lack of revenue. The reason I am saying this is because. Looking at the ownership of SPH, there are many government linked companies that own a substantial amount of shares of SPH. To be honest. I think SPH will be able to sustain for the long run. But not for the reasons we hope.
ReplyDeleteHi Wes,
ReplyDeleteYes, I agree for SPH's case, it may not struggle as it is not entirely independent from government control/funding. Well thought on that.