Credibility: an inverse relationship between the New and Old media

January 9th, 2009 |

By Fang Zhi Yuan and Lim Siow Kuan

In an article published on The Straits Times on 3 January entitled ‘Political challenges in 2009‘, ST Political Editor Ms Chua Lee Hoong expressed her reservations about the credibility of what is published on the New Media.

“The problem with the Internet is reliability”, she wrote. ”To what extent can you trust what you read online? Whether due to ignorance, mischief or sheer absence of quality control, much of what is written online has to be taken with a pinch of salt.”

Ms Chua still doesn’t understand the simple fact that there exists an inverse relationship between the credibility of the internet and that of the mainstream media.

The opinions of bloggers and netizens can only gain acceptance, credibility and influence when public trust in the mainstream media is eroded by repeated lies, spins and propaganda to serve the vested interests of a political entity.

With a kaleidoscope of foreign online dailies, internet forums and independent news blogs to choose from, the average Singaporean is spolit for choices.

Nowadays, young net-savvy Singaporeans no longer depend solely on the print media for their news. They may still read The Straits Times or Lianhe Zaobao, but at the same time, they will also seek alternative views from the new media.

When discerning readers compare the gulf in what was reported in the papers and on the internet, they will inevitably feel they are taken for a ride.

With the state media no longer having a monopoly on the publishing and dissemination of news, readers can easily detect the inherent prejudices, spins and agendas.

When Malaysiakini was first founded by Steven Gan 10 years ago, it has an initial readership of over a thousand limited to the English-educated middle class of Kuala Lumpur. Today, it is the number one online news daily in Malaysia with a readership exceeding the government-controlled ”The Star” even though it is subscription-based.

Like Singapore, the major newspapers in Malaysia are controlled and funded by the ruling Barisan Nasional – The New Straits Times, Utusan Melayu, Bernama and The Star and in similiar fashion, its editorial policy has always been skewed towards the government and very much against the opposition.

Malaysiakini provides Malaysians with a fresh perspective with its largely objective, accurate and balanced coverage of socio-political news. It is on this basis that it is able to build up a large readership over the years at the expense of the mainstream media whose credibility continues to plummet as long as they choose to serve the agenda of their political masters.

With the mainstream media being discredited as a goverment mouthpiece, the new media is able to gain much credibility and clout though some of its reporting are not entirely free of biases and inaccuracies, but readers are more than willing to forgive for minor transgressions.

In the Permatang-Pauh by-election, the state media went on an offensive against Anwar Ibrahim much to the disgust of ordinary Malaysians that they simply stop reading the hogwash being circulated day in and out. In stark contrast, they turn to the New Media en masse, recording the election news coverage by Malaysiakini TV on CDs and distribute them directly to every kampungs in the constituency.

In the aftermath of the 2008 General Election, the major dailies in Malaysia began to twit their editorial stance to be more critical of the government and less harsh on the opposition to the extent that one minister remarked that The Star is sounding more like the opposition Harrakah (PAS’s official paper).

As long as the mainstream media strives to be balanced, fair and objective in its reporting, there is no reason why Singaporeans should turn to the new media as their primary source of news.

Unfortunately, the outright disrespect and contempt displayed by the mainstream media against Singapore’s opposition as exemplified by the same writer’s malicious assault on Dr Chee’s character in a previous article, have ailenated and peeved many Singaporeans off, including those who are politically neutral.

The staunch and sometimes voracious anti-establishment rhetoric echoed by the majority of the nation’s bloggers, forumers and netizens are in a way an indirect creation of the mainstream media. This is the second example of the “law of inverse proportion” – The more pro-establishment the mainstream media is, the more anti-establishment the new media will be.

In the early post-independent days, the population is not as educated as now and hence it is pretty easy for the mainstream media to shape public opinion and even influence election outcomes. In this present day and age, faced with readers who are much more educated and sophisticated than their parents were, the mainstream media cannot afford to continue its old tested ways of dishing out stale propaganda on behalf of the government.

Is the media serving the interests of the nation or the government ? Till Ms Chua answers this question truthfully, no amount of “quality control” instituted by SPH will vindicate its current standing of 141st on the World Press Freedom index.