Journalists Will Need Multimedia Skills

[Lite Beer]

'Journalists will need multimedia skills'

Janjira Jarusupawat

The Nation on Sunday J

Nation Multimedia Group editor-in-chief Thepchai Yong

BANGKOK: -- The "media-platform war" is expected to hot up as newspapers turn to multimedia for survival - and this requires a new generation of media professionals to be well equipped with different skills, a seminar was told yesterday.

Adisak Limparungpatanakij, president of Nation Broadcasting Corporation, said more advanced technology would provide more choices to consumers of media. The print media had to provide television programmes along with their newspapers. Daily News and Matichon had done that already, while Thai Rath was expected to do so in the third quarter of this year because revenues from their print editions were too low.

"Fifty-five per cent of advertisement revenues are in the television media, or Bt50 billion-Bt60 billion per year, and most of the revenues go to free TV channels. So, more of the print media have created TV content to share the revenues. The major publications have to provide multimedia platforms," Adisak said.

The seminar, entitled "Strategy for the Future of Journalism", was held at Nation University, Lampang campus, by the Thai Journalist Association and the National Press Council of Thailand in collaboration with ISRA Institute Thai Press Development Foundation, the university and Thai Health Promotion Foundation.

Thepchai Yong, Nation Group's editor-in-chief, said there were currently six main channels, which were free-to-air channels, but the National Broadcasting and Telecommunications Commission (NBTC) planned to increase the number of TV channels to 48 in the first phase, adding that it could reach 100 channels if the NBTC followed up with the third and fourth phases. This number excludes 200 cable-TV providers and 200 satellite-TV providers.

He said graduates in the mass communications field would be in demand as each channel needed at least 200 employees. At least 10,000 mass-communications personnel were expected to be hired for the coming 48 channels.

Thepchai said the new platforms over which people would receive information would be social media on TV, mobile phones, tablets and notebooks as well as TV on mobile phones. Nation Group was preparing to provide new ways to disseminate the information to customers, including the iSnap application.

He added that people in the media business were focused on adjusting to the changing technology and getting benefits from new platforms. He wanted them to consider the "platform wars" as a significant opportunity to use technology to build a wiser society and encourage the public to participate and voice their opinions on important issues in society.

Thepchai said that people in the mass media in future would have different media-production skills, understand what is in the society's interest, make use of social media, be well-rounded and understand important points, and be able to communicate and explain issues to their audience.

-- The Nation 2013-01-20

[ChrisY1]

The headline should read.."Journalsist will need skills"

[DocN]

Really?

You mean...a note pad, a pencil and a typewriter will not get me anywhere?

dam_n, I have to think my career- plans over again....

[zakk9]

He did get his photo in the newspaper. Mission accomplished.

[hellodolly]

Well multimedia means they will still have the print.

They might start their training by showing them how to use a spell checker.

[bigbamboo]

"Fifty seven channels and nothing on."

Edited January 20, 2013 by bigbamboo

[Moruya]

God help us!

[Thai at Heart]

Is this an unpaid advert for the nation in the guise of news.

[sunshine51]

'Journalists will need multimedia skills'

I was under the impression that all journo's have had these

skills for at least the last 18 years with some having multimedia

skills going back to the first Gulf War (1991)....Oh well...this is

LOS not LOM....

[kerfuffle]

i hope the press card in my fedora is still valid

Edited January 20, 2013 by kerfuffle

[MESmith]

journalists need to learn the meaning of "investigative jounalism"

[Chao Lao Beach]

Every week there has to be a front page story about a Nation staffer. Why is it, when they probably do own the copyright they don't watermark it, and when they don the do claim the copyright of the image?

I somehow think the Nation is a bit confused

[DocN]

Every week there has to be a front page story about a Nation staffer. Why is it, when they probably do own the copyright they don't watermark it, and when they don the do claim the copyright of the image?

I somehow think the Nation is a bit confused

...and also the newspaper!

[Fozfromoz]

I guess at the end of the day it really doesn't matter what media is used, where it be stone tablets, electronic tablets, pen and paper, or get the picture took, there won't be much change unless the media can get in and dig around and publish without fear of litigation or worse.

MESmith post 11 I'm with you.

[culicine]

Well multimedia means they will still have the print.

They might start their training by showing them how to use a spell checker.

spell checkers won't fix bad english though

The whole article is like saying 'surgeons need to be dexterous'

[Fozfromoz]

Well multimedia means they will still have the print.

They might start their training by showing them how to use a spell checker.

spell checkers won't fix bad english though

The whole article is like saying 'surgeons need to be dexterous'

I thought dexterous was used in home brewing of beer, but I'm not a journo :-)

[hellodolly]

journalists need to learn the meaning of "investigative jounalism"

Why so they can have more facts to ignore?

The first thing they should learn is how to put proper titles on their articles. At least at the Nation.