Thai editorial: The heat is on for new wave of TV journalists

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EDITORIAL
The heat is on for new wave of TV journalists
The Nation

A migration from print newsrooms to television studios is under way as the scenery of our news environment shifts

BANGKOK: -- The launch of the digital TV era has spawned a host of programmes and channels devoted to news. With it has come a surge in demand for experienced, quality journalists, who are being chased by digital channels desperate to get a head start on the competition.

Head-hunters have found rich pickings in traditional newsrooms, which has led to a migration of print journalists to broadcasting. While this phenomenon holds promise for our new media scene, it also carries risks.

Turncoat print journalists will soon discover the advantages of switching to television. TV news reports create an immediate impact. A "breaking news" report on police bribery or an anti-corruption campaign can reach the TV audience immediately, gaining prompt reaction and calls for change. And nothing beats real-time rolling reports when it comes to coverage of fast-changing political crises. Add video footage and the bigger audience into the mix, and it's no surprise that journalists are quitting ink for screens.

The rolling 24-hour news cycle and mass reach can, however, be a double-edged sword.

Print journalism allows more time for checking facts, updates and editing. In contrast, there is little editing involved in television news and none at all when it comes to live reports. On TV the demand for swift and accurate snapshots of information leaves little time for journalists to dig deeper into a story or find interesting fresh ways to present it.

With the cutthroat competition among digital TV channels, broadcasting journalists face a tough challenge. The race to attract viewers and advertising revenue will force them to improve their quality of content. But there's also a destructive side. The fierce battle between news channels recently saw one try to "steal" a scoop by whisking away the source, an elderly rural resident, and ensconcing her in accommodation it had paid for. Fighting "dirty" in this manner shows how fierce competition can easily turn ugly, and how it can limit, rather than increase, the coverage of news.

Television news also requires much more money than its print equivalent. This can lead to ethical questions and conflicts of interest for the journalists involved. Will a news host be able to talk about energy reform without bias if the programme's main sponsor is an energy company? Will a journalist be allowed to investigate fraud at an insurance company if that company is a main sponsor of the show? And would they be permitted to report on corruption involving one of the channel's own executives?

Whatever the answers, the migration is underway - and it could be a blessing in disguise now that print media are in decline. Broadcast journalists will need to overcome new challenges. The proliferation of channels means the audience can shop around with remote in hand. It also means they are less likely to put up with substandard content. News reporters will be under a lot of pressure to produce fair and insightful reports under serious time constraints.

They will also find that while being presentable on camera is difficult, it's harder still to maintain journalistic ethics in the studio behind it.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/opinion/The-heat-is-on-for-new-wave-of-TV-journalists-30245493.html


-- The Nation 2014-10-15

[cloudhopper]

Journalism in this country is nothing but an abysmal failure regardless of the medium.

[EddieHaskel]

The Nation talking about journalistic ethics?

Where does Thailand rank in free press?

This newspaper is nothing but a tool for the elite class to spread bad information to bamboozle the readers.

[kingalfred]

one thing is for sure "investigative journalism" where there is in-depth delving into major corruption, mafia control and politics is pretty much non existent.

[Chang_paarp]

This is nothing but a job application by a hopeful. Looking at other markets, I can assure the applicant that "quality news" is far from the need or want of the digital TV mill. If the applicant wants to work on digital TV they may want to research home shopping shows or very simple lifestyle shows.

"Quality news" shows.

[kalbo123]

We made a high school magazine, the articles written and the quality of interviews where better then most of the junk written in any English Thai newspaper.

Of course we did not have the threat of being arrested when writing something out of the ordinary,

Journalism and the freedom of speech still have a long way to go in Thailand.

[EddieHaskel]

There are many journalists that have fled Thailand, been jailed, sued in court and killed.

Many of the murdered journalists were killed by politicians.

[NongKhaiKid]

The print and electronic media can recruit the brightest and best, the bright eyed and bushy tailed eager ones out of journalism courses etc BUT their remit will always be the same,

' Be Careful What You Say And Who You Say It About '. Rock solid facts are no protection.

[Suradit69]

Journalism in this country is nothing but an abysmal failure regardless of the medium.

Yes, if only some acomplished "fair and balanced" farang could be brought in to set things right. That would improve the quality immediately.

[Lupatria]

The print and electronic media can recruit the brightest and best, the bright eyed and bushy tailed eager ones out of journalism courses etc BUT their remit will always be the same,

' Be Careful What You Say And Who You Say It About '. Rock solid facts are no protection.

Chances are more to be buried under solid rocks

[The manic]

What to arrest them or gag them?

[RubbaJohnny]

It can only get better Belgian Marxist promotes investigative press that lie about Scousers thieves at Hillsboro.

A man who cannot manage a bacon sarnie may be in charge of Trident GCHQ (Langley UK branch) in 2015

However corrupt self serving some may appear here human nature is pretty universal.

[rickirs]

Unfortunately for the new wave of TV journalists ......

[ratcatcher]

The future of Thai news, aspiring to be the Fox News of Asia.