Media in the firing line of social media

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Media in the firing line of social media
Kornchanok Raksaseri
@Aim_TH

BANGKOK: -- The media, particularly the news media, has again been the talk of the town over the past few weeks.

Thai PBS replacing Nattaya Wawweerakup, the host of People's Voices That Need to be Heard Before the Reform, after a junta complaint last week prompted a lot of discussion, especially on social media.

On social media, arguments raged over the media's responsibilities, whether it operates with political neutrality or that it needs to and whether the freedom of the press is deserved.

Early this week, the media became the talk of the town once more after some mainstream media organisations, Daily News and MCOT, published a story about a Facebook page in which dogs are purportedly procured for sexual abuse. There was a contact number on the page. It turned out the page was fake.

A group called Dark Knights II, which has a reputation for taking on social justice causes, denied it was responsible for the page.

The newspaper admitted it had made a mistake, and removed the story from its website. While many people felt satisfied that it was a mistake and proved the media worked properly, many said the media's coverage of this "story" proved it didn't work properly.

Later in the week, a pantip.com post by TonyMao_NK51 was widely shared and discussed. He called for universities to scrap communication arts, journalism and mass communication faculties.

His argument for doing so included his belief that mainstream media had become irrelevant and citizen reporting via social media was the new power.

He said the online media was full of experts willing to provide information about a particular story and that resulted in more truth being shed on a topic than what occurred in the mainstream media, which had access to only a few big names and had a limited number of news sources.

"It is a different nature of the working process," he wrote. "The media might want to interview A, B and C but these people might not want to talk to the media … But in the online world, even the person at the end of the world and is hard to reach, if he wants to give information he can just get connected to the Internet and share the information."

He also said the media's deadlines led to mistakes and incorrect information being published.

The cost of reporting nowadays is very low, he wrote, adding that people can use mobile phones and the Internet in reporting while a lot of information pours in once an issue is raised. Some journalists do investigative reporting, but such a skill is a gift that cannot be taught.

"After all, it's not wrong to say that we should scrap the faculties of communication arts, journalism and mass communication because what the students learned were only techniques the media uses and a bit of ethics," he said.

"Finally, they [the mainstream media] cannot match the Internet when it comes to deep and detailed information due to the limitations I have already mentioned."

This post received a lot of reaction from journalists and non-journalists. Many said the big hole in the author's argument was the fact that the faculties were not only about producing news journalists.

They also said many people who graduated from journalism schools found that ethics cultivated in the schools worked and was very crucial. A lot of people said good journalists existed.

I, a journalism graduate, also believe the schools are necessary.

But the issues discussed are not surprising. Journalists also discuss the present challenges facing the media.

What happened this week might be just another lesson and a warning for the media. After all, the role of the professional media remains vital, and is even more crucial in order to verify the loads of information floating around elsewhere.

Source: http://www.nationmultimedia.com/national/Media-in-the-firing-line-of-social-media-30248322.html

-- The Nation 2014-11-22

[Chang_paarp]

Later in the week, a pantip.com post by TonyMao_NK51 was widely shared and discussed. He called for universities to scrap communication arts, journalism and mass communication faculties.

His argument for doing so included his belief that mainstream media had become irrelevant and citizen reporting via social media was the new power.

Given the quality of journalism in Thailand he may well have a case here. It is obvious from a very basic scanning of an Thai media outlet that basic things like fact checking and getting a second source for an item are not done, one has to question if they are taught.

[NongKhaiKid]

Later in the week, a pantip.com post by TonyMao_NK51 was widely shared and discussed. He called for universities to scrap communication arts, journalism and mass communication faculties.

His argument for doing so included his belief that mainstream media had become irrelevant and citizen reporting via social media was the new power.

Given the quality of journalism in Thailand he may well have a case here. It is obvious from a very basic scanning of an Thai media outlet that basic things like fact checking and getting a second source for an item are not done, one has to question if they are taught.

I'd like to think students are taught the basics of journalism which are then thrown out the window when they get out into the real world.

Thailand isn't big on investigative journalism for reasons we are all familiar with so the stock in trade seems to be get a quick headline and move on so no need to waste time fact checking, extra sourcing etc.

Nothing will change until the defamation laws are tied up, when reporters can go to press conferences without being threatened and when a story can be printed and followed up without fear of the threat to life and limb.

[NongKhaiKid]

Later in the week, a pantip.com post by TonyMao_NK51 was widely shared and discussed. He called for universities to scrap communication arts, journalism and mass communication faculties.

His argument for doing so included his belief that mainstream media had become irrelevant and citizen reporting via social media was the new power.

Given the quality of journalism in Thailand he may well have a case here. It is obvious from a very basic scanning of an Thai media outlet that basic things like fact checking and getting a second source for an item are not done, one has to question if they are taught.

I'd like to think students are taught the basics of journalism which are then thrown out the window when they get out into the real world.

Thailand isn't big on investigative journalism for reasons we are all familiar with so the stock in trade seems to be get a quick headline and move on so no need to waste time fact checking, extra sourcing etc.

Nothing will change until the defamation laws are tied up, when reporters can go to press conferences without being threatened and when a story can be printed and followed up without fear of the threat to life and limb.

Edit. : " ... tidied up, ".

[whybother]

Media in the firing line of itself ...

[Lupatria]

Later in the week, a pantip.com post by TonyMao_NK51 was widely shared and discussed. He called for universities to scrap communication arts, journalism and mass communication faculties.

His argument for doing so included his belief that mainstream media had become irrelevant and citizen reporting via social media was the new power.

Given the quality of journalism in Thailand he may well have a case here. It is obvious from a very basic scanning of an Thai media outlet that basic things like fact checking and getting a second source for an item are not done, one has to question if they are taught.

I'd like to think students are taught the basics of journalism which are then thrown out the window when they get out into the real world.

Thailand isn't big on investigative journalism for reasons we are all familiar with so the stock in trade seems to be get a quick headline and move on so no need to waste time fact checking, extra sourcing etc.

Nothing will change until the defamation laws are tied up, when reporters can go to press conferences without being threatened and when a story can be printed and followed up without fear of the threat to life and limb.

students are taught the basics of journalism which are then thrown out the window when they get out into the real world.

Isn't that the "successful" strategy already in every Thai primary school?

[Ozziepat]

People confuse "news" and "useful information." A newspaper can accurately report (and often does) that "Today XY said...", stop there, and be perfectly factual while conveying no useful information if what XY said was blatantly false or deliberately misleading. Politicians in media favor (or fear) depend on this tendency. By failing to provide further objective analysis (not opinion), the paper becomes effectively complicit in perpetuating the lies - but would be quick to deny the behavior. A few things worth keeping in mind then:

1. Mainstream media are businesses or propaganda organs, often both, with owner goals totally unrelated to conveyance of truth.

2. Mainstream journalists, being human, are simply incapable of being objective. So, every writer should have an accurate profile including political and philosophical biases easily available to readers. This is usually not the case.

3. Mainstream "news" is a filtered, edited product approved by a very few senior people, with agendas, before being published. Their biases will never be documented and easily available to readers.

You can imagine how individual web contributors might differ in some key attributes.

[seajae]

thai journalism is a total joke, they try to sensationalize absolutely everything with bullsh*t slogans/ misleading headlines and then dont even quantify the subject at hand in the following story. A year 10 student could do a better job than most thai journalists, they are nothing short of pathetic and makes us wonder if they use the same principle as schools, everyone passes so they dont lose face even when they never do the work or pass the exams. It would be great to just for once read a story based on fact and not rumours/bulsh*t that the writer has pulled from their under utilized brain. They also seem to think that everyone wants to see blood and gore, really does show how backward some people are when this becomes more important than the truth but then we never see reporters using that do we.

Edited November 22, 2014 by seajae

[FangFerang]

"Some journalists do investigative reporting, but such a skill is a gift that cannot be taught."

The above quote is starkly and blatantly incorrect and inaccurate.

[kaobang]

http://englishnews.thaipbs.or.th/prayut-tells-media-press-freedom-limit

media and social media in the firing line of the pm

Edited November 22, 2014 by kaobang

[EnglishJohn]

IMHO the Thai media are an absolute disgrace.

Even now, Bangkok Post is trying to stoke up anti-Junta sentiment by sniping whenever they can. I see they are posting mostly comments which support their view and the extremely suspect 'likes/dislikes' counts are back.

If only they gave Pheu-Thai the same treatment - maybe the country would not be in this mess. Of course, none of their MP's could change policy : that order could only come from abroad, but if it affected his popularity he might do something about it.

All reporters I have met have been weasels of the lowest order - but it seems the Thai variety take it one step further and share the ethics of the politicians. I suppose they write for their target audience and don't care what they look like to everyone else.

[Thai at Heart]

"Some journalists do investigative reporting, but such a skill is a gift that cannot be taught."

The above quote is starkly and blatantly incorrect and inaccurate.

Indeed, this idea goes hand in hand of journalism being some type of art. Hence why we have to put up with Tulsahtits nonsense every week or so.

Someone obviously told him that he was born to write that nonsense.