Media explores new channels
Producers of news websites in Southeast Asia met for the first time yesterday to discuss "Technology and Trends in New Media Content Development" in a forum hosted by the Thai Society for Online News Providers and the Southeast Asian Press Alliance (Seapa
With more people being able to access the Internet, online news providers in the region were now exploring new platforms, especially smart phones and tablets.
Seapa president Kavi Chongkittavorn said online journalism via social media was a brand-new battleground. There are many new developments included in the switchover from analog broadcasting to digital broadcasting, the growth of new media platforms as the source of news, as well as the convergence of traditional broadcasting with telecommunications.
Online news is playing a very important role in this era, and news organisations in the region should collaborate to make good use of this new channel, he advised. This sort of collaboration will also help journalists from different countries to better understand the context of what is happening in other nations, especially on sensitive issues related to politics, religion, culture and human rights.
The key points on the agenda yesterday were the freedom of press, news content development and marketing strategy.
At the discussion, participants talked about the status of online news communities in their countries. Most went through similar development stages, with some websites, like Malaysianiki.com starting off as a pure online news provider eight years ago.
Yet all participants agreed that social media played an important role in providing news, because they offered people more choices.
Though all news providers shared the same objective - reaching as many readers as possible - many were still not earning enough from online advertising.