Gutter politics begets media smut
By Sharifuddin A Latiff
Question – Which media agency did not publish grainy black and white screenshots of a sex video in recent weeks?
But first, let me take you up the yellow brick road to media utopia in as far as credible, trustworthy and plain simple news which everyone may like and want more of.
Gone are the days when the MSMs hold sway in guiding and/or manipulating public opinion on a certain issue. The E-revolution, beginning with The Internet, changed everything on the playing field, including the rules of readership engagement and specially, how quickly facts or non-facts can be ripped apart in a matter of hours, if not minutes.
Lest you might think that the MSMs referred here are the monopoly of BN-owned media agencies, I say think again. Because Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider, Free Malaysia Today, etc are on the opposite end of the spectrum and they are equally regarded as mainstream by their loyal readers post GE12.
Nowadays, everyone IS a reporter. The online new media incorporated the ubiquitous comment section into their daily reports. When you post a comment in a news portal, it becomes an extension of the original article. It either enhances the story or debunks a mis-report. It can be referred to as user-generated-content or UGC.
The written word can be read in a variety of interpretations according to one’s belief and principles. Unfortunately, when malice was intended when one writes to hoodwink readers who are not that bright, confusion reigns.
So how does one separate the wheat from the chaff?
Simple – DON’T JUST READ BUT WATCH AND LISTEN AS WELL!
Have you heard of ‘The People’s Voice‘?
No, no, no I’m not referring to Haris Ibrahim’s The People’s Declaration.
I’m talking about the other one at CJ.MY where citizen journalism is practiced and conveyed through words, visuals and audio coupled with the use of web apps (mostly Youtube) to disseminate news of interest. It is arguably the only nascent alternative to terrestrial TV that I can think of.
Personally, I much prefer this medium because you are also able to gauge the veracity of what’s presented with your own sense of sight and hearing. Apart from reading the body language, of course.
Now, imagine fat-cat editors in Utusan, B. Harian, etc having their say in full view of their audience (whilst trying to keep a straight face) and juxtapose it with the double-speak we get from BN politicians when they are on national TV.
When BN politicians resort to gutterism (sic), their fourth estate gets smutty. Sadly, most of the other MSMs catering to the opposition are no different.
Which brings me back to the question in the first para of this posting – Which media agency did not publish grainy black and white screenshots of a sex video in recent weeks?
You can answer this question by taking a poll at Walski’s who is asking which news outlet is the most credible and trustworthy.
hartalmsm.wordpress.com 
Thanks very much for the mention. I think I know the answer to the question posed, but don’t worry – I won’t provide a spoiler or anything like that :p