SIBU, Nov 30 — Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Openg tonight told journalists to uphold their standard of professionalism and credibility when writing news stories so that people can make informed decisions.
He said in this digital age, such journalistic standards are needed more than ever.
“We need real journalism more than ever. Social media changed the world, for both good and bad,” he said in his speech at the Kenyalang Journalism Awards presentations here.
His speech was read by his deputy Datuk Amar Douglas Uggah Embas.
Abang Johari said social media provides the platform for instant news, which in turn has given rise to the phenomenon of ‘citizen journalists’.
“However, few people bother to check or verify the authenticity or truthfulness of the information; thus, giving rise to the prevalence of ‘fake news’ which is sometimes intentional.
“Such irresponsible acts will distort the understanding of complex issues and oftentimes lead to misinformation. More often than not, we only get one side of the story,” Abang Johari warned.
The chief minister also reminded journalists that they, just like the government, are responsible for providing accurate information to the public.
“Sometimes, we might not like the news that we read, especially reports that reflect the government’s shortcomings, but we will always support the work and services provided by our journalists,” he added.
The top winners of the Chief Minister’s Awards were feature writer Priscilla Tawie of the New Sarawak Tribune (English category), feature writer Haini Darani of Utusan Sarawak (Bahasa Malaysia category), feature writer Ivy Ching Heng Mee of Sin Chew Daily (Chinese category) and broadcast journalist Monica Gerry of RTM (Broadcasting category).
Each journalist received RM5,000, a plaque and a certificate from Uggah.
