Embrace New Media To Engage Stakeholders, Public Service Told

FotoBERNAMA

The public service must tap on the new media as a platform to engage its stakeholders, especially the youth, said Chief Secretary to the Government Tan Sri Dr Ali Hamsa.

Ali, who is the newly-elected president of the Commonwealth Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM), said the public service must not hold back by refusing to join this revolution.

"Change is inevitable, and we have to transform in order to remain relevant in today's world.

"Now, more than ever, the dynamics in the global arena and the advent of social media make it incumbent on governments to do nothing less than their best in discharging their duties in public administration," he said when opening the inaugural Media Forum at the CAPAM 2014 biennial conference at the Putrajaya International Conference Centre today.

The forum, entitled "Engaging the Commonwealth" and held at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre (PICC), is jointly organised by the Office of the Chief Secretary to the Government and the Malaysian National News Agency, Bernama.

Some 600 participants, comprising mostly mass media and communication students from public and private institutions of higher learning, media practitioners, academicians, top public service employees from the Commonwealth countries as well as representatives from embassies and high commissions attended the forum.

Ali said that in the context of the Commonwealth, both the traditional and new media had played a crucial role in promoting economic development, good governance and civil societies.

As such, he urged the public service to join hands with the media fraternity in exploring contemporary and future issues in the print, electronic and the new media industry.

He said the aim of such collaboration was to exchange ideas and information on the state-of-the-art research in media and communications so that the public service could interact with the stakeholders and the people quickly and effectively.

On the forum, Ali said it was also intended to generate interest among youths to better understand the Commonwealth and CAPAM.

He noted that youths, being the biggest users of the new media, also formed the majority of the people in public service, and CAPAM had proven to be an invaluable linkage that bound the Commonwealth together, particularly the young people.

"Today's youths, who inevitably are tomorrow's leaders, can share best practices and enhance their networking in the Commonwealth and beyond.

"Together, we can do much more to promote CAPAM and the Commonwealth. And the media can certainly help us to spread the word further and faster," Ali said.

Among the speakers at the forum were John Spencer, Trustee, CPU Media Trust from London; Media Prima Bhd chairman Tan Sri Johan Jaafar and President of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Commonwealth Society Datuk Mohamad Feisol Hassan.

Other panelists included Datuk Chamil Wariya, Chief Executive Officer of the Malaysian Press Institute; Datuk Ahmad A. Talib, Group Advisor, Corporate Social Responsibility, of Media Prima Bhd and Datuk Wong Sai Wan, Editor-in-Chief, Malay Mail Sdn Bhd.

By Voon Miaw Ping

-- BERNAMA

Provide value-added services ...

Providing value-added services to clients are key aspects of enhancing the relevance of news agencies in an ever-growing digital era, said The Society of Editors, United Kingdom (UK), member John Spencer.

    Spencer, who is Trustee of the CPU Media Trust (previously known as the Commonwealth Press Union) said one of the value-added services was page-ready service.

    "It s actually taking the material that we've (news agencies) already written, the photograph we've already taken and putting them on the pages on behalf of the client and so that the clients themselves don't have to do it.

    "It allows the clients to concentrate their time and effort and their reporters and resources on the things that they do best, which is about their area, expertise and locality, rather than getting involved in a time consuming work that somebody else might be an expert in," the former managing editor of UK's Press Association (PA) told Bernama in an interview at Wisma Bernama today.

    Spencer is one of the key speakers at the inaugural Commonwealth

Association for Public Administration and Management (CAPAM) Media Forum, scheduled for tomorrow.

    The forum is to be held in conjunction with the three-day CAPAM Biennial Conference 2014 which started yesterday at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre.

    Spencer said news agencies needed to adapt to the technology and services, but without compromising their core values of keeping the news accurate, fair and fast.

    "It's not just because nowadays there are lots of news that's out there,  doesn't mean we always have to simply take their word for it, we still have to check stories, we still have to make sure they are accurate, fair and quick as well.

    "A lot of organisations just produce same old material and repeat rumour and material that doesn't have any veracity...they don't survive and they don't deserve it either. But we shouldn't compromise our values for that," he said.

    When asked on editorial outsourcing, Spencer said it has helped news agency like PA to provide value for money services for customers and help keep prices at sensible levels.

     "PA provides information on TV listings for almost every magazine and newspaper in the UK, and that's a huge amount of material and produce.

     "...we also found that in outsourcing some of that work to (a company in) India, it meant that we could drive economy of scale, we could recruit well

educated, hardworking people in India," he said.

    Spencer said news agencies would be able to offer additional materials to their customers by training their reporters to take their own still photos and videos.

    "Just like years ago when I was a reporter, you needed a notebook and a pencil, now you need a video camera and able to take stills as well, it's just part of the reporters equipment these days I think.

    "It also means that you have additional materials to offer to your

customers, it continues to make you relevant, and if you got some videos to offer, it will be used in the website and newspaper," he said.  

    He also commended Bernama as "a really busy accurate news agency".

    "I understand your world, it's a 24/7 fast moving business, always

challenging especially in the world of digital media," he said.

    -- BERNAMA

Bernama TV launches 'English belt'...

Bernama TV has begun its “English Belt” starting today as it moves ahead towards becoming an all-English news and information channel.The English belt will be broadcast from 8am to 2pm from Monday to Friday.

It will feature talk shows, news bulletins, news magazines and progammes.

The daily schedule in English are:

 

0800 – Bernama Today – Breakfast Show

0900 – Newsstand

0930  - Hello Malaysia

1030  - Global Today

1100  - The Nation

1200  -  Repeat of Newsstand

1300  -  News@Midday

 

With the new arrangement, 32 percent of Bernama TV content is now in English, Bahasa Malaysia (48 percent), Mandarin (7 percent) and Tamil (13 percent).

Prior to this, the breakdown of programmes per week was English (18 percent), Bahasa Malaysia (62 percent) Mandarin (7 percent) and Tamil (13 percent)

Pejabat Bernama Biro Pahang dipecah masuk

FotoBERNAMA

Pejabat Pertubuhan Berita Nasional Malaysia (Bernama) Biro Pahang di Jalan Berserah, Kuantan dipecah masuk Khamis tadi.
Pemeriksaan awal mendapati wang panjar pejabat lebih RM1,000 dan server kamera litar tertutup hilang dalam kejadian itu, kata pembantu tadbir Zafri Razali, 32.
Katanya apabila tiba untuk bekerja 8 pagi ini, beliau merasa curiga apabila keadaan di tangga menuju ke tingkat satu pejabat dalam keadaan gelap.
"Sebaik tiba, saya terkejut apabila mendapati kaca bertaburan di lantai dengan pintu pejabat terbuka," katanya.
Zafri berkata pejabat didapati berada dalam keadaan berselerak dengan kesemua laci meja petugas termasuk bilik Ketua Biro Bernama Pahang Noor Shamsiah Mohamad digeledah.
Beliau kemudian menghubungi ketua biro dan kakitangan lain, bagi memaklumkan kejadian itu.
Katanya penjenayah turut melarikan server CCTV dan memutuskan semua bekalan elektrik dipercayai untuk mengelak perbuatan itu dikesan.
Satu laporan polis kemudian dibuat di Ibu Pejabat Polis Daerah Kuantan kira-kira 9.30 pagi tadi.
-- BERNAMA

Doa iringi sumbangan untuk anak kecil...

Foto Syed Khedher

Dalam usianya yang baru tujuh bulan, Nor Adriana Badrisyah perlu menjalani pembedahan segera di Institut Jantung Negara (IJN).

Doktor mengesahkan bahawa anak kecil itu mengalami tiga komplikasi -- jantung berlubang, saluran darah sempit dan jantung kurang oksigen.

Ini memerlukan bukan setakat satu pembedahan tetapi dua dan Nor Adriana perlu terus mendapat rawatan sehingga dewasa.

Beliau merupakan anak keempat jurukamera Bernama TV, Abdul Halim Ahmad yang sedang berusaha sedaya upaya mengumpul wang bagi membiayai pembedahan anak kesayangannya itu. Kos dijangka mencapai RM47,000.

Bagi membantu membiayai kos perubatan itu, Bernama mengambil langkah prihatin memberi sumbangan kepada Abdul Halim.

Ketua Pengarang Datuk Zulkefli Salleh, yang kini menjalankan tugas sebagai Pengurus Besar, menyampaikan cek sumbangan Bernama kepada Abdul Halim di Bilik Lembaga, Tingkat 14, Wisma Bernama hari ini.

Abdul Halim menghargai sumbangan Bernama itu dan mengucapkan terima kasih kerana ia membantu kos perubatan anaknya.

Pengalaman berguna di Korea Selatan...

Tugasan membuat liputan Sukan Asia ke-17 di Incheon, Korea Selatan memberi peluang kepada dua penerbit Bernama Radio24 Fahmi Idris dan Kok Jun Sern melihat secara dekat kehidupan masyarakat di sana.

“Bila kami tiba di sana, satu cabaran yang dihadapi ialah bahasa kerana tak banyak yang boleh berbahasa Inggeris.

“Kami mengambil masa tiga, empat hari untuk adjust dan faham sistem keretapi dan tempat makan,..kita tak tahu harga dan apa jenis makanan kerana semua dalam bahasa Korea,” kata Jun Sern dalam program "Bersama Wartawan" menerusi Bernama Radio24 pagi ini.

Menurutnya, mereka menggunakan isyarat tangan ketika memesan dan membeli makanan atau kadang-kadang mendapat pertolongan orang yang memahami bahasa Inggeris.

“Kalau tahu satu, dua perkataan Koreapun, kadang-kadang tak bagus sebab mereka ingat kita tahu bahasa itu dan mereka menggunakannya,” kata Jun Sern.

“Di Korea tak banyak makanan halal, bagi Fahmi, kita cuba cari makanan halal tapi tak banyak . Kita kenal seorang rakyat Korea yang beritahu kita bahawa masyarakat Islam di Korea hanya 100,000 sahaja,” kata  Jun Sern..

“Berbanding rakyat Korea Selatan yang lain seramai 50 juta,” celah Fahmi

“Kalau di Seoul, lebih mudah nak cari makanan halal sebab ada penempatan orang Islam tetapi kalau di Incheon agak susah sikit , kita tumpu  makanan laut aja lah,” kata Fahmi lagi.

Satu lagi pengalaman berguna yang mereka perolehi ialah sikap masyarakat Korea Selatan yang mengutamakan golongan kurang berupaya serta orang tua.

“Apabila kerap menaiki keretapi, hari-hari boleh nampak… di hujung gerabak ada tempat khas untuk orang tua, orang OKU, actually dia bukan reserve, tapi priority seats.

“The first few days kami naik, kami duduk di situ dan penumpang lain tengok kami semacam aja, then baru kita realise, orang Korea termasuk yang muda mereka tak duduk.. kerana mahu memerikan kepada yang lebih memerlukan,” kata Jun Sern.

“Walaupun coach tu penuh, tak ada orang mengandung, tak ada orang tua atau cacat, tempat duduk itu dibiarkan kosong,” kata Fahmi.

Fahmi dan Jun Sern sebenarnya mencipta sejarah kerana itulah kali pertama Bernama Radio24 menghatar petugas membuat liputan sukan antarabangsa di luar negara sejak ia mula beroperasi September 2007.

Bermula 19 September hingga 4 Oktober lepas, bandaraya Incheon di Korea Selatan menjadi tuan rumah Sukan Asia ke-17.

Malaysia yang menghantar hampir 300 peserta cuma meraih lima pingat emas, 14 pingat perak dan 14 pingat gangsa.

Tambah menghampakan ialah apabila pingat emas sulung Malaysia dalam acara wushu ditarik balik kerana kesalahan menggunakan dadah terlarang.

Sepanjang membuat liputan, Fahmi dan Jun Sern tinggal di sebuah hotel di Incheon yang disediakan oleh pihak penaja.

Dalam program hampir sejam itu, mereka turut berkongsi pengalaman cara yang dilakukan dalam merancang liputan sepanjang berada di sana.

Fahmi berkata mereka memberikan tumpuan kepada acara-acara melibatkan atlit Malaysia,

“Ada venue lebih dekat dari hotel dan ada juga yang dekat dari pusat media,” katanya.

Jun Sern menambah: “Setiap malam selepas balik hotel, kita lihat jadual dan rancang untuk keesokannya… tengok train station yang paling dekat dengan acara sukan, kalau tidak kita pergi media centre untuk naik shutle  bus media… ada tempat acara yang jauh seperti wushu yang mengambil masa hampir dua jam setengah. Tempat itu pun tak ada train.”

Fahmi yang berasal dari Kuala Lumpur menyertai Bernama Radio 24 pada 2007. Bermula sebagai Penjadual,  beliau beralih kepada penerbit program dengan menghasilkan program Gelanggang yang memberi tumpuan kepada sukan antarabangsa.

Jun Sern, yang berasal dari Petaling Jaya, merupakan lulusan kejuruteraan. Beliau bagaimanapun menyertai bidang pengiklanan selepas tamat pengajian dan menyertai Bernama Radio24 dua tahun kemudian pada tahun 2008.