Friday, September 21, 2007

Fxcked up journalism

Lately i realised my posts have mostly been about myself and i've not written anything that deals with any issues for these issues have been brought up by other bloggers. What happened these 2 days changed my perception of the mainstream media in Malaysia.

There was once a time when journalism was supposed to be a respected professionalism. The workers of the media were at the frontline of the latests happenings trying to uncover the truth behind the stories they report. These were subjective or independent opinions which represented the views of the journalists. Even in Malaysia's context, journalism was once a tool used to enlighten the society. Scholars opposing the British rule wrote their opinions in the newspapers and distributed it in hope of opening the eyes of their countrymen to the truth of the society. This eventually invoked the idea of nationalism and the people of the country demanded for independence from the British rule. That was a time when journalism was used to enlighten the people. Now, the mainstream media is what i'd call BULLSHIT AND CRAP which censors opinions and its main purpose is to spread propaganda. No one with opposing views are allowed to voice their opinions. No one is allowed to know the shortcomings of the Government.

For all that crap i could still tolerate it. However, the last straw came on Tuesday. On the front page of the news was the picture of a bruised and battered, dead young girl. For days that followed, the media followed with close attention to the progress of the case. What irked me and filled me with angst and horror was how the media sensationalized the issue. Any person regardless should be allowed to pass on with dignity. It is ok for media to publish the pics of the girl when she was alive but to publish the pics of her corpse was totally uncalled for. What is worse is how the media described in details the process of her assault. From now on, I will never be able to look at cucumbers and brinjals the way i used to.By all means, condemn such a heinous crime, spread the awareness to parents of not letting your children off your sight but do not sensationalize the case by going into the details of the murder! If you think this is bad enough, it was only days ago that the Auditor General gave a press statement on the blatant wastage of funds by the public departments. It was only days ago that 2 people were shot by live bullets by a policeman who tried to disperse a congregation. However, no news is reported on the follow up actions taken against those who misused the money of the public or the police who opened fire against civilians.

The case of the child is what i'd call a problem on the surface. The root of the problem lies within the efficiency of the police. B4 her corpse was found, it was reported in the papers regarding her missing. Had there been efficiency, such a tragedy could have been prevented. Y aren't the mainstream media highlighting this issue then? Are those so called journalists so blatantly ignorant that they had the wrong focus? Or is this press coverage of the girl's murder a shift of the people's attention from those who plunder and abuse power?

To be honest, I have never really been a believer but for those who actually use the gruesome murder of an innocent young girl to mask their heinous crimes they commit, may God have mercy on their soul.

1 comment:

Adrian said...

hey nick.. i agree with u on this one. And besides, the papers are not publishing important news like they should, Front pages are usually about how some minister visits some place and saying some 'important' words..

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