Blogging As A New Media

NUJM Urges Govt To Acknowledge Blogging As A New Media

KUALA LUMPUR, May 2 (Bernama) -- The National Union of Journalists Malaysia (NUJM) is urging the government to acknowledge the existence of internet citizen reporting and blogging as a new media for disseminating information.
Its president, Norila Mohd Daud said this online phenomenon had made great impact in the country as an alternative information source on current issues affecting the public.
"The usage of internet and the concept of the uncensored `borderless world' have made information more easily accessible to anyone. As such, any abuses committed by public officials can be immediately exposed on the internet," she said in a statement issued here, in conjunction with the International Press Freedom Day which falls tomorrow.
She said it was also in line with the government's mission in ensuring greater accountability and transparency, as well as improving its delivery system.
At the same time, she said that the growth of this new media channel had influenced mainstream media and changed the current journalism landscape.
"In view of this latest development, NUJM feels that the government should accord greater freedom to the local media by amending restrictive laws such as the Printing Presses and Publications Act, and Official Secret Act (OSA)," she said.
NUJM, she said, was of the opinion that the enactment of a Freedom of Information Act could improve the flow of information between the government agencies, the media and the public.

tunku : well thousand time had been said, let the information flows freely, we are smart enough to evaluate it.