Digital Readiness of Malaysian Journalists
ABSTRACT
Digital technology, also known as new media technology, has become an influential tool in this era. This technology is no longer an option anymore but it is a necessity in many fields. As one of the areas that are inextricably linked with technology, the media industry including journalism, cannot escape from being impacted upon by any technological development and changes. In this era, media organizations and journalists have to confront an important challenge which impacted them strongly in the mass media, namely the advent of Internet journalism. With that in mind, this paper will discuss the changing nature of Malaysian newsrooms and identify the digital readiness among them in accordance with the needs of the digital media era. With a questionnaire designed to determine how news organizations try to meet the latest demands from the convergence of the newsroom as well as the readiness of the journalists in facing the challenges of the new technolo-gically driven newsrooms, the findings have provided insights into the leadership s of Malay-sian media organizations and the readiness of Malaysian journalists in facing the current technol-ogical complexities, the retraining of employees, and other skills needed in the twenty first century media organizations.
Digital technology, also known as new media technology, has become an influential tool in this era. This technology is no longer an option anymore but it is a necessity in many fields. As one of the areas that are inextricably linked with technology, the media industry including journalism, cannot escape from being impacted upon by any technological development and changes. In this era, media organizations and journalists have to confront an important challenge which impacted them strongly in the mass media, namely the advent of Internet journalism. With that in mind, this paper will discuss the changing nature of Malaysian newsrooms and identify the digital readiness among them in accordance with the needs of the digital media era. With a questionnaire designed to determine how news organizations try to meet the latest demands from the convergence of the newsroom as well as the readiness of the journalists in facing the challenges of the new technolo-gically driven newsrooms, the findings have provided insights into the leadership s of Malay-sian media organizations and the readiness of Malaysian journalists in facing the current technol-ogical complexities, the retraining of employees, and other skills needed in the twenty first century media organizations.
Cite this paper
Hamzah, A. and Mustafa, S. (2014) Digital Readiness of Malaysian Journalists. Advances in Journalism and Communication, 2, 58-67. doi: 10.4236/ajc.2014.22007.
Hamzah, A. and Mustafa, S. (2014) Digital Readiness of Malaysian Journalists. Advances in Journalism and Communication, 2, 58-67. doi: 10.4236/ajc.2014.22007.
References
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[1] Amas, K. O. (2011). Newspapers: Innovate or Die! Eurozine.
http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2011-07-01-amas-en.html [2] Bowles, M. (2011). eReadiness Audit Tool. Digital Economy and Regional Future Project.
http://www.derf.com.au/files/eReadiness_OverviewPPT_v2.pdf [3] Carter, N. M. (1984). Computerization as a Predominate Technology: Its Influence on the Structure of Newspaper Organizations. The Academy of Management Journal, 27, 247-270. [4] Cook, P. (1998). The Creativity Advantage—Is Your Organization the Leader of the Pack? Industrial and Commercial Training, 30, 179-184. [5] Dada, D. (2006). E-Readiness for Developing Countries: Moving the Focus from the Environment to the Users. EJISDC, 27, 1-14. www.ejisdc.org/Ojs2/index.php/ejisdc/article/viewFile/219/184 [6] DeUze, M. (2007). The Web and Its Journalism: Considering the Consequences of Different Types of Newsmedia Online. New Media and Society, 5, 203-230. [7] Deuze, M. (2009). The People Formerly Known as the Employers. Journalism, 10, 315-318. [8] Economic Intelligence Unit (2004). The 2004 e-Readiness Rankings. London: Economic Intelligence Unit. http://graphics.eiu.com/files/ad_pdfs/ERR2004.pdf [9] GeoSINC International (2002). E-Readiness Guide: How to Develop and Implement a National E-Readiness Action Plan in Developing Countries.
www.apdip.net/documents/evaluation/e-readiness/geosinc01042002.pdf [10] Gordon, R. (2003). The Meanings and Implications of Convergence. In K. Kawamoto (Ed.), Digital Journalism: Emerging Media and the Changing Horizons of Journalism (pp. 57-74). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. [11] Hermida, A. (2010). Twittering the News: The Emergence of Ambient Journalism. Journalism Practice, 4, 297-308. [12] Horth, D. (2009). Innovation Leadership: How to Use Innovation to Lead Effectively, Work Collaboratively and Drive Results. California: Center for Creative Leadership. [13] Hujanen, J. (2009). Informing, Entertaining, Empowering: Nordic Journalists’ (Re)negotiations of Their Tasks. Journalism Prcatice, 3, 30-45. [14] iPressroom (2009). Digital Readiness Report. iPressroom.
www.ipressroom.com/pr/corporate/document/ipr_2009_Digital_Readiness_final.pdf [15] Kautsky, R., & Widholm, A. (2008). Online Methodology: Analysing News Flows of Online Journalism. Westminster Papers in Communication and Culture, 5, 81-97. [16] Kawamoto, K. (2003). Digital Journalism: Emerging Media and the Changing Horizons of Journalism. Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. [17] Khandwalla, P. N. (1977). Some Top Management Styles, Their Context and Performance. Organization & Administrative Sciences, 7, 21-45. [18] Knox, J. (2007). Visual-Verbal Communication on Online Newspaper Home Pages. Visual Communication, 6, 19-53. http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1470357207071464 [19] Lloyd, J., & Seaton, J. (2006). What Can Be Done? Making the Media and Politics Better. Oxford: Blackwell. [20] Orlikowsko, W. J. (1992). The Duality of Technology: Rethinking the Concept of Technology in Organizations. Organization Science, 3, 397-427. [21] Pavlik, J. V. (2003). New Technology and News Flow: Journalism and Crisis Coverage. In K. Kawamoto (Ed.), Digital Journalism: Emerging Media and the Changing Horizons of Journalism (pp. 75-90). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield Publishers. [22] Pfeffer, J. (1978). Organizational Design. Wheeling, IL: Harlan Davidson. [23] Purcell, K., Rainie, L., Mitchell, A., Rosenstiel, T. and Olmstead, K. (2010). Understanding the Participatory News Consumer. Pew Internet.
http://www.pewinternet.org/Reports/2010/Online-News.aspx?r=1%E2%80%BA [24] Singer, J. B. (1998). Online Journalists: Foundation for Research into Their Changing Roles. Journal of Computer-Mediated Communication, 4. [25] Slack, J. D. (1984). Surveying the Impacts of Communication Technologies. In B. Devlin, & M. J. Voigt (Eds.), Progress in Communication Sciences, New York: Ablex. [26] Taylor, J. R., & Katambwe, J. M. (1988). Are New Technologies Really Reshaping Our Organizations? Computer Communication, 11, 245-252. [27] Weaver, D. H. (2009). US Journalism in the 21st Century: What Future? Journalism, 10, 396-397.
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/1464884909102604 [28] Witschge, T. (2011). New Media in the Newsroom = More Democratic News? Eurozine.
http://www.eurozine.com/articles/2011-07-26-witschge-en.html [29] Woodman, R. W., Sawyer, J. E., & Griffin, R. W. (1993). Towards a Theory of Organizational Creativity. The Academy of Management Review, 18, 293-321. [30] Wulf, V., & Rohde, M. (1995). Integrated Organization and Technology Development—An Approach to Manage Change. In D. Brandt (Ed.), Proceedings of the 5th IFAC Symposium on Automated Systems Based on Human Skill (pp. 135-140). Aachen: International Federation of Automatic Control.