By Neville Timothy Sanders
KUCHING: Unverified news portals and those posing as media are causing concern among bona fide news organisations and authorised practitioners.
Journalists attending the Annual General Meeting 2022 of the Journalist Association of Kuching Division Sarawak (KDJA) here on Saturday (April 23) heard how this could potentially lead to problems such as security, integrity and keeping the professional standard of reporting in Sarawak.
Current chariman of the association Ronnie Teo said that unofficial news portals found on Facebook, for instance, pose a threat as they have a tendency to undermine the credibility of the media fraternity.
“Many do not respect the rules surrounding certain national-level events such as broadcasting live from events when it is clearly not allowed due to the sensitivity of the event and the security of the guest of honour,” he said.
He said there is a need for authorities to therefore monitor, enforce, and prevent such encroachment on the work of official media agencies.
Meanwhile, during the meeting, members of the association were briefed on the progress of the activities held in 2021 and others planned for 2022.
Attended by 30 people, this included the issue of facilitating the vaccination process for the media, charity donation, as well as welfare projects.
Other projects in the works for 2022 include workshops to improve the quality of journalism by sectors such as healthcare, tourism and environment.
In the meantime, no elections were held during the meeting as it will be held in April 2023.
