One of the things Information Minister Datuk Ahmad Shabery Cheek said on his first day at work after the official swearing in ceremony was that he was willing to engage bloggers and sit down with them.
And he meant it and met the Malaysian blogosphere. After the meeting, he decided to offer them 20 minutes of prime air time on RTM’s Warta Perdana every Sunday starting April 20.
Engaging the blogging community is among his primary tasks to regain the confidence of the people, especially after the bad showing in the last general elections.
“The reforms would not be complete if the government does not bring a new approach to the media. It’s very important to provide the fresh air that people have been longing for a very long time,” he says in an interview posted on his blog NotaShabery.com. (He’s also into Facebook).
For one who believes the opening of minds is important, Shabery is open to any new ideas, including allowing a 30-minute live telecast of the parliament sitting daily.
Last night, he chaired a forum at Angkasapuri, which was attended by some 250 people comprising media practitioners and representatives from agencies under the ministry.
The objective was to find ways to improve RTM1 news bulletins. RTM, government-owned radio and television station, is not proud of the fact that since early 2000 to date, the number of its viewers has not changed much.
For example, total viewership for Warta Perdana is around 300,000 to 600,000 that is way below TV3’s Buletin Utama, which attracted some 3,479,964 people according to the latest figures for the July 13 to July 19 week.
Figures don’t lie and Shabery is going all out to change that and he wants to get to the bottom of it.
Among the RTM circles, many have given the thumbs-up to Shabery for his open approach , especially in instituting changes at the station. What’s important, they say, is there is less interference into the news operations.
Last night’s forum was testimony of his desire to bring in some fresh air into RTM, with panelists Prof Datuk Dr Hamdan Adnan, Fomca adviser, Dr Mahadi J. Murat, film maker and former lecturer of media studies of Universiti Malaya, and Ahmat Ab. Wahab, senior manager of audio visual service, Bernama TV.
It was a fruitful dialogue as many new ideas were given by all three panelists, with Ahmat, previously from TV3, giving some “trade secrets” to RTM1 news division, which were well received by key people of the unit, including the Secretary General of the Ministry, Datuk Kamaruddin Siaraf.
And judging from remarks from the audience, mainly RTM staff and part-timers, more changes can be expected as Shabery tackles the viewership issue head-on. Next on the cards is his meeting with RTM1 news presenters, who also had their voices heard before the minister last night.
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