OLD MEDIA IN A NEW WORLD
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Old media must adapt in this new era or it will perish.
Source: Theconversation.com
By Amiza Tajuddin
Everyone is familiar with the newspaper, television and radio, which are commonly deemed as the old media or traditional media.
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Old media is often utilised for advertising and marketing, and for decades, it was the fastest way for people to get their news and information before the rapid rise of technology.
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Many companies have consistently used such forms of communication to meet the demands of both customers and other business collaborators. 
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There are many reasons why consumers still prefer to obtain information through these conventional mediums.
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For example, our grandparents who did not grow up with technology would rather opt for newspapers and television because they believe that the reporters are providing factual proof.
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As reported by Malaymail.com, Malaysians felt that the traditional media act with good intentions, as 77 percent stated that they trust the old media's intentions compared to the 52 percent who felt otherwise.
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The research also stated that 70 percent of Malaysians felt that local online news sources act with good intentions, unlike 49 percent globally.
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Although old media like newspapers, radio, and television are still relevant today, new media have taken their place in the world and it does not seem to be slowing down due to the fast development of smart technology.
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The technology-based media has the ability to kill and challenge old media companies and their practices.
Challenges that kill old media companies and their practices
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If you are involved in the printing business, you ought to know that the new advertisements you see in the newspaper or on billboards are getting less and less effective these days to catch people's attention.
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According to a journalist from Berita Harian, Hafizah Iszahanid, the advertising rate does affect the old media. Companies tend to use social media as their advertising platform as the new media's advertising rate is way cheaper than old media’s.
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Meanwhile, the similarity in content and headlines of the news also caused the old media to lose its audience. It is because you can sometimes find similarities in the headline and content of news published by old media companies.
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The closest example would be the news content in The Star and Berita Harian, where the content itself is the same, but the difference is just in their headlines, language, and the pictures. It can bore the viewer and lead to a decreasing number of customers who regularly buy their newspaper.
Two local newspapers covering the same story.
Source: worldofbuzz.com
Hafizah stated that even though the old media may have portrayed the same news by different newspaper companies, it does not even matter because technology nowadays is killing the old media and reading habits, especially among youngsters.
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Readers have become less dependent on traditional media now that they can just see and skip the news that they are not interested in.
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Commercials and ads can be blocked and ignored, and radio stations can be changed. This means that marketing methods are often ignored or even seen as ineffective.
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It can be proven from the shutdown of a major news organization, Utusan Malaysia despite an 80 year of existence, which has shocked all media companies and the readers as well.
Media Mulia group editor, Mohamad Azlan Jaafar, said in The Straits Time that the main reasons that led to the end of the newspaper are the digital explosion, public perception, trust deficit as well as failure to meet the needs of readers and balance commercial and editorial interests.
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This issue can be challenging to some media companies that practice old ways in approaching the readers.
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“The people (readers) today want objective, accurate and fair reporting whether it is from political, social or economic aspects,” he added.
Traditional media remains reliable
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Despite that, according to The Star, traditional media is still the most credible news source and a trusted advertising platform, as it is essential for conveying brand messaging and is instantly recognizable.
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“As a media practitioner myself, I think that old media is still relevant even though people nowadays prefer new media because most of the content is coming from old media itself. New media mostly just sits back, read, copy and paste.
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“It has been proven that old media remains reliable as the main source for information in Malaysia. There must be no substitute for a balanced and factual story regarding writing and publishing news,” Hafizah said.
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We can see that people tend to scroll through Facebook, Twitter, or any other media platform to read the news. However, they will still seek more in-depth stories for certain news by clicking the old media websites such as Bharian.com by Berita Harian and Hmetro.com by Harian Metro.
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These two newspapers are one of the oldest old media companies that are still operating these days.
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According to Ipsos research, the research found that though the trust in traditional media seems to have declined at the global perspective, it is not the case for all countries.
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“Malaysians stated that they trust the media more than five years ago, and the increase of trust in media is particularly strong in traditional media such as newspapers, television and radio.
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“As globally, people have more trust in the information that they receive in person than from a person they do not know on social media. This also applied to Malaysians as they also trust news and information from people that they know in person more than other sources,” the research stated.
Don’t kill the old media
Combining new media with traditional media to create new news content.
Source: Channels.com
Old media does not necessarily need to stay ‘old’. According to Hafizah, the merging of old media and new media is a good way to make old media ‘alive’ again.
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She added even though it beneficial to both parties, she said that not all media companies are ready for this merging. It may be limited to big media companies such as Media Prima or The Star.
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By combining all these printing and technological developments, the media can create creativity and a global platform structure. The news production process can also be more productive, allowing more companies to easily make their commercial printing efficient yet environmentally friendly.
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“Maybe it is possible that old media can be interactive, but nowadays, people, especially the younger generation, do not read anymore. If they did read the news, they will probably go for Edu-entertainment portals like Siakap Keli or Oh Bulan but not from the mainstream media.
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“Most well-known newspapers, such as New Straits Times (NST), have their own interactive and creative way to deliver their news through their news portal even though it is the same content as their physical newspaper," she said.
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Old media should not be overlooked as it contains the relevance and the significance of certain news, such as the detailed content of hardcore news from big media companies from Media Prima and Bernama itself.
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For example, if campaigns are being held, unlike the younger generation, social media will likely lack in reaching a substantial target, particularly the senior citizens as most are not advance to the social media.
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But, by merging these two platforms, we can create a balance, and it will be a win-win situation for both old and new media.