ABU news chief kicks off professional seminar series with Malaysia’s RTM
During the first master class between the ABU and Malaysia’s state broadcaster RTM, on best practice in news production and presentation, ABU News Director Sedrick Anh addressed more than 70 journalists, producers and news managers on technological advances in news reporting and the ‘survival of the fastest’ as the key to remaining at the top.
Mr Anh, who had a long and distinguished career as journalist, foreign correspondent and deputy Director of the political department of KBS-Korea prior to joining the ABU, shared his experience on ways in which news organisations have changed over the past three decades and the challenges news organisations face in maintaining relevance while chasing higher ratings.
He cited the example of the KBS news room which has had to adapt both technologically and through rigorous training, to keep ahead of the fierce competition from other broadcasters as well as keep up with viewer demand for fast, accurate and reliable information. He said technology was very important in being on top of the story but continuous training and good reporting could not be overlooked. “For example, KBS broadcast one very important story, from a fishing boat, 15 kilometres from the North Korean border, using very basic camcorder technology, with a 1mbps bit rate. We went live to air with small and primitive cameras”, he added, saying that so long as there is an internet connection, a journalist can broadcast from any device if required.
Dr Ahmad Jailani Bin Muhamed Yunus, RTM’s Deputy Director General of Broadcasting (Strategic) moderated the session and said he learned a lot himself from the day’s discussion and his previous visits to KBS’s headquarters. “If we look into the future of how RTM might develop, it is evident that technology such as the N-Screen, Augmented Reality applications and remote cctv cameras should be on our list of future acquisitions”, he said.
The series will continue next month with a focus on sport.