By: Aida Aziz
KAMPAR: A special workshop needs to be conducted to identify the factors behind the lack of interest among many young people or students in pursuing a career in journalism.
Mohd Azlan Helmi, Chairman of the State Committee for Communication, Multimedia, and NGOs, said one possibility in the state is that students find other courses more appealing, especially those that offer incentives or equivalent salary scales.
“I have discussed this with lecturers here, and they have expressed concern about the level of involvement of young people who seem less responsive to journalism.
“That is one of the challenges they have raised, perhaps at the state government level, we will bring up this issue to the Minister of Communications and Digital Media, Fahmi Fadzil.
“We will discuss how to invigorate and attract the interest of young people to join the field of journalism,” he said.
He made these remarks at a press conference after officiating the launch of the Press Rider Department of Journalism at Tunku Abdul Rahman University (UTAR) here on Friday.
Also present was Dr. M. Sultana Alam, Head of the UTAR Journalism Department.
However, he said before addressing this issue, various other issues need to be taken seriously, such as the welfare and job prospects in the field, before making journalism an appealing option for those interested.
“How do we make this field attractive? Perhaps a workshop to discuss these matters with existing journalists needs to be organized,” he added.
In the meantime, Azlan also commended UTAR’s achievement in establishing the Press Rider website.
“This achievement is clear evidence of how joint efforts with staff and students, creativity, and dedication can create an outstanding digital platform.
“The Press Rider website will be a crucial milestone in delivering reliable and relevant news.
“The launch of this website is just the beginning of an exciting journey in digital journalism. Many challenges await, but with the same spirit as today, nothing is impossible to overcome,” he said.
The inaugural program was held to ensure that Press Rider becomes a primary source of trusted news and information, not only on the UTAR campus but also in the Kampar district.
