New Bernama editor determined to help subscribers stay relevant

Kuala Lumpur: Datuk Mokhtar Hussain (pic), the new editor-in-chief of the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), said Friday he is determined to help Bernama’s media subscribers to stay relevant in today’s challenging media landscape by delivering the best news content to the public.

He said his appointment as the editor-in-chief comes with the huge responsibility of leading the Bernama editorial department, particularly in assisting Bernama’s media clients who are facing challenges.

“This imposes a greater responsibility on Bernama to assist its media clients to deliver news and information to the public. That’s my number one priority,” he said in an interview following the announcement on his promotion as the editor-in-chief.

Mokhtar, 58, has been the deputy editor-in-chief (domestic news service) and was serving as the acting editor-in-chief for the last two months until Friday.

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Mokhtar said he also wants Bernama to remain significant in line with the current digital technology changes, especially in the areas of new journalism which includes mobile journalism and backpack journalism, as well as data analytics.

These new elements are crucial to making journalism relevant today and in the future, he said.

“It is important to create an open atmosphere and the freedom for storytelling for young journalists who project a new and different spirit in line with the new media platforms. This is a new element that has to be emphasised,” he said.

Asked about the media convergence that Bernama is working on, Mokhtar said it is aimed at enhancing the sharing of information and news among the various editorial platforms to reduce duplication of work while ensuring the smooth functioning of daily operations.

“Bernama started with offering news in the form of text and photographs, then it expanded to incorporate the television platform – Bernama News Channel (BNC) – and Bernama Radio. Now, we even have a digital platform which includes a news portal and social media.

“This has made the Bernama service so broad that it has created its own challenges in the running of operations. It is for this reason that we are in the process of converging the Bernama newsroom operation,” he said.

Mokhtar said Bernama is also studying the operational structure of several media organisations in this region which have implemented convergence.

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“We are learning from them on the certain aspects that we need to do adjustments,” he said.

Mokhtar holds a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Mass Communication from the National University of Malaysia; a Bachelor’s degree with Honours in Jurisprudence from the University of Malaya and a Master’s degree in Business Law from the National University of Malaysia. – Bernama

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