MEDIA organisations require financial support from the government, including through advertising allocations. Such support is important in helping the media sustain their operations.
However, financial support should not be viewed as an avenue to influence content or determine what can and cannot be reported.
Instead, government advertising should be allocated based on transparent and reasonable criteria, so that support for the media can continue without compromising editorial independence.
The challenge today is not merely how to produce news faster or use more sophisticated technology, but how to ensure media organisations still have sufficient resources to fund their operations and pay their workforce, from journalists and editors to photographers and support teams.
The pressure is mounting as advertising revenue continues to erode, particularly as a significant portion of advertising budgets shifts to major digital platforms such as Facebook, Instagram and TikTok.
These platforms have become the preferred choice for large companies and small businesses alike because of their ability to reach audiences quickly and with precision.
Prolonged financial pressure is no longer merely a concern for the future of the media industry.
It is also being felt by local media organisations, including outlets that have long been part of the country's journalism landscape, with some forced to scale down operations, reduce their workforce and explore various new approaches to ensure news publication can continue.
However, any government financial assistance must come with clear safeguards to ensure editorial independence remains protected.
Government advertising allocations, for example, should be distributed based on transparent criteria such as reach, target audience and public service value, rather than the political leanings of a media organisation.
Investment in artificial intelligence (AI) technology should also be viewed more comprehensively. AI should serve as a tool to assist journalists, rather than replace them.
Today, AI can produce content within seconds, while deepfake technology is becoming increasingly difficult to identify. At the same time, false information can spread far faster than efforts to correct it.
Society today is not merely seeking more information, but also ensuring that the information received is true, accurate and trustworthy.
Journalism needs to be viewed as part of the country's information ecosystem. Therefore, government support for the media should be seen as an effort to strengthen that ecosystem, rather than as an avenue to determine what should or should not be reported.
What is needed, therefore, is transparent and reasonable support so that media organisations can continue producing news professionally, ethically and responsibly.
Editorial independence must continue to be respected so that the media can play its role as one of the mechanisms for checks and balances in society.
Budget 2027 is not merely about how much allocation is provided to the media, but also about the extent to which that support can ensure quality journalism continues to survive and serve society.
Technology can speed up work and produce content in the blink of an eye, but it cannot replace human judgement in determining what is true, accurate and important for society to know.
We can have newsrooms filled with AI, screens and sophisticated software. However, if journalists increasingly lack time, operational resources and space to verify facts and be on the ground, what will ultimately be eroded is not merely the media business model, but journalism's ability to seek the truth.
When journalism grows weaker, society also loses one of its important safeguards for obtaining truthful and reliable information.