Journalism courses at IPT follow latest trend

KUALA LUMPUR - Institutions of higher learning (IPTs) are emphasising Mobile Journalism (MOJO) in their study programmes to produce graduates who are competitive and ready to face the media industry.

Dean of the School of Communication, Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Associate Prof Dr Bahiyah Omar said it is important to apply MOJO in journalism studies to keep abreast with the latest trends.

She said MOJO learning is applied so that students would be able to deliver information immediately at the scene with their respective gadgets when they graduated and joined the media industry.

"Journalists not only need to know about news writing, but also how to take pictures, produce good videos... they have to know everything about news production,” she said when contacted by Bernama.

MOJO is a method used by journalists using mobile communication technologies such as smartphones and tablets to report news through video, audio, pictures and graphics.

Meanwhile, a senior lecturer in New Media Communication at Universiti Sains Islam Malaysia (USIM), Dr Hizral Tazzif Hisham said the university had introduced a new programme to expose students to news delivery in the form of social media.

"At USIM, we have a new programme that emphasises the provision of news content in the form of videos on social media such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok,” he said.

Hizral Tazzif, who used to work as a journalist at Bernama TV, said journalistic ethics, as well as authenticity and accuracy in reporting are emphasised to students to avoid the spread of fake news, especially on social media.

He said despite the emergence of various new technologies, journalists are still required to check the facts and validity of any information or event.

"We know news writing can be done quickly through artificial intelligence (AI) such as ChatGPT, but how valid is the data obtained? We (journalists) need to re-examine the information obtained so that the news produced is accurate," he said.

Meanwhile, digital aspects and the survival of the media will be among the topics that will be discussed during a media forum in conjunction with the National Journalists' Day (HAWANA) 2023 celebration to be held in Ipoh, Perak this May 27 to 29. - BERNAMA