Revolution of online communication platforms: the impact of COVID-19 on the media industry

By Lim Jing Xuen

KUALA LUMPUR: The COVID-19 pandemic has greatly changed people’s method of performing tasks, switching from doing tasks physically to virtually. This has made the general public, and especially media practitioners change their way of performing their daily tasks.

Kids in this era enjoys looking at personalized content on their phones rather than watching TV.

Traditionally, media simply had to distribute information and people would consume it by listening or reading about it. However, audiences in today’s age expect to be able to choose what they consume through media and even contribute their personal content and opinions. This causes a shift in the media industry, the revolution of social media. The technological changes in the past few decades have caused major changes to different industries and corporations. While the pandemic boosted the evolution of media even greater.

Ever since the Movement Control Order (MCO) has been implemented, there are a significant change in the media industry. How people retrieve news, the execution of events and more. Traditional media such as TV, newspaper and radio are getting lesser audiences due to the wide range of uncatered topics to the viewers.

People now uses social technology to shape the world, such as Facebook. Facebook enables us to communicate through feeds, profiles and groups. Also, smart devices provide us instantaneous access to vast information from any location. We have all seen the impact of the social revolution on humans.

Changes in how business owners operate

Low Soon Loy prefers reading newspaper over getting information online.

72-year-old Low Soon Loy said that his business has come to a halt due to MCO. He could not continue his business online as he did not know how to operate a smartphone, however he does believe that the current changes in media have had a positive impact on people who knows how to utilize it. Businesses that were able to utilize social media during MCO has gained success, as companies are enhancing their work approaches through implementing online support systems.

Facebook is one of the platforms used by businesses to continue their services online. Businesses are coming together, supporting smaller businesses, opening live sessions to sell their products, and spreading their brands through social media. A lot of small businesses managed to survive this period of time.

Learners during the pandemic

On the other hand, both secondary and tertiary education students are coping relatively well for their online studies. Student from SMJK YUHUA Lim Jing Hau, said that he actually enjoys online classes, as it is more of a one-to-one teaching method and they’re forced to answer questions during classes, it forced him to pay attention. Other than that, he was able to learn new things online during his free time.

Lim Jing Hau during online class.

Online learning has challenged university students creatively on how they implemented their assignments. “It has become quite a challenge for media students to conduct everything online but also a new opportunity for us to actually boost our skills,” according to Pang Kuen Rong, student from Tunku Abdul Rahman College (TARC).

Media practitioner’s view towards the changes

In order to cope with the pandemic, media practitioners are required to switch up how they normally work to match the taste of current consumers. Chua Chi Sung, a production crew working at 8TV also pointed out that this pandemic is a wakeup call for traditional medias such as newspapers and radios to recognize that it is time for them to evolve by moving online. A lot of things were changed, such as events being held virtually, and unable to film outdoor shows, everything had to go online in order to survive this pandemic.

Chua Chi Sung at work. (Before MCO)

Local film director Quek Shio Chuan had a job in Singapore that required him to direct the production remotely, which is very different from what is done normally. However, he thinks that this gives an opportunity for people who are more in tuned with this type of shoot. “Adaptability is a very important thing for broadcasters today”, said Quek.

Quek Shio Chuan during his movie production of Guang. (Before MCO)

This pandemic has somewhat pushed our society forward. As said by Quek, adaptability is an essential trait for everyone under this condition. We must all treat this situation as a time to improve ourselves. Rather than greeting it with negativity, many are seen to be using this period of time to catch up with future trends, leaving a positive impact for the future of all.