The hype about the MO

So I see the Singapore netizen going crazy over SPH's alleged inaccurate reporting of Dr Allan Ooi's passing. Well, I'm not surprised and can understand why they are so agitated. After all, this is the age of the new media, and shame on SPH for not realising the repurcussions on inaccurate reporting.

However, what I cannot understand is that. Why are the netizens singling out journalists as the one to blame? One even says the journalists deserve their pay cut. For all that you care about the high-flying MO, you seriously lack empathy and a clear mind when you were talking about the journalists. I'm not jumping to the journalists' defence because I'm supposingly part of that group of people. But I'm jumping to their defence because I do know what goes on in the press room. To cut a long story short, there are two main points in this case.

1. Political Economy
2. Gate Keeping

Political Economy, to anybody who study social sciences, this term will be familiar to them. Yes, in the media context, it basically states that whoever own a media company can control and influence the news content the media company carries. No owner, state or private, will use their own media outlet to shoot themselves in the foot. Absolutely nobody. Even in the land of the free. So, do I even need to say who owns SPH?

So, with political economy as the backdrop. Now comes the gatekeeping. Whatever journalists gather on the ground do not mean that their articles will be definitely published in the papers, needless to say, even those published will go through multiple editing by senior editors before it goes to the printing machine. And without even having to think, a story like this one which concerns Ministries will have to go through the most senior of editors to make it to the papers the next day.

Now, blaming the journalists for lacking ethics and yada yada is an easy way out. They're probably the most powerless in the chain of heirachy in terms of decision making of what gets out to greet readers the next day. Yes, journalists are inculcated with a code of ethics and conduct. But seriously, do we live in an ideal world? Remember, Singapore has got how many media company?! And if there's more than one, how many media owners are there?

Like I said, I can understand why some people out there are so passionate about this issue, be it close friends of Dr Ooi, or simply another guy who's disgusted with the system. But, aim before you shoot. For, if you don't, taking the powerlessly innocent along the way will make you as guilty as the thing/person you were trying to pinpoint. But, definitely not the journalists.