Issues in Publication and Design: The Intentions of Journalism

M'sian Journalists Slam "A Current Affair" For 'Whoring' Over MH370

With the creation of the internet, journalism has been revolutionized in ways never imagined; this is especially noticeable with the introduction of the World Wide Web. With the improved reach, as well as the reduced barriers of entry for the industry, many new newspaper and journal websites began to surface – inclusive of older companies hopping on to the internet journalism bandwagon. With the increasing amount of news and journal sources available on the internet today, readers need to be wary that they are exposed to potential misinformation.

Recently, Malaysian Airlines had been struck with a disaster relating to the mystery of disappearing flight MH370. It was a global sensation which caught the attention of many online newspapers and journals. One report which caught the attention of journalists in Malaysia was the report by A Current Affair – which revealed pictures of the pilot of MH370 with an Australian woman in the cockpit, inclusive of other allegations by the Australian that the pilot had invited her into the cockpit and was also smoking during flight.

On the surface level, this seems to have revealed something about the pilot and his bad behavior, however so, with the absence of the pilot, he is unable to defend for himself on the allegations, and perhaps some may say that the story had been skewed in order to stir up a controversy. In fact, some even asked why was this only brought up when the tragedy happened and not years back; this had implied that the story was brought up simply to gain attention and create excitement.

When it comes to journalism and news, it is of utter importance that the report comes in the most neutral and two-sided point of view; allows the reader to be informed of both sides, then only will the reader be able to evaluate for him/herself. In addition, the intention of a report should never lean towards stirring up excitement or controversy but instead, focus on revealing the truth and informing people of what has happened. (Morton, 2010)