Repressed Media

M Bakri Musa's article today led me to reflect on the corroded amount of trust that I have at this point in mainstream newspapers. 5 years ago, when I first started subscribing to The Star in Form 2, everyone was fighting over the different sections of the newspaper, "Give me the sports section!" "Section Two (what it was called in the old days) is mine okay!" "I want to read the comics!" and on some days I'll end up with a few missing sheets at the end of the day, reading on my way back home from school.

Now? I don't even bother reading the hardcopy anymore. Back in those days, the paper was just 60sen (student rate) and later just RM1, so you could say it's good value for money. Now it's not just bad value for money, it's only useful to use to bungkus my char kuay teow, and my morning meehoon.

It's been made worse by my reading of the local papers here which at least has an editorial section where the editors and columnists dare to voice out their own words. I used to take the opinions of The Star's few columnists (and editor) like Wong Chun Wai, and Wong Sai Wan seriously, it's been reduced to coffeeshop chitchat now.

Waning public confidence in the mainstream media has meant lower circulation numbers, soon companies probably won't bother funding the papers through adverts. To me, it spells doom and condemnation. That's what you get for being used as tools of propaganda by political parties.

At least I still depend on their online portals to check on petty news. Sigh, I miss the old days. Having a newspaper in my hand was a thing to be proud of. Hahahaha, childish thoughts.