POLICY BRIEF: Digital Disruption and a Push for Sound Public Policies

The syntheses of content and discussions out of the Dialogue Forum to present to the public “alternative public policies” on issues of importance that challenge the society

Mainstream media has been seriously affected by digital disruption over the past two decades, and this has aggravated with the arrival of social media. This affects organizational structure as well as media operations, especially the push for public policies, as there is a need to shift the operations towards more popular coverage keeping revenue potential in mind.

Digital disruption has also resulted in the decentralization of power of communication, as new media allows people to access and utilize it for public agendas. This has led to a critical change in the media landscape, which has become more horizontally oriented.

However, the new media adopted by civil organisations and alternative media outlets, as well as their content, are still diffused and communicated within groups, bearing comparisons with an echo chamber, or niche communication between groups having similar interests, and engaging in “a scream”, or criticism without substance in an online world.

The challenge is how to strengthen this new media so that they can become a credible new medium of communication. This can be done through new media operations and business models (Media Social Enterprise), formation of partnerships and collaboration, networking, professional workshops and training programs, and last but not least, support from the state and media organizations. This should include media funding and media funds, special financial and economic interventions and other social tax privileges such as tax contribution, project funding by organisations, and public contribution.

The mainstream media also need to adjust their operations so that they can maintain their professionalism while making it a viable business. This can be done via new media operations and business models, including the development of compact and efficient units or appropriate convergence, networking and collaboration, support from the state and media organisations through special taxation and privileges, soft loans and others.

Find out more in the documents below.