Like any revolution, this one carries the potential for losers as well as winners, drawbacks as well as benefits.
Information, like capital, is becoming increasingly global in nature. Thanks to the global network, it is possible for a newspaper to gather news from sources in Washington, have it distilled by subeditors in Australia, distribute it physically in Singapore and electronically around the world.
Increased access to global communications and information, whether by phone or computer, can help journalists better understand and report on an increasingly global economy and environment.
For every journalist in Asia, better-developed, more affordable telecommunications are unquestionably of benefit. A better telephone system gives journalists more tools for information gathering, supplementing in-person interviews and official documents.
Computer links - whether for sending stories back to the home office, gathering information or publishing the news - pose more complex issues for media managers in terms of costs vs. benefits. The efficient use of computers in the news industry requires a relatively high degree of capital outlay, support and training.
Media managers have to consider the context of computer use: Are we using computers in the production process? How can we streamline that process? What is the level of reader interest in international relations and trade? How prevalent are computers among businesses and the general population in our market area? What resources am I willing to devote to computer-aided reporting? What are the options and comparative costs for network connections? Are we interested in distributing information to regional or global markets?
Computer networks also can facilitate the creation of new news cooperatives, organized on a regional or topical basis. Some outlets - such as Inter Press Service, Pacific Rim News Service and the Nautilus Institute - already use e-mail to gather dispatches from correspondents in Asia and distribute the finished news product around the world.
For individual journalists, it's very important to develop computer skills, if for no other reason than for long-term job security. The use of computers for news gathering, writing and editing is likely to spread rapidly throughout Asia as the region's production systems and communications systems become more sophisticated.
In the realm of news research, computer networks are not so essential for gathering information about local issues. For example, network-based research may not be the most efficient way for a Tokyo journalist to report on the workings of Japanese government, or for a Manila journalist to learn about Philippine economic development. But the global network may come in handy when a journalist in Hong Kong - or perhaps even in Sapporo - is looking for Japanese economic statistics that happen to be kept on a computer in Tokyo or California.
One should also stress that informal communications come to be as important as formal database research. Just as journalists gather phone numbers of useful sources in their city or capital, they can develop e-mail contacts with colleagues and experts around the world.
Electronic publishing is still a highly experimental venture, in Asia and elsewhere. Some companies already have profitable ventures in online publishing, while others acknowledge that they are accepting short-term losses in the hope of achieving long-term gains. There are likely to be rapid changes in this field once financial institutions and other companies accept a method of secure financial transfers over the Internet.
If the vision articulated in such countries as Hong Kong, Singapore and Japan comes to pass, the turn of the century will see the creation of a regionwide computer network capable of carrying text, graphics, audio and video into the home. In such an environment, the distinctions between "print" and "broadcast" journalism are likely to fade. New media forms such as interactive television and multiuser media forums (in which computer users can engage in an online conversation with journalist and newsmakers) already are on the rise. The most technologically savvy journalists will be in the best position to exploit these new opportunities.
The coming years are likely to bring important changes in the relationship between the news media and government as well. As information retrieval and transmission become more diffuse, the traditional levers of government influence over the media - licensing, content control and dependence on government-controlled outlets - will become less effective.
This is not to say that the governmental role in media will quietly fade away, particularly in Asia, where governments often feel a responsibility to protect national culture. There are several ways in which governments have an influence over computer-based communications:
- Content monitoring: Governments may monitor e-mail, mailing lists or even information storage sites. In the summer of 1994, users of a government-funded Internet service learned that system administrators had been rifling through their files in search of pornographic images, in response to an "urgent" request from high-ranking officials. After an outcry, the government said the unannounced search was a mistake. (26)
Out of concern for personal privacy, computer users in Asia are beginning to use anonymous remailing sites (the most famous of which is in Finland) or data encryption programs such as Pretty Good Privacy.
A related concern has to do with computer security. Not only governments, but private individuals as well have the capability to break into electronic files. The potential for electronic eavesdropping, fraud and theft is the greatest obstacle to commerce over the global network. It is becoming increasingly clear that encryption is the only way to address these concerns. But governments around the world are worried that encryption can conceal illegal as well as legitimate activities. Thus, in Asia as well as elsewhere, governments and network users are struggling to find a balance that satisfies the requirements for individual security as well as public order.
Global electronic publishing raises its own set of concerns. The International Herald Tribune and Singapore Press Holdings, the newspaper's local printer, have been the target of legal action because of an article in the Herald Tribune that was critical of Asian governments. (27) If such an article were distributed electronically, who might be legally liable? The original source? The database archive from which the article was retrieved? Asian access providers with computer links to the article? Computer users who forwarded the article? All of the above? The legal uncertainties could have a chilling effect on the free flow of information.
- Tariff structures: Financial disincentives can become a powerful obstacle to the development of media technology. In India, for example, the Department of Communications recently set a schedule of licensing fees starting at a minimum of $5,000 annually for bulletin board systems and ranging even higher for nationwide e-mail providers. In reaction, the country's networkers formed a group called the Forum for Rights to Electronic Expression aimed at changing India's laws on communications regulation. (28)
In Russia, computer users are subject to a variety of tariffs, including a modem registration fee. Anatoly Voronov of GlasNet, one of the country's primary network providers, has estimated that 90 percent of his revenue goes to paying the government for fees and tariffs. (29)
- Intellectual property rights: Copyright protection and piracy are already controversial issues in Asia, where books, software and compact discs are sometimes distributed without regard for permissions or royalties. Using the Internet, there is virtually no barrier to the redistribution of any sort of information - text or software, even audio or video. How can the originators of creative works around the globe - including news media - ensure that they receive proper compensation for those works in new systems of electronic publishing?
There is another side to the issue: In order for the information revolution to become truly global, electronic resources should be as accessible and as affordable as possible. Overly strict limits on information distribution could greatly reduce the benefit of the new electronic networks.
The rise of the global network may lead to changes in the very definition of "intellectual property." Some say that when information is no longer associated with an artifact - when it can no longer be contained on a sheaf of paper, a square of canvas or a roll of videotape - the current concept of copyright becomes meaningless. (30)
- Telecommunications policy: Even though the trend is toward privatization of telecommunications networks, governments still hold a primary role in setting the future course in this field. Since advanced telecommunications is the foundation for future media development, journalists have a stake in government policies relating to support for national information infrastructures, barriers to the entry of new markets, regulation of telecommunications equipment such as modems, and public access to electronic resources.
There is a danger, particularly in Asia, that the communications revolution could contribute to the creation of a dual society, of information "haves" and "have nots." While a privileged class plugs into the global village via fax, satellite and computers, the lower classes may be shut out of that village, left without access to education and technological training. In Asia, whole countries could be shut out. For this reason, the global information infrastructure is fast becoming a key item on the international agenda for economic development.
The main conclusion to be drawn from all this is that media managers should be aware of the opportunities and implications raised by new communications technologies. Like it or not, telecommunications and computers are becoming as much a part of the news industry as paper and ink.
Asian newspapers are already in the midst of a thoroughgoing modernization of production equipment. Upgrading the electronic tools available to journalists should be an integral part of that modernization. It does little good, however, to upgrade equipment without training journalists in its use.
Training in the use of computers for news gathering and distribution is not yet a high priority for most newspapers in Asia. Although John Schidlovsky of the Freedom Forum's Asian Center sees a growing interest in news technology, he says journalists are more interested in such topics as business reporting, investigative reporting and environmental reporting.
Perhaps the best way to introduce journalists to electronic research tools is by showing how they can be applied in specific fields of interest. Business, the environment and governmental issues are well-suited to computer-assisted reporting because these fields generate large databases of statistics and records.
In this context, electronic access to records is becoming an important part of freedom-of-information issues. As governments keep more records on computers, media organizations should press for greater electronic access to those records. Examples of such records include the EDGAR project in the United States, which makes electronic filings from the Securities and Exchange Commission available via the global network. (31)
When it comes to on-the-job training, an integrated approach - in which media managers and front-line journalists can see by example how computers can directly contribute to better stories and better newspapers - would be much better than a general seminar on computer-assisted reporting.
But when it comes to university training, there are far greater opportunities for a thorough grounding in computer applications. Technical centers and academic institutions are far more advanced in the use of the global network than most news organizations. This can be a promising field for cooperative ventures, with academic institutions providing network access and technical expertise in return for the news know-how and contacts that working journalists can share with students.
Similarly, media organizations may be able to work out deals with commercial network access providers along these lines: We'll give you the rights to distribute news and information from our publications if you'll help us wire up our newsrooms and train our journalists.
In brief, then, here is a summary of suggestions for the continued development of information technology for Asian journalists:
- Media managers should foster cooperation with sectors in business, academia and government who are interested in improving network access while loosening information control. This cooperation may include partnerships with computer networks, national technical centers or universities.
- Regional and national press associations should consider electronic access to government information an integral part of freedom-of-information policy.
- Press associations and media development organizations should publish nation-specific guides to electronic access and journalistic resources.
- Press associations and media development organizations should create training programs on the use of electronic tools. Computer-assisted reporting should be included as an element in training programs relating to relevant topics, such as environmental and business reporting.
- International media development organizations and media companies should work together to upgrade newsroom equipment for electronic communications.