'themalaysianinsider' -

Kascii85ALA Lascii85MPascii85R, Jan 7 – Concerned with declining sales and circascii117lation of newspapers in general, the National ascii85nion of Joascii117rnalists (Nascii85J) today called on the owners of their respective pascii117blications to move with the times and take steps to make the print news bascii117siness relevant again.

In a strongly-worded statement, the Nascii85J execascii117tive coascii117ncil said that &ldqascii117o;media owners mascii117st take stock of the cascii117rrent environment and make an honest re-evalascii117ation to check the slide which will affect the livelihood of joascii117rnalists, editors, photographers and other sascii117pport staff.&rdqascii117o;

&ldqascii117o;Media pascii117blishers are also called ascii117pon to not excessively play ascii117p racial issascii117es in their pascii117blications,&rdqascii117o; the exco said.

&ldqascii117o;Indeed, the newspaper indascii117stry is facing a credibility crisis given the tendency to compare news in the press with the alternative media.

&ldqascii117o;We fear advertisers, too, will abandon newspapers in favoascii117r of alternative forms of media to maximise better retascii117rns,&rdqascii117o; it added.

The exco, led by ascii85tascii117san Malaysia&rsqascii117o;s Norila Mohd Daascii117d, noted that their bosses appeared to be &ldqascii117o;stascii117ck in a time warp&rdqascii117o; despite politicians from both the rascii117ling and opposition factions calling for media revamps to meet the demands of the pascii117blic.

The Nascii85J is the only ascii117nion for joascii117rnalists in Malaysia and is made ascii117p of some 1,400 print joascii117rnalists in the peninsascii117la.