Sunday, October 16, 2011

Malaysiakini is to remain independent

Steven Gan explains...

Excerpt:

"It is public knowledge that The Malay Mail will soon be relaunching as a paid morning daily as opposed to a free afternoon paper. And it has approached several online players, blogs and international news agencies for content, Malaysiakini included.

So it came as a rude shock to us that a simple content proposal - and a deal that is far from being concluded - has been spun by a couple of news sites into a content-for-share swap.

Let us make it clear - we have no intention of owning a single share of The Malay Mail or to surrender the ownership of Malaysiakini.

But content syndication - which provides funds for Malaysiakini to serve our subscribers better, as well as an avenue to reach even more readers - makes good business, and journalism, sense.

Moreover, selling our content does not affect our editorial stance. Those using our content have no say in it - they have a choice to either take it or leave it. They are not even allowed to alter the content.

We are surprised that our online competitors failed to understand this economic imperative. But then again, perhaps they don't need to worry about money, since they are getting it from somewhere."

More:
M'kini selling out to Umno? Over our dead bodies
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/178618
Link

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