KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) employees including journalists should be open to criticisms from their respective department heads to be relevant as a respected official news source.
Former Bernama general manager, Datuk Yong Soo Heong said each criticism is aimed at bringing changes for the better not only to the agency, but also to the employees of the organisation.
“In the world of journalism, for example, ‘deadline’ is very important and sometimes the pressure experienced by seniors is very strong. Therefore, in a journalism career, we must be prepared to accept criticisms otherwise how are we to learn.
“A warning by a senior must be taken with an open mind so that we can perform any task better,” Yong told reporters at a ceremony to celebrate his retirement at Wisma Bernama, here yesterday.
Yong, who had served Bernama for 40 years, also reminded employees in the news agency to endeavour to show their best performance and safeguard the reputation of the organisation.
“If we were a journalist, we must not become a ‘consumer’ of news written by others, but rather we must endeavor to do something so that more people read and see our news,” he said.
Yong, who retired in October, said if the matter was adhered to by every journalist, it would be beneficial and make the organisation more renowned.
“This is a very important matter. When we often seek to give our best performance, when we are offered tougher assignments in the future, we can do them with excellence and perfection,” he said.
Yong joined Bernama as a cadet reporter in 1974 before becoming assistant editor in 1993, editor in 1997 and executive editor of economic News Service in 2004.
He was later promoted to editor-in-chief for six years from March 1, 2007 to March 14, 2013, and general manager on Jan 1, 2013. — Bernama