Former group chief editor Michael Aeria recounts the founding spirit of The Star Media Group, emphasizing its commitment to stories impacting all Malaysians and its growth into a media powerhouse. He shares anecdotes about the idealism, challenging training methods, and the unique atmosphere of the early newsroom.
Fond memories: One of the most important lessons Aeria learnt as a young reporter was to chase stories that impacted all Malaysians and make ‘The Star’ really ‘The people’s paper’. — YAP CHEE HONG/The StarToday the Star Media Group Berhad is also a media powerhouse with leading brands on various platforms including The Star Online, mStar, 988 FM, Suria FM, ’s glory, however, lies a classic David versus Goliath story, says 2007-2008 group chief editor Michael Aeria .
Joining as a rookie reporter in the Penang-born company soon after it started in 1971, Aeria remembers his colleagues as a small group of people who believed they had to stand up for the weak.“We’d arrive at an assignment to find about eight reporters and five photographers from one media group covering the event, but, somehow, this never put us off,” says the 1975 International Relations graduate of Universiti Malaya. Aeria, now 73, shares that the vibrant, idealistic spirit of the newsroom fit him perfectly at the time: “I was from the ‘Anwar era’ , when we UM students were always demonstrating for change.In the old days, many of the reporters were proud school dropouts or had stopped at Form Six, he tells.Aeria notes that many SMG bosses came from this oldest of South-East Asia’s Lasallian schools as he quips with a laugh: “St Xavier’s produced rascals!When it comes to mentoring, Aeria describes SMG’s tradition of shaping cub reporters into top newsmen as being mainly “trial and error” at the start. He had to learn most skills on the job and, like many of his generation of newsmen, faced “fierce” editors who’d crumple and fling printed copies of article drafts into a bin, in the single-level open floor press room. “We never knew why they did so and we had to keep on correcting our stories until they were accepted.”moved to Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur, reporters would gather at the nearby Pines food court in the evening for “pub training” after a long day at the office, he jokes.By 2000, however, SMG was conducting formal training courses for rookies., the other two editors were sent for training at the Thomson Reuters Foundation Journalist Fellowship and a short work stint in Germany, respectively. This structure was boosted by the 1993 launch of the Human Resources Development Fund. At the time, SMG had also become part of US-based global news group Newsplex, which trained media workers to produce content for online audiences. Aeria says that this marked the start of multimedia journalism training at the company. He also points to local tertiary education institutions that had begun to offer journalism programmes.“That’s how the BRATs programme came about,” he says, proudly holding up the first Star BRATs issue from 1993. Through the annual year-long BRATs Young Journalist Programme that trained selected Malaysian youths aged 14-22 in journalism, photography, and video production, SMG drew in more young readers. “Increasing readership and circulation were among the programme’s goals. Star went into all the colleges where we held meetings, sessions, and related activities,” he adds. Aeria shares how SMG also learnt about engaging youth from its regional peers who were part of the Asia News Network, set up in 1999 to promote the coverage of Asian affairs by Asian journalists, for readers in Asia.Reflecting on his own young reporter days, Aeria ponders on the most important lesson he learned about fulfilling The Star’s role as “The people’s paper”, before and after it was shut down for 149 days from Oct 28, 1987, to March 25, 1988, during the Operasi Lalang era. “A lot of credit for what SMG is today has to go to its second managing director and 1977-1983 editor-in-chief H’ng Hung Yong who builtin terms of journalism as well as by bringing in various people, such as sub-editors and staff from human resources and accounts, who were needed to form the structure of a strong news firm.He adds that, at the time, H’ng had been a special assistant to the fourth MCA president Tan Sri Lee San Choon. After having noticed that the main English-language newspaper of the day tended to report on the concerns of one race group, H’ng pushed for fairer coverage of events that impacted all Malaysians in“And that foundation that we built was also carried through when SMG expanded,” points out Aeria.when it was closed down. And when the paper returned to print , a lot of people continued to support it.The meeting room of SMG's former office in Section 13, Petaling Jaya, is where Aeria helped to lead the newspaper from shutdown crisis to a wider circulation. His colleagues at the table include Datuk Wong Chun Wai, Datuk Wong Sulong, the late Datuk Ng Poh Tip and Datuk Wong Sai Wan, David Yeoh, Yong Chong and Teh Eng Huat. — YAP CHEE HONG/The Stars growth to the foresight of company leaders who knew that they had to rebuild on readers’ interests such as higher education, in tandem with the many colleges that were being set up with government support. “Star saw this as a business opportunity; you had providers wanting to advertise and parents who placed importance on their kids’ education.”“In the old days, we had to make plates that the office boy on a motorbike had to deliver to the airport, to be flown to Penang for printing . “Now, you can transmit content across online,” Aeria describes, laughing at the memory of lending his motorcycle to office boys whose bikes were often busted. SMG’s then general manager Koh Beng Huat, who was always on the lookout for ways to modernise the production line, encouraged SMG to invest in its first computers that cost RM40,000 each. Buy-in came swiftly from reporters who had to previously type four carbon copies of each article on a typewriter, says Aeria. To his excitement, his boss, the late 1992-2003 GCE Datuk Ng Poh Tip, left tech development to him and gave tech-savvy editors room to experiment. “Many of us had been working and learning together for 20 years. We had a spirit of adventure and were dying to try new things,” he recalls, crediting his colleagues like then associate editor Davin Arul, senior product manager Gilbert Yap, and chief sub-editor Jaswant Singh with the multimedia developments in the company.s success has always been about teamwork. It’s like football where everybody seems to know their place and how to excel.” Aeria showing then Selangor MB, Tan Sri Muhammad Muhammad Taib, ‘The Star’s’ computer system while Ng looks on. — Filepic/The Star Aeria believes another part of SMG’s success is the company’s can-do spirit in pulling off big projects and generating income while promotingStill, local community news is what matters to him most when he contemplates the media’s future. “Even back then, some editors and I considered front-paging local community stories and increasing our coverage of bread-and-butter issues instead of national news,” he says. “I’m sure if you tell people where to buy the cheapest fish, you’ll get more attention than when reporting on what a minister said.
The Star Media Group Michael Aeria Malaysian Journalism Newsroom Culture People's Paper
United States Latest News, United States Headlines
Similar News:You can also read news stories similar to this one that we have collected from other news sources.
Japan gives new official name to days exceeding 40 deg CLOS ANGELES, April 16 (Reuters) - Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings is leaving the streaming service he co-founded 29 years ago as the company regains its footing after it lost its $72 billion deal for Warner Bros Discovery.
Read more »
School-leavers at risk without early education reformLOS ANGELES, April 16 (Reuters) - Netflix Chairman Reed Hastings is leaving the streaming service he co-founded 29 years ago as the company regains its footing after it lost its $72 billion deal for Warner Bros Discovery.
Read more »
US extends sanctions waiver on purchases of Russian oilThe licence, issued by the treasury department, comes two days after treasury secretary Scott Bessent said that Washington would not renew the waiver.
Read more »
‘Spider‑Man’, ‘Star Wars’ and Spielberg fuel hopes for hottest post‑pandemic summer at cinemasCinema operators expect strong summer with packed lineupTicket sales still lag pre-pandemic levelsSummer kicks off in May with Devil Wears Prada sequelLAS VEGAS, April 18 — A...
Read more »
Bangkok heat index stays in danger zone for 18 straight daysJEDDAH: Johor Darul Ta'zim's (JDT) hopes of becoming the first Malaysian club to reach the AFC Champions League (ACL) Elite semi-finals were dashed after a narrow 1-2 defeat to defending champions Al-Ahli on Friday (April 17).
Read more »
Hurdles great Hamdi: ‘Karim must step down’Ex-national star warns MA crisis could harm athletes and Malaysia’s global standing.
Read more »