KUCHING: Media organisations are facing challenges as traditional business models become increasingly unsustainable.
Asian Studies professor at the University of Tasmania, Prof. James Chin, said one of the biggest challenges facing journalism in Malaysia is that most people are unwilling to pay for news, making traditional revenue models increasingly difficult to sustain.
“People want free news. Hence, the revenue stream for media organisations will have to come from non-news activities.
“So you have to find a way to move the revenue stream to non-news items, whether you like it or not,” he said during a panel session at the Sarawak Media Conference (SMeC) 2026 at Pullman Kuching this afternoon.
He pointed to Britain’s The Guardian as an example of a hybrid funding model, where news remains free while readers are encouraged to make voluntary contributions to support journalism.
In the Sarawak context, Chin said the state’s relatively small and close-knit audience presents an opportunity for local media organisations to strengthen community ties and build long-term brand loyalty.
“We are a small population, and that allows media organisations here to build very strong community relations.
“It is these community relations that will sustain the business over the long run because they help increase your brand value, and sometimes the brand can be leveraged for other opportunities,” he said.
Chin added that while many regional newspapers overseas have closed down, Sarawak media still has opportunities to remain relevant by adapting its business models.
