KCHING: Public broadcasters must adapt their strategies to changing audience habits, particularly as media consumption becomes increasingly digital, personalised and platform-driven.
Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) director-general Datuk Ashwad Ismail said understanding audiences, their interests and preferred platforms was essential for public media organisations seeking to remain relevant.
“Time has gone where we have to call ourselves ‘mass media’. In order to craft a better strategy, we really have to go deeper.”
He said this during Keynote Session 1 at the International Communication and Media (i-COME’26) Conference at the Borneo Cultures Museum here today.
He said building public trust also required media organisations to combine digital communication with a strong presence on the ground.
“Most important is trust. But to build trust, it’s no longer just about the content on digital platforms, but it has to be a combination.”
He said audience attention had shifted significantly, with different generations consuming content through different platforms and formats.
He said Gen Z audiences were predominantly active on platforms such as TikTok, Instagram Reels and YouTube, besides engaging heavily with gaming content.
Meanwhile, Gen X and millennials generally showed stronger engagement with long-form content, including podcasts, talk shows and longer video programmes.
He said the differences extended beyond platforms, as younger audiences increasingly consumed content through creators, influencers and personalities rather than traditional event-based narratives.
“Same interest in watching the same football match, but Gen X and Gen Z, they engage with content in fundamentally different ways.”
He said sports remained among the most widely consumed content across generations, while also serving as an important instrument for national unity.
He also highlighted the growing challenge of declining advertising expenditure for traditional media as spending increasingly shifted towards major technology platforms.
“Furthermore media organisations should therefore pursue collaboration across the industry, corporate sector and banking institutions to strengthen their sustainability.”
On artificial intelligence, he said RTM was developing formal guidelines to ensure the technology was adopted responsibly within media operations.
He stressed that AI should complement human capabilities and improve media and journalistic products, rather than replace the importance of human connection.
He said the transition would require cooperation involving government and society to manage workforce changes while ensuring technology strengthened, rather than weakened, public communication.
