Media Innovation Fund Drives Newsroom Upgrades, Skills Development In Sarawak

By Ammar Shafiq Hamzah

KUCHING, Nov 3 (Bernama) -- Media organisations in Sarawak are leveraging the Media Innovation Fund to strengthen their newsrooms through workforce training, equipment upgrades and adoption of new technologies.

Sarawak Tribune editor-in-chief Aden Nagrace said the fund has enabled the organisation to strengthen its digital storytelling capabilities and provide journalists with the tools they need to produce content across multiple platforms.

He said the investment is particularly important as the newspaper continues to expand its digital operations beyond conventional print journalism.

“For a newsroom with a strong print background, digital transformation requires us to think beyond the written story. We must also consider how photographs, video and other forms of presentation can help audiences understand an issue.

“The training and equipment provide a stronger foundation for that work. They support our efforts to make content clearer, more engaging and better suited to the platforms our readers use,” he told Bernama.

On Oct 30, Communications Minister Datuk Seri Fahmi Fadzil announced a RM30 million allocation under the Media Innovation Fund 2.0 to strengthen the media industry, focusing on digitalisation, talent development, and the adoption of emerging technologies, including AI.

The initiative builds on the earlier Media Innovation Fund announced by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim during the National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) celebrations in June 2025.

Fahmi said 72 media companies benefited from the previous fund, supported by a RM30 million allocation announced last year.

The funding supported numerous media transformation initiatives, including training, operational improvements and the exploration of new approaches to content production and delivery.

Meanwhile, DayakDaily project manager Marlynda Chan said the news portal utilised the fund to organise an AI workshop and a professional makeup class. 

“The makeup class was organised to ensure our journalists maintain a professional appearance when conducting high-level interviews and attending official functions.

“We invested in professional cameras and video recording gear to enhance the quality of our field reporting on events, festivals and interviews. We also procured laptops to upgrade our team’s hardware, as well as a display television to support collaborative meetings and training sessions,” she said.

She added that the funding brought transformative changes to the organisation, significantly improving content quality and newsroom efficiency.

“Thanks to our AI training, our journalists now know how to use such tools ethically, with proper safeguards in place to ensure that technology serves as a supportive assistant rather than a replacement.

“On the multimedia front, our new professional cameras and video equipment have greatly improved our audio-visual output, resulting in sharper and higher-quality coverage of festivals, parades and interviews,” she said.

-- BERNAMA