VETERAN journalists today said that as reporters have always to be at ground zero in the thick of the action, they should also be included in the category of frontliners in the Covid-19 war.

The event could be a natural disaster, a road crash or a shooting but the reporter was always expected to be  where the action is to get the best story, he said.

During the coronavirus crisis, the reporter covers the lockdowns, roadblocks, food distribution and so on, he said.

Tokoh Wartawan Negara Johan Jaaffar said reporters have no choice but to report all activities associated with Covid-19.

Citing the ongoing coronavirus pandemic, the former chairman of Media Prima Bhd and former editor-in-chief of Utusan Melayu said they take risks going to places such as hospitals, areas isolated under the enhanced movement control order (EMCO) and Covid-19 quarantine centres to convey accurate information to the public.

“However, it has never been mentioned that frontliners also comprise journalists. They should be (regarded as frontliners) because in any situation journalists are always in front,” he told Bernama.

It had been reported that several reporters were found to be Covid-19-positive after having gone down to the ground, including a reporter who had covered the Sabah elections last year.

It would not be too demanding, said Johan, for journalists to be included in the earliest groups of people to be given the Covid-19 vaccine based on the nature of their job.

Malaysian Press Institute (MPI) chief executive officer Chamil Wariya  said the authorities should consider prioritising journalists to receive the vaccine.

“For example, they (journalists) follow leaders on visits to certain places where there are Covid-19 patients. They may be directly exposed (to the coronavirus) although they may have adhered to all the standard operating procedures.

“They have the important task of seeking information, conducting interviews and then channelling the information to the public. That is why the vaccine is of importance to them,” he said.

Chamil said that between 2,000 and 3,000 doses of the vaccine are sufficient to meet the needs of all the media personnel in the country.

Malaysia-Indonesia Brotherhood of Journalists president Abdul Rashid Yusof said the human touch is important to convey the true picture of any event.

“The media is expected to humanise the narrative. To humanise a story you are always going to require quotes. Yes, technology has aided this but journalists must still go face-to-face.

“In fact, technology has pushed the speed limit for news by 100-fold. So journalists are always on the go,” he said. – Bernama, February 13, 2021.