By Badrolhisham Bidin

When I first started work at the now defunct The Malay Mail towards the end of the 80s, the newsroom was crowded, tables were placed haphazardly and the desks were filled with half-filled cups of coffee, cigarettes ashes all over and nut skins everywhere.

Just turn the computer keyboard upside down and you will see dust, ciggie ashes and whatever little things dropping.

Another notable feature on the desks were piles of papers, mainly Press releases from agencies and companies vying for a spot in the newspaper. Priorities were always the stakeholders and advertisers, and the rest were meant to fill up the blanks in the paper as what were called fillers.

The majority of the releases ended up in bins. These releases were usually delivered via facsimile (or fax), snail mail or hand delivered.

Those who are not advertisers or bearing the relevant news would scramble for the filler spots.

The more organised editors and writers would have a file for these releases. Calls were received from agencies and companies asking if we have got their releases. Some hard sellers would say theirs should be printed as the public has the right to know.

Some bold ones would say they have cleared with the media bosses (when they have not) and if they are caught, risk being blacklisted “for life”.

Statements from government agencies were always given the priority, then the newspaper was thick, on some days, it can go even up to 100 pages a day, thanks to the abundant of advertisements then.

Hence the warning to reporters – you are not supposed to be seen in the office, if you have to, hide behind the pillar.

The first person a news editor sees when he lifts his head will be asked to process a Press release. “Give me four-para or six-para at most,” a news editor would bark. If you are lucky, you get a clean copy, if not, you would have to rewrite the statement. Not all PR guys know how to write news.

If there is breaking news, the first stories to be yanked out from the pages are from the releases.

If the story is used, you might get a call from the PR guys to say thank you, if it was a big story and it gets published, the afternoon tea session would usually be from the PR guys. They may send cakes, delicacies et cetera to the desk if their stories are used.

The newsdesk may receive gifts such as pen holders, cardholders or a bouquet of flowers. Harmless gifts, I must add. The reporter sometimes get the same treatment.

Some reporters, like me, loved to rummage through the thick piles of Releases. Sometimes, a seemingly stupid or irrelevant release may lead to a front-page article. It could be developed into a big story if you are sharp enough to catch it, so to speak.

Over the years, we would have a good rapport with the PR guys, and you may get invited for high tea or lunch from hotel PR.

Nowadays, as the newspapers get thinner by the day, the PR people have turned to portals, you may get a free ride or two, but you may have to pay for advertisements if you still have news to publish.

Good thing about advertisement rates on portals is that it is definitely cheaper than the ones in the newspapers. But reading a portal nowadays can be daunting. You will be distracted by pop up ads, or you may suddenly be diverted to another portal – the advertisers.

The downside of a portal. If you don’t like any news or advertisement in a newspaper, you can easily flip the paper, but if pop ups “disturb” your reading pleasure, it is hard to run away from it.

Nowadays, we receive media releases via the email. No longer hard copies but the sales pitch is still the same. The OOH was still popular back then and DOOH. OOH stands for Out of Home and DOOH is Digital Out of Home advertisements.

OOH advertisement such as billboards have been around but DOOH is slowly taking over the spot.

Billboards and all the advertisements you see hanging from the streetlights are OOH. DOOH can distract motorists, as a sudden flash on the screen can easily startle timid drivers. But life goes on, it is after all, a new game in town. Judging from the number of DOOH advertisements around KL, it is getting more popular.

But we still get Media releases from companies and PR agencies once in a while, via the email, inviting journalists to attend events. Or events that have passed…

Main Pix Caption: Notepads or paper clip holders as shown in picture are simple gifts from PR companies