Yap elected as MSA president for second term
THE Media Specialists Association (MSA) has announced Yap Chee Weng, CEO of Dentsu X (Malaysia), as president and Cindy Chia, managing director of Mindshare Malaysia, as its newly elected vice-president.
Yap said: “What better defines the current state of media than this famous quote from history and I have improvised to better fit our scenario that is “it is the best of times, it is the worst of times, it is the age of freedom and it is the age of fake news.
“The disruption has already happened and it has happened in our favour. Traditional media is regaining trust and social media is losing it. Never in history has the importance of traditional media been felt so strongly. As traditional media regains public trust, we also need to be mindful that we are living in a digital age.”
This multiplies the association’s responsibility and adds a new dimension to its role, he says. “Today, we are in the business of delivering the right information in real time,” Yap says, adding that to stay in business, there is a need to embrace change, evolve with the readers and above all, see social media not as a foe but as a trusted ally.
He notes that the media mix status quo has changed and the digital scene of media has seen an expansion to about 50% and is a force to be reckoned with.
“We need to work together to unlock new opportunities like the new sense of press freedom that is taking shape, which will affect the entire Malaysian media landscape, and also to create integrated solutions which provides better value to the readers.”
Yap says the MSA will continue to play an important and active role in facilitating this collaboration and assisting the players in keeping abreast of industry trends and best practices using a singular media approach.
“For media, it is time now more critical than ever to reinvent themselves and place more focus and importance on its consumers.
“In this fast-paced connected world, whoever can provide the most credible news, balanced with what consumers want, will emerge as winners,” he says.
Other association office bearers are Sherene Mak as secretary (Sen Media) and Kagee Chew as treasurer (Universal McCann).
The council is represented by Bluedale Integrated, Carat Media Services, Initiative Media, Starcom Mediavest Group, Mediacompete, OMD, Trapper Media Services and Zenith Media.