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That was said to be a contributing cause of the departures, as well as fears over the company’s finances and long-standing grievances over non-payment or slow payment of company EPF contributions, and payments to contributors.
Walkout or purge at FreeMalaysiaToday?
WED 2014-JUN-4 @ MYT 12:44:36 PM
A day after being left “shattered” by the sudden departure of the editor and a bunch of journalists, Free Malaysia Today’s management has said the site is to carry on, with recruitment of new staff.
It also pledged yesterday to remain “free and independent” to counter speculation that the clearout had been stage-managed to prepare for a more pro-Barisan Nasional leaning.
Though nominally independent, since its inception FMT has displayed strong pro-opposition leanings in its coverage and commentaries.
Over the past year, there had been friction between management and editorial over coverage, as well as editorial quality, to the extent of Nelson appearing in the newsroom and losing his temper.
That was said to be a contributing cause of the departures, as well as fears over the company’s finances and long-standing grievances over non-payment or slow payment of company EPF contributions, and payments to contributors.
As part of its reorganisation, FMT yesterday announced the appointment of M Menon as chief editor to replace K Kabilan, and placed advertisements for sub-editors and journalists.
His appointment had not been unexpected.
Menon, 70, formerly with the Star and the Sun, had been with a trade publication until he joined FMT two years ago as a sub-editor. Over the past year he had become close to FMT chief executive Nelson Fernandez and a month ago, was appointed above Kabilan’s head, reporting directly to Nelson.
In the first step in the reorganisation, FMT has roped in its former managing editor, Phlip Rodriguez, a former colleague of Menon’s from the Star, to take charge of editing duties.
FMT insiders said Menon’s appointment, over his head, had been a major factor leading to Kabilan’s resignation last Monday, beside management issues and tension between company and editorial. A dozen others followed, including three desk editors and five reporters, and more are expected to leave.
FMT insiders said Nelson had apparently been “shattered” on Monday by the exodus, and was supposedly on the verge of closing the site. Others said there had been indications, such as his alliance with Menon, that he had wanted to purge FMT and make a fresh start, perhaps with a view to selling off the site eventually.
Nelson, a former NST reporter turned adman and businessman, is the blunt, aggressive right-hand man of businessman John Soh Chee Wen, the chief financial patron of FMT. Nelson is believed to also have a stake in the company.
John Soh, at one time an ally of Anwar Ibrahim, is also believed to be the main backer of Raja Petra Kamaruddin’s Malaysia Today site.
There has been some speculation that Nelson’s moves could have been a result of John Soh having transferred control of FMT to Nelson after having incurred up to RM15mil in costs to keep FMT going. However this appears to be unlikely.
The site’s financial problems are common to other online news ventures, which must precariously depend on advertising revenue or financial patronage to keep them afloat. FMT is a poor third to MalaysiaKini (which has a strong subscriber base as well as advertising revenue) and the Malaysian Insider, which has a strong editorial and market presence.
The Insider’s financial backing remains unclear but it has had enough resources to have survived since 2008, and ridden out a mass departure of editorial staff two years ago, when Leslie Lau and sister Joan negotiated a deal to produce the Malay Mail Online web site on contract.
The Malay Mail, part of the Redberry Group of media companies, is owned by politically well-connected businessman Siew Ka Wei, who has close ties to Najib Razak.
Further competition has also arisen from HCK Media, owned by former Star chief executive Clement Hee, and which produces The Heat and Focus Malaysia weeklies and The Ant Daily web site.
Still around, it says
In the face of such competition and a lack of a firm revenue base, FMT’s continued survival, and for how much longer, lies in the depth of commitment of its financial and political patrons, and their plans for the site’s survival.
It is a precarious balance, and leaves FMT a long way off its own boast of being “the go-to” news site.
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