KUALA LUMPUR, May 7 (Bernama) -- More than 200 media practitioners, including academics, public relations practitioners, as well as students from public and private universities, are gathering in the capital today to attend the HAWANA 2026 Media Forum, which focuses on the sustainability challenges of the media industry in the era of digitalisation and artificial intelligence (AI).
The event, organised by the Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama), also brings together heads of media organisations, including those from Sabah and Sarawak, representatives of foreign media agencies in Malaysia, as well as various stakeholders in the national media landscape.
The forum will be officiated by Deputy Communications Minister Teo Nie Ching.
Malaysian media figures, namely Star Media Group Berhad Chief Content Officer Datin Esther Ng; Media Prima Berhad Deputy Group Managing Editor (News and Current Affairs) Farrah Naz Abd Karim; and Radio Televisyen Malaysia (RTM) Director-General of Broadcasting Ashwad Ismail, will share their views in the first session titled “Sustaining Media in Times of Crisis: Challenges and Revenue Realities”.
The second session, titled “How Journalists Navigate the Evolving Media Landscape”, will feature Inspirer Extraordinaire Datuk Suhaimi Sulaiman; Sin Chew Media Corporation Berhad Group Editor-in-Chief Datuk Kuik Cheng Kang; Kuching Division Journalists Association President Ronnie Teo Teck Wei; and Sabah Journalists Association President Mariah Doksil as panellists.
Meanwhile, the third session titled “Shaping the Future of Malaysian Media in the Digital and AI Era” will feature Free Malaysia Today Managing Director Azeem Abu Bakar; Cloud Solution Architect at Huawei Malaysia Cheah Chern Eu; as well as digital transformation and AI expert Charles Gregory.
For the first time, the HAWANA Media Forum is being held as a one-day event to encourage more in-depth discussions and meaningful exchange of ideas.
The HAWANA 2026 Media Forum is held in conjunction with the National Journalists’ Day (HAWANA) 2026 celebration on June 20.
-- BERNAMA
