Big media companies are facing extinction as they struggle to come to terms with new challenges posed by a more globalised and connected market.

These companies are now forced to be leaner and more efficient, leaving big print and broadcast media companies in a bind over their future business models, University of Birmingham lecturer Paul Bradshaw said.

"As a business, they need to be lean and efficient, but they are saddled with the legacies of their past practices," he said at an Online Media seminar in Petaling Jaya today.

NONEBradshaw pointed out that while the big companies realised their predicament, changing their business models and eventually off-loading their previously lucrative assets such as printing plants would at best be complicated.

Malaysiakini chief executive officer Premesh Chandran (right), who also spoke, said the onset of globalisation has changed the fundamentals of running a media business.

He said 90 percent of the advertising revenue, which is a traditional media mainstay, had already gone to non-media companies such as Google and Yahoo due to their extensive global reach.

Premesh noted that competition for media companies was no longer localised, as consumer choices have expanded exponentially online.

"(The time of) big media companies is over; they're dead," he said during the question-and-answer session that followed.

Is it wrong to take sides?

In a later discussion, a lively debate on how far activism and journalism coexists and what differentiates the two.

Freelance writer Tiziana Cauli pointed out that advocacy "does not belong" in the scope of a journalist's work, even if at times the objectives fall on the same path as activists.

The Italian, who has extensive experience covering development issues in Africa, stressed that journalists need to be able to distinguish between having an opinion and giving an unbiased perspective on a news article.

Veteran Burmese journalist Aung Zaw opined that it is not possible to claim complete neutrality, but pointed out that it is vital for journalists to draw the line between their beliefs and doing their jobs.

"I don't think it is wrong to take sides, just as long as you are professional and tell the truth.

"Objectivity in reporting should not become a victim of activism," he said.

Some 50 journalists from 21 countries attended the two day seminar, organised by Konrad-Adenauer-Stiftung, which runs an Asian media programme.