The legendary Malaysian rock band Exists has offered a nostalgic perspective on the entertainment industry's relationship with journalism, highlighting how media gatekeeping once shielded performers from potentially career-damaging controversies. Speaking after their recent performance at the Riuh Pi HAWANA concert in Butterworth, band members reflected on an era when journalists and editors functioned as protective intermediaries between artists and the public, a role that has fundamentally transformed in the digital age.

During the dominance of print media, the band's lead guitarist Along explained, the editorial process itself served as a crucial filter for entertainment news. When fans submitted complaints or allegations against artists, editors would subject these submissions to careful scrutiny before deciding whether publication was warranted. This deliberate gatekeeping approach meant that unverified accusations rarely made their way into print, and journalists would typically contact the artists in question to gather their perspective before running a story. The result was a system that, while occasionally accused of being overly protective, provided performers with a degree of insulation from character assassination and baseless rumours.

Along described this protective mechanism as essential to maintaining both the integrity of entertainment coverage and the wellbeing of artists. The rigorous verification process prevented misunderstandings from metastasising into public scandals, and it preserved some boundaries around performers' private lives. He acknowledged that this approach occasionally meant stories didn't see publication, but he viewed this restraint as fundamentally ethical rather than restrictive. The system prioritised accuracy and fairness over speed, a philosophy that contrasts sharply with contemporary media dynamics.

The transformation of the media landscape has been dramatic and largely irreversible, according to Along. Today, any individual with a smartphone can capture images or videos of public figures and upload them to social media platforms instantaneously, bypassing any editorial judgment whatsoever. There is no vetting process, no opportunity for context or explanation, and no consideration of whether the content serves the public interest or merely feeds voyeurism. Once posted, such content generates algorithmic amplification and becomes a magnet for commentary, much of it harsh, unfounded, or malicious.

This shift has created a genuinely hostile environment for entertainers, Along suggested. If artists are exposed to a barrage of negative comments stemming from unverified or misleadingly presented content, the psychological toll can be substantial. The constant negativity affects their emotional resilience and professional confidence. Along's advice to contemporary artists is therefore blunt: they must cultivate stronger emotional fortitude, exercise caution in their public behaviour, and avoid situations that could be weaponised against them on social media. In effect, he is arguing that artists must now do the protective work that journalists once performed for them.

Vocalist Mamat offered a different perspective, emphasising the relationship between Exists and Malaysian journalists across the band's career trajectory. He characterised his interactions with the press as unusually frequent, suggesting that journalists have maintained consistent interest in the band's activities. Crucially, he portrayed this interest not merely as reporting on band developments but as genuine support through difficult periods. Journalists, in his account, have given the band space to develop and move forward even during controversies or setbacks, and have often embedded encouraging messages and advice within their coverage.

Mamat's portrayal suggests that the journalist-artist relationship, when it functioned well, operated on principles that transcended simple transactional information exchange. Journalists became advocates not in the sense of abandoning objectivity, but in the sense of believing in the subject's potential and taking a long-term interest in their career. This dynamic appears to have been crucial in maintaining Exists' relevance across more than three decades in an industry notorious for brief fame cycles. The stability provided by consistent, supportive media attention may have been as significant as the visibility that coverage provided.

Bassist Musa contributed a vivid anecdote that exemplifies the depth of the journalist-artist relationship during an earlier era. Around 1997, an entertainment journalist developed such a close relationship with the band that he rented a recording studio specifically to experience jamming with them. This was not a journalistic assignment in any conventional sense; it was an expression of genuine passion and camaraderie. Musa and guitarist Ujang agreed to the impromptu session, and the three ended up playing music together for nearly two hours. The episode illustrates a time when professional and personal boundaries were more fluid, and when shared artistic passion could forge genuine friendships across the journalist-subject divide.

Musa used this anecdote to argue that the relationship between journalists and entertainers historically evolved beyond professional obligation into something resembling authentic friendship. This required both parties to invest time and emotional energy, and it created relationships that weathered industry changes and personal setbacks. Yet Musa was careful not to romanticise the past or dismiss the value of professional journalism. He argued that rigorously trained journalists remain essential because they possess specific skills: careful language use, sensitivity to complex issues, ethical judgment about what should and should not be published, and a responsibility to serve the public interest rather than sensationalism.

In Musa's view, professional journalists function as exemplars for the broader communications ecosystem. Their editorial standards and ethical frameworks set a baseline for responsible media practice. In an era when anyone can publish anything, the existence of professionally trained communicators working according to established ethical principles becomes more rather than less important. These journalists can demonstrate through example what responsible content creation looks like, potentially influencing amateur content creators to adopt similar standards. The challenge, however, is ensuring that professional journalism remains economically viable and socially valued when competing against the speed and shareability of unfiltered social media content.

The band's reflections occur at a moment when the entertainment industry is grappling with questions about how artists should navigate a media environment that operates according to fundamentally different rules than the one many established performers grew up navigating. The protective gatekeeping function that journalists once performed has largely disappeared, replaced by a system where reputation can be damaged almost instantaneously by a piece of unverified content. This shift has forced entertainers to become more conscious of their public behaviour and more strategic about their media interactions. Yet as Musa suggests, there may be value in rebuilding stronger relationships with professional journalists who maintain traditional ethical standards, even as they adapt to digital publishing platforms.

The Malaysian entertainment industry's experience mirrors broader global trends, though the specific context of a smaller market with relatively tight-knit entertainment communities means that the breakdown of traditional journalist-artist relationships may have particularly significant effects. Emerging artists may lack the institutional knowledge about media management that established performers like Exists developed during the print era. The band's testimony serves as both a historical record of a different media ecosystem and an implicit argument for why professional journalism, grounded in verification and ethics, remains valuable even in an age of democratised content creation.