Let Us Enter a Generation of Mass Media

“In Genesis, God says, ‘Let there be light, and there is light.’ If there is a place with lighting, then there is photography. Every picture sends out a message.” He said, “The world is like a book. T
Apr 13, 2005 12:10 PM EDT

From the beginning of March till beginning of April, during the time of Easter in Hong Kong, Tong Seng Lam traveled from Hong Kong to Taiwan visiting many different cities in the Southern part of Taiwan for a week’s duration. He held many media reporting seminars at places including Yan Ming University, Hsinchu Materials Graduate School, National Pingtung University of Science and Technology, Taiwan Christian Elite Association, etc,. Using a lively and easy explanation, Tong Seng Lam displayed pictures after pictures of beautiful scenic pictures praising the wonders of God’s creation.

On March 30, during a time of sharing at Shih Hsin University fellowship, Tong Seng Lam specially brought up the topic of media education to educate and unite the students with the newest direction that media is disseminating news. In the gathering, Tong Seng Lam shared some of the pictures that he took while traveling around the world. He name the seminar, “Welcoming the Light.”

“In Genesis, God says, ‘Let there be light, and there is light.’ If there is a place with lighting, then there is photography. Every picture sends out a message.” He said, “The world is like a book. Traveling is like opening this book. God created such a beautiful world not because he wants to enjoy it by himself? He wants to share it with man. Thus, my responsibility is to travel to every corner of the world to take pictures of the beautiful sceneries, and share them with everyone.”

After seeing the scenic pictures from around the world, Tong Seng Lam shared his views on the education of field in media. First, he took out a newspaper with large headlines and colorful pictures that can easily catch the attention of people, and the exaggerated content of the news seemed to make this newspaper very salable.”

Tong Seng Lam used a bible verse to illustrate the attitude that a news reporter should have.

Proverbs 26:20-22, “Without wood a fire goes out; without gossip a quarrel dies down. As charcoal to embers and as wood to fire, so is a quarrelsome man for kindling strife. The words of a gossip are like choice morsels; they go down to man’s inmost part.”

“We are living in a generation of inequality, injustice, worthlessness, many newspapers just want to capture the others weakness and invade their privacy in order to write an overly exaggerated report. They make a very small incident seem very big. Looking from a business perspective, they might be considered as successful, but this problem is even worse on the web. However, what is the most important thing as a media company?”

Tong Seng Lam answered this question with a verse from Micah in the bible.

Micah 6:8, “He has showed you. O man, what is good. And what does the Lord require of you? To act justly and to love mercy and to walk humbly with your God.”

“We need justice, mercy. Is it that our standard of success is solely based upon on how well we make money? Media is to help people not to make others fall. To become a just media company, you don’t need to sell-out to make money. If you study the bible carefully, follow the truth of the bible, then you will become a very successful newspaper.”

Lastly, during the time Shih Hsin University students and Tong Seng Lam were engaging in questioning and answering, Tong Seng Lam encourages students to develop the ability to determine the good apart from bad, and he hopes that the students that graduate from Shih Hsin University can pour out a clear source of water in this already polluted media world.