Aims chairman Cheong Yip Seng said the new media's impact on mainstream media is already clear:

'Issues that have been raised online have made their way into the mainstream media. I think there were a number of stories that were first broken in the online media and picked up by the mainstream media.

'So I see the mainstream media more sensitive to Internet chatter. I see the mainstream media more sensitive to the need to stay credible in the eyes of the public, because if you are seen not to be credible, you would be driving your readers online.

'And this is what happened in America. The American public felt that the mainstream media had let them down, especially during the period when George W. Bush decided to invade Iraq. Many issues which the public felt ought to be tackled were not. So the credibility of the American national media took a knock.

'So I think the mainstream media here will be very conscious of the need to protect and enhance its own credibility.