Media framing of the political leadership transition in Malaysia

• Main Author: Anparasy Muthusamy
• Other Authors: Kluver, Randolph
• Format: Theses and Dissertations
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: DRNTU::Social sciences::Journalism::Political aspects; DRNTU::Social sciences::Journalism::Reporting on public affairs and politics
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/1469
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

Political news coverage can serve as a valuable barometer of the media’s ideological orientation, and of a society’s political and cultural values. Applying the methodology of news framing, this study analyses the framing of the Malaysian political leadership transition in October 2003 from Mahathir Mohamad to Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in two Malaysian newspapers- the New Straits Times and The Star - vis-a-vis the political and cultural milieu of Malaysian society. The study’s findings pointed to three sub-topics which defined the coverage- Mahathir’s legacy; Abdullah’s image; and political continuity and stability- and eight dominant news frames. Through these, this study provides an alternative and deeper dimension to the sometimes simplistic notion of objectivity and bias about media systems under government control. It demonstrates the significance of a society’s political and cultural contexts for understanding the intricacies of the government-media relationship in that society.