tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-53964312008-03-29T17:51:34.148+08:00Media MonitorsBlogger374125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-84850283957881383422008-03-29T17:50:00.000+08:002008-03-29T17:51:34.183+08:00

The election media monitor initiative, organised by the Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ), Writers Alliance for Media Independence (WAMI) and Charter 2000-Aliran confirmed that major print media continue to the line of the incumbent government, formed by the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, in their election coverage by allocating the majority of stories and spaces for their candidates.

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-58729472795052089582008-03-08T17:12:00.000+08:002008-03-08T17:13:04.681+08:00

On the eve of polling day (7 March 2008), Malaysian newspapers stepped up the number of advertisements to “persuade” voters to cast their ballots for Barisan Nasional. Although the reporting trend has generally been in favour of the BN, the ads have also been generously displayed. theSun beat its English-language rivals to publish BN ads in 14 pages, up 80 per cent from earlier in the week. The

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-61142262343970080282008-03-08T17:08:00.001+08:002008-03-08T17:08:22.244+08:00

Individu dalam parti politik adalah antara cabaran kepada wartawan dan media di mana pemimpin-pemimpin yang tidak suka dengan pelaporan berita mahukan suratkhabar ditutup. Itulah “saranan” Setiausaha Bahagian MIC Durian Tunggal di Alor Gajah, Rajen yang berkata ketiga-ketiga akhbar Tamil patut ditutup selama enam bulan kerana melaporkan berita palsu. Dengan penutupan ini, maka masyarakat India

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-51642161686264156132008-03-08T16:56:00.001+08:002008-03-08T17:33:59.300+08:00

Stories covering both Parti Keadilan Rakyat de-facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as well as the retraction of indelible ink use by the Elections Commission dominated both mainstream and online coverage for 6 March. That is where the similarities ended. The knowledge reached and perceptions formed by readers in regards to these topics will have relied greatly on whether they took information

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-76546470605690724862008-03-07T18:52:00.005+08:002008-03-07T18:59:46.263+08:00

Today's Sun has flooded its pages with BN ads. Out of 56 pages in the paper, 14 full pages are devoted to BN adverts and just one page to the DAP. The DAP full-page ad only appears on page 38, after all 14 pages of the BN adverts have appeared in preceding pages. So not only does the Sun allow the BN to overwhelm the opposition in terms of number of ads, the opposition party also loses out in

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-71540726235668474502008-03-07T18:42:00.002+08:002008-03-07T18:49:25.625+08:00

Polling day is tomorrow. Let’s look at how the New Straits Times (NST) online covered the campaigning in the past three days--5, 6 and 7 of March. As the tables below indicate, the paper remains ever faithful to Barisan Nasional as its mouthpiece. News items: 5 March 6 March 7 March All 3 days BN (Focus) 19 (

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-1659464174997706782008-03-06T18:05:00.003+08:002008-03-06T18:08:53.253+08:00

A quick random survey of election coverage in the pages of The Star (main section) for Thursday, 6 March revealed the following breakdown: 31 pro-BN articles 1 pro-BN commentary (V.K. Chin)1 pro-BN letter to editor 4 BN full-page advertisements 3 reports on the Opposition (including one reporting heart attack of DAP official)2 neutral reports (1 on armed forces postal voting and 1 on return of

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-48627929357042390782008-03-06T13:32:00.007+08:002008-03-06T18:05:02.601+08:00

The Borneo Post has carried this BN threat to punish the voters of Sibu by denying them flood mitigation measures if they vote for the Opposition: the money for the much-needed projected would be diverted elsewhere if that happened. The Borneo Post reported this without bothering to get any critical comment from the other side. Neither did it mind publishing the obvious threat and bullying

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-91535622719066665102008-03-06T12:12:00.002+08:002008-03-06T12:37:13.058+08:00

Creating an impression of an impending victory for BN in the northern states, especially at the Pas base in Kelantan is a major news agenda for Utusan on 3 and 4 March. On both days, the front page reflected a confident BN being a few steps closer to taking the northern states, while Pas' Islamic image was the subject of relentless partisan scrutiny and criticism. The front page stories on

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-17184949323159107872008-03-05T11:16:00.003+08:002008-03-05T11:40:59.079+08:00

As polling day draws nearer, the Barisan Nasional has apparently stepped up its hard-sell in various ways, including alleging that Opposition parties are trying to rig elections by purchasing indelible ink, employing Mat Rempit to harass candidates, and will cause trouble in the aftermath of the elections, if they win. 7Edition’s news bulletin yesterday, abandoning their ‘feel good’, ‘look good

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-32595855106654780212008-03-05T11:09:00.001+08:002008-03-05T11:22:50.559+08:00

Hampir 60 peratus masalah masyarakat India mula diselesaikan menjelang pilihanraya ini. Kini calon barisan nasional dan calon pembangkang berebut–rebut untuk menyelesaikan masalah masyarakat ini. Contohnya, muka depan Malaysia Nanban pada 4 Mac ini mengatakan Menteri Besar Selangor, Dr. Khir Toyo memberikan RM1.26 juta kepada masyarakat India Bukit Botak (Taman Selayang Mutiara) bagi

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-31811402356953125062008-03-04T20:46:00.009+08:002008-03-21T19:00:40.893+08:00

A new election news website, Malaysiavotes.com, has created controversy within the blogosphere due to the sites’ presumed “alternative” nature which some readers find questionable. According to its ‘About Us’ page, the site aims “to provide news about the main issues that the nation is grappling with as we go to the polls, as well as news on the elections that would not gain either the attention

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-33588039352289649092008-03-04T19:23:00.004+08:002008-03-06T10:41:16.276+08:00

As expected, The Star, like many other mainstream newspapers, today splashes news reports about the 12th general election. Its front page, for instance, shows a picture of members of the General Operation Force casting their postal votes, something that has become controversial these days, in Sarawak . At the top right hand of the front page is perched a little teasing headline, together with

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-89216666146521350072008-03-04T18:11:00.002+08:002008-03-04T18:13:36.485+08:00

The 8.00pm 7Edition News always presents interesting morsels in their General Election Campaign reports for public consumption. Television reports from 26 -28 February revealed a crying need amongst BN candidates to jack up personal as well as party morale via ‘ego trips’. This publicity addiction is perhaps a hazard for any public figure who has become used to grand receptions and

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-8383796609666788982008-03-02T18:45:00.002+08:002008-03-02T19:42:51.165+08:00

When a opposition politician appears on the front page of Utusan, chances are not all is well. To date, Abdul Hadi Awang from Pas has appeared thrice, and each time after he was plagued by bad publicity. This time, while the storm over his alleged decline for shaking the hand of his opponent had yet to subside, he was criticised again for his supposed decree for Pas candidates to 'bad mouth'

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-71246510598111307202008-03-02T18:43:00.003+08:002008-03-02T19:45:19.097+08:00

While it is regular for Utusan to give more space to BN, some candidates and events get extra attention. Readers are familiarised with certain candidates who are repeatedly covered in a dedicated article. Indeed, the Utusan of 1 March may have had the most instances of these recurring subjects. Recurring subject No. 1- Yayasan Khazanah tawar tiga program biasiswa on page 4. On 29 February,

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-47903763500057369462008-03-02T18:31:00.002+08:002008-03-02T19:39:19.811+08:00

Barison Nasional reportedly spent just over RM1 million in print advertising alone, according to corruption watchdog agency Transparency International-Malaysia (TI) and a 28 February Malaysiakini report. The organisation began monitoring TV election advertisements on 28 February—where the “lion's share of election advertising monies are believed to go”. TI is monitoring advertisements in six

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-77149473922997027392008-03-02T18:28:00.001+08:002008-03-02T19:34:28.374+08:00

Not only are opposition voices restricted in the mainstream, but entities are also determined to silence them in cyberspace. On 27 February, Naththaniel Tan confirmed that SuaraKeadilan.com had gone down due to Dos attacks against the website. On his blog, jelas.info, Nathaniel Tan informed his readers that the site was successfully restored and will benefit from backup measures currently being

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-76031906598541912302008-03-02T18:23:00.001+08:002008-03-02T18:26:39.335+08:00

The manifestos of opposition parties—especially DAP and Pas—have taken a beating throughout the mainstream publications at the hands of Barison Nasional candidates. Armed with the mainstream media as their personal assault weapon, BN candidates stated that both the DAP's and Pas’ proposed manifestos would destroy the economy. Such admonishments, accentuated by biased headlines and story

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-446532301581999072008-03-01T18:23:00.005+08:002008-03-01T19:00:49.068+08:00

Just when you thought you would be safe from the BN propaganda onslaught, you log into your Hotmail or Yahoo account to catch up on your emails - and lo and behold, Big Brother is waiting for you there with more BN adverts! Woe betide you if your mouse accidentally hovers over the BN ad. For then you will be "treated" to two women telling you how much freedom and unity we already have in the

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-46201844127635470382008-03-01T16:06:00.007+08:002008-03-01T17:40:09.201+08:00

If an alien from another planet were to check out the mainstream media coverage of the general election campaign, he or she would not know that a person by the name of Anwar Ibrahim existed. It appears that the mainstream media have virtually blacked out the opposition icon from their coverage of the election campaign. Anwar has been instrumental in forging closer cooperation among the various

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-3204205967834194922008-03-01T16:02:00.001+08:002008-03-01T17:26:21.290+08:00

How media cover an event, along with their absence of coverage, sometimes raises more questions than enlightening the public, even inviting speculation about their motivations. Take for example a couple of ceramahs at a night market in SS2 this past Monday (25 February). Malaysiakini, in its coverage the following day by Soon Li Tsin, gave a picture of a rousing DAP ceramah, featuring, among

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-21537798853854451032008-02-29T22:17:00.008+08:002008-03-01T00:03:46.361+08:00

The Borneo Post and The Daily Express have carried reports effectively warning voters that they risk losing development grants in their areas if they vote for the opposition This was a line in a Daily Express report: "Should the opposition win a seat in the coming election, (Sabah Chief Minister) Musa said he would not even want to see the opposition Assemblyman if the

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-21049528454511054942008-02-29T21:55:00.006+08:002008-03-01T15:28:58.383+08:00

What a transformation in theSun ever since Vincent Tan took over the paper in January - and it has been for the worse, in terms of the way the paper has allowed itself to be blatantly used as a propaganda tool of the ruling coalition. If at the last general election, theSun proved to be the most independent of the three English language newspapers, this time around, it appears determined to

Media Monitorstag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5396431.post-73036623988632895672008-02-29T18:17:00.002+08:002008-02-29T18:22:45.937+08:00

Yesterday’s “people’s paper”, The Star, like most other mainstream newspapers, was littered with full-page political ads ‘selling’ the omnipresent product called the Barisan Nasional (BN) party. For instance, one ad claims that it has been proven that the BN has an “efficient public delivery system”. Another full-page ad, which was quite predictable in a post-Hindraf Malaysia, reminds the reader

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