| Code | 1204W |
| Title | Radio daze: independent news and media in Malaysia - alive or stillborn? |
| Author | Kean WONG |
| Affiliation | Co-founder, Centre for Independent Journalism, Malaysia |
| Abstract |
Malaysia's media, like the nation itself, has evolved a great deal since independence in 1957. While the post-war years featured a national media that was a mix of privately-owned newspapers and state-controlled radio and television, the advances in both technology and the economy of the 1980s and 90s have given rise to a consumer-oriented media.
But it is media that is circumscribed in scope and reach by opaque state control, made apparent not only by legislation but also hegemonic and corporate culture. This paper hopes to sketch out the tumultuous past decade that has redefined the prevailing infrastructure of media control and acquiescence. I will also discuss the culture of Malaysia's media and its prevalent self censorship, long blamed on both political and commercial circumstances, and the prospects for change in a post-Mahathir climate of new technology, potential audiences and allegedly 'new' politics. More pertinently, i hope to encourage some discussion with conference participants about my experiences as a co-founder of Malaysia's Centre for Independent Journalism (CIJ) and radiqradio.com in reviving independent news for radio, enabled by the Internet and collaboration with regional partners such as Indonesia's largest independent radio news network, Radio 68H. I hope we can establish a dialogue on how mediums such as radio and the Internet can encourage and engage a nascent civil society in Malaysia and the region. |