This is a comparative framing analysis of editorial and commentary pieces on foreign news issues in three major Malaysian newspapers—in Malay, Chinese and English languages. The multicultural and multiethnic mix of Malaysian society and its media as well as the long-standing connection between the mainstream media and the ruling coalition government in Malaysia provides a valuable context for such a study. The results reveal significant variation in the framing of foreign news issues across the three newspapers, corresponding to their respective target audiences, while a consistency in alignment with the government policy is also evident in all three. The study challenges the idea of a ‘national’ media and identity in international and foreign news studies (i.e. the idea that there is such a thing as a single, e.g. ‘Malaysian’ media or associated world view). It demonstrates how an analysis of foreign news coverage in a country such as Malaysia needs to account for the multifaceted ethnic, linguistic, political and cultural demographic influences on its newspapers.
AhmadMokhtar Selat (2006). New directions in Malaysia’s foreign policy: From Tunku to Abdullah Badawi. In HarunRuhanas (Ed.), Malaysia’s foreign relations: Issues and challenges (pp. 13–28). Kuala Lumpur: University of Malaya Press.
2.
Boyd-BarrettO. (1997). International communication and globalization: Contradictions and directions. In MohammadiA. (Ed.), International communication and globalization: A critical introduction (pp. 11–26). London: SAGE Publications.
3.
CohenB.C. (1963). The press and foreign policy. New Jersey: Princeton University Press.
4.
Department of Statistics Malaysia. (2011). Population distribution and basic demographic characteristic report 2010. Retrieved 23May2016, from https://www.statistics.gov.my/index.php?r=column/cthemeByCat&cat=117&bul_id=MDMxdHZjWTk1SjFzTzNkRXYzcVZjdz09&menu_id=L0pheU43NWJwRWVSZklWdzQ4TlhUUT09
5.
EntmanR. (1993). Framing: Toward clarification of a fractured paradigm. Journal of Communication, 43(4), 51–58.
6.
EntmanR. (2004). Projections of power: Framing news, public opinion, and U.S. foreign policy. Chicago: University of Chicago Press.
7.
FaridahIbrahim (2002). Media ethics in Malaysia: A case of language objectivity. In IyerV. (Ed.), Media ethics in Asia: Addressing the dilemmas in the information age (pp. 51–65). Singapore: AMIC.
8.
GerbnerG. (1985). Mass media discourse: Message system analysis as a component of cultural indicators. In van DijkT.A. (Ed.), Discourse and communication: New approaches to the analysis of mass media discourse and communication (pp. 13–25). Berlin: Walter de Gruyter.
9.
GitlinT. (1980, 2003). The whole world is watching: Mass media in the making and unmaking of the New Left. Berkeley: University of California Press.
10.
HolsteinL. (2003, 23–27May). Crossing the border from newswork to content: Frame analysis as a theoretical bridge. Paper presented to the International Communication Association Annual Meeting, San Diego.
11.
HooB.K. (2000). Media and democracy in Malaysia. In AMIC (Ed.), Media and democracy in Asia (pp. 115–126). Singapore: AMIC.
12.
HossainIshtiaq (2013). Foreign policy. In MotenAbdul Rashid (Ed.), Government and politics in Malaysia (2nd ed.) (pp. 413–452). Petaling Jaya: Cengage Learning Asia.
13.
JensenK.B. (1991). Introduction: The qualitative turn. In JensenK.B. & JanjowskiN.W. (Eds), A handbook of qualitative methodologies for mass communication research (pp. 1–15). London: Routledge.
14.
JohnsonJ.R. (2010). Cooperation and pragmatism: Malaysian foreign policy under Najib. Asia Pacific Bulletin, 63(3June), 1–2.
15.
KhadijahMd. Khalid. (2011). Malaysia’s foreign policy under Najib: A comparison with Mahathir. Asian Survey, 51(3), 429–452.
16.
KhorY.L., BehC.C., & LimL.H. (2012). The old and new Malaysian Chinese language press, with special reference to the 12th general election. In LimH.G. & SuryadinataL. (Eds), Malaysia Chinese: Recent development and prospects (pp. 144–165). Singapore: ISEAS.
17.
MalekA., & WiegandK.E. (1997). News media and foreign policy: An integrated review. In MalekA. (Ed.), News media and foreign relations: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 3–27). Norwood: Ablex.
18.
ManheimJ.B., & AlbrittonR.B. (1984). Changing national images: International public relations and media agenda setting. The American Political Science Review, 78(3), 641–657.
19.
McCombsM.E. (2004). Setting the agenda: The mass media and public opinion. Cambridge: Polity Press.
20.
Media Planning Guide Malaysia. (2014). Media planning guide Malaysia 2014 (20th ed.) Kuala Lumpur: Perception Media.
21.
MericanA.M. (2006). Religious ideas: Islam in the Malay press. In AlatasShed Farid (Ed.), Covering Islam: Challenges and opportunities for media in the global village (pp. 115–131). Singapore: Centre for Research on Islamic and Malay, Affairs (RIMA) and the Konrad Adenauer Foundation (KAF).
22.
MowlanaH. (1997). The media and foreign policy: A framework of analysis. In MalekA. (Ed.), News media and foreign relations: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 29–41). Norwood: Ablex.
23.
MuppidiS.R. (2012). Mediascapes: Malaysia. In MuppidiS. R. (Ed.), Asian communication handbook (6th ed.) (pp. 269–283). Singapore: AMIC.
24.
RandhawaS. (2016). Silencing the media in Malaysia. New Mandala. Retrieved 24May2016, from http://asiapacific.anu.edu.au/newmandala/2016/03/16/silencing-the-media-in-malaysia/
25.
RivenburghN.K. (1997). Social identification and media coverage of foreign relations. In MalekA. (Ed.), News media and foreign relations: A multifaceted perspective (pp. 79–91). Norwood: Ablex.
26.
SaravanamuttuJ. (2010). Malaysia’s foreign policy, the first fifty years: Alignment, neutralism, Islamism. Singapore: ISEAS.
27.
TapsellR. (2013). The media freedom movement in Malaysia and the electoral authoritarian regime. Journal of Contemporary Asia, 43(4), 613–635.
28.
ThussuD. (2000). International communication: Continuity and change. London: Arnold.
29.
Van GorpB. (2010). Strategies to take subjectivity out of framing analysis. In D’AngeloP. & KuypersJ. (Eds), Doing news framing analysis: Empirical and theoretical perspectives (pp. 84–109). New York: Routledge.
30.
YoungC. (1976). The politics of cultural pluralism. Wisconsin: The University of Wisconsin Press.
