Konstruk pelaporan pemikiran isu liberalisasi agama dalam portal Berita Harian dan The Star

Perkembangan teknologi telah mempengaruhi pentas penyampaian maklumat. Konstruk pelaporan sesuatu isu seperti Liberalisasi Agama turut mengalami dinamik perubahan dalam kalangan para pengamal media. Pertumbuhan portal akhbar dan trend penyampaian informasi telah menimbulkan reaksi dan tanggapan yang pelbagai dalam kalangan masyarakat Malaysia. Artikel ini mengutarakan konstruk portal akhbar Berita Harian dan The Star dalam melaporkan isu Liberalisasi Agama di Malaysia dalam mengenal pasti dinamika dan hala tuju pelaporannya. Kaedah analisis kandungan (mulai 1 Januari 2015 sehingga 31 Disember 2015) telah digunakan dengan memberi tumpuan kepada portal akhbar Berita Harian dan portal akhbar The Star. Justifikasi pemilihan kedua-dua portal ini berdasarkan perbezaan pemilikan setiap institusi akhbar dan sasaran pembacanya. Kajian ini dapat mengenal pasti konstruk pelaporan akhbar dalam menyampaikan maklumat isu-isu Liberalisasi Agama kepada masyarakat Malaysia samada berbentuk positif, negatif atau neutral. Dapatan kajian mendapati pemilikan terhadap syarikat akhbar mampu mempengaruhi kaedah pelaporan berita sesebuah portal akhbar dalam memberi pemahaman kepada pembaca sasarannya

Social media and agenda setting: implications on political agenda

Since the advent of the Internet, political information is now at the fingertips of every Malaysian, especially those living in the urban areas and having access to the Internet. One does not need to have the traditional media such as radio, television or Newspaper to understand what is happening in political set up in Malaysia these days. This is because the social media, especially Facebook and twitter have made access to information so easy to the larger population. The aim of this paper is to explore the role of social media as agenda setting mechanisms in the Malaysia political scenario. The study uses secondary data sources to obtain insight on the issue. It is evident from literature that the social media, especially the social media (eg. Facebook) play an important role in shaping public opinion on important political matters. The social media has been used by the public to express their concern and grievance on issues that concern their welfare which the traditional media may not dare to report or broadcast. Agenda setting needs to be relooked into as the public agenda is taking a central stage through the new/social media. Thus, it implies, the agenda setting model could be extended or remodeled to include the new/social media due to their influence on public agenda. Further implication of this is that politicians should keep abreast with the development in the social media so that they will understand current issues that are of great concern to the people and the society at large. We have to come to terms with the fact that we are now in the digital and globalised era, hence agenda setting needs to be relooked into as the public agenda is taking a central stage through the social media

THE ARTS OF SOCIAL REALITY (RE) CONSTRUCT INDIVIDUAL MINDSET OF POST-INDEPENDENCE COMMUNITY VIA HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

Purpose of the study: The aim of this study is to analyse the meaning construction of the post-independence communities based on a historical documentary “Big Kitchen (1952)” which focuses on the literacy aspect of how an individual construe, implement and adapt technology in constructing meaning in line with the rapid development of the country. Methodology: A focus group discussion was conducted which involved twenty-one informants from an Institute of Higher Learning in Malaysia. The discussion focuses on how the post-independence communities collectively construct their institutional knowledge by linking these three main areas; literacy, meaning construction and technology based on the historical documentary which consequently reveals the social reality of the community. Main Findings: Findings revealed thatthere is a culture change (in Malaysia) due to migration, technological advancement, and rapid urbanization based on the meanings constructed by the post-independence communities. The combination of migration, technological development, and rapid urbanization have caused the informants to not be influenced by media materials that are shown but assess material based on the understanding and withholding long underlying themselves over the years. Applications of this study: Since the media and communication studies is an established academic discipline in today’s digital era, this study is beneficial in contributing to the development of mass media and communication field specifically in the area of media literacy/ broadcasting literacy as the study covers the art of scientific investigation of the media. Novelty/Originality of this study: This study justifies how media research and the technological shift in the media landscape affects the arts of social reality and the meaning construction of the post-independence communities in Malaysia via the “Big Kitchen (1952)” documentary. Findings revealed in this study contribute to the current debate of the current media issues, and to the development of mass media and communication field

The importance of usability features in enhancing online communication satisfaction

Web 2.0 is providing more responsive, interactive and online platforms of participation and engagement within users in organizations. The growth of the Internet gives a significant contribution to the development of online systems. The acceptance and usage of online system in organizations depend on various key factors such as ease of use, interactivity and usability. This study evaluates the importance of usability of online information management systems (IMS) in the context of user attitudes to online communication satisfaction which drives usage. Based on a survey of 223 employees at four research universities in Malaysia, this study adapted the communication satisfaction and usability to examine the online satisfaction in using IMS. The results indicate that there is a positive and significant relationship between usability and online communication satisfaction toward IMS usage. This study reveals the importance of usability in understanding the requirements in improving communication satisfaction, especially in developing online systems

New media usage and youth participation

The Internet is considered a huge development in human civilization. It is literally considered as a practical key or essential to human development and social advancement causing massive innovation in the world. Over the years, the advent of new media has permeated most aspects of our lives, especially that of the young generation. It is against this background that this paper aims to analyse the present use of the new media by youth to gauge their usage in relation to participation and nation building. This study is a country wide survey covering Peninsula and East Malaysia. For sampling purposes the country is divided into six zones. A survey research using questionnaire as instrument was used to obtain data. Prior to the actual survey, a pilot study was first conducted. Some 1182 respondents’ age between 18 and 25 were randomly sampled from the six zones and selection was based on ethnic ratio. The data was analysed descriptively and inferentially using SPSS 20.0. From the results, majority of the respondents, 89% are social media users having a social media account. A discouraging trend with regard to participation is the very low level of giving comments on general societal issues ranging from social issues, the environmental to politics. As it is now, the youth are more inclined to using the new media for entertainment and social networking. It is time to use the new media to engage with community leaders and politicians and comment on issues related to nation building

Post-Independence Group Reading Communism Via Independent Documentary Soundtracks

Regarding the issue of independence documentary, the key question that must be considered is whether a message that’s trying to convey to the target groups or audiences are fully achieved? The used of soundtracks to convey the message of independent documentary is seen as the added value for audiences to digest the producers’ idea. Zettl (2005) put the cultural, ideology and technological narrative message of the production based on soundtracks analysis (lyrics as long as costume and make-up) as a part of the narrative in soundtracks). Using an independent documentary ‘The Last Communist (2006)’ work of Amir Muhammad, this article discussed the ‘reading’ of soundtracks. These soundtracks are technically representing producers’ idea. They construct connotation meaning for audiences to read as they want. The soundtracks are highly posed and are set in descript meaning to make them usable across the world

Pengaruh faktor pengetahuan terhadap konstruksi identiti dalam talian menerusi penggunaan Facebook

Media sosial membolehkan individu mewujudkan identiti dalam talian untuk memaparkan identiti pilihan mereka. Individu bukan sekadar mengkonstruksi identiti di luar talian malah boleh mengkonstruk semula identiti secara dalam talian. Identiti dalam talian membenarkan individu berinteraksi dengan semua lapisan pengguna termasuk orang yang tidak dikenali. Walau bagaimanapun, kajian sebelum ini tidak mengkaji sumber peribadi yang perlu dimiliki oleh seseorang individu untuk membolehkannya mengkonstruk identiti dalam talian. Kajian lalu juga didapati kurang meneliti kepelbagaian identiti yang mungkin dikonstruksi dalam talian sama ada identiti unggul, sebenar ataupun identiti samaran. Kajian ini bertujuan untuk menganalisis faktor pengetahuan yang mempengaruhi pengguna media sosial apabila mengkonstruksi identiti dalam talian. Pengguna aktif Facebook dalam kalangan 400 penuntut di empat buah institusi pengajian tinggi dipilih sebagai responden kajian ini. Dapatan kajian menunjukkan bahawa terdapat hubungan yang signifikan antara faktor pengetahuan yang dimiliki oleh pengguna Facebook dengan konstruksi identiti dalam talian sama ada identiti unggul, sebenar dan samaran. Aspek yang mendasari struktur pengetahuan telah dikenal pasti sebagai pengetahuan am, pengalaman, penapisan bahasa, pengetahuan memuat naik, penapisan komen dan penulisan status merupakan aspek penting yang diambil kira oleh responden apabila mengkonstruk identiti dalam talian. Interaksi sosial di Internet memberi ruang kepada individu mencipta sendiri dan memaparkan identiti mengikut acuan yang diinginkan dan dipaparkan kepada umum

STRATEGIC COMMUNICATION THROUGH DIGITAL PUBLIC RELATIONS AND ITS TREND IN MALAYSIA

The development of strategic communication practices through the use of digital platforms is seen to have an impact on the sustainability of strategic communication in the public and private sectors. Strategic communication is a process that determines the stability of an organization’s image, reputation, and position. The digital platform now not only serves as the main communication medium, but also able to function as a platform for dialogue communication between content creators and followers of the platform. Accordingly, the theory used to explain this article is the strategic communication theory (Hallahan et.al, 2007) According to Hallahan, strategic communication is involved in the development, implementation, and assessment of communication. This research aims to understand the impact and the role of strategic communication through digital public relations and its trends in Malaysia. The discussion and fndings in this research are based on a qualitative study that uses an in-depth interview method as a data collection technique and 12 informants among communication practitioners in Malaysia were selected through a purposive sampling technique. The results of the study found that strategic communication through digital public relations is used continuously and has a very important role to ensure that all communication strategies are used to reach the target audience. However, the function and impact of using digital platforms as the main medium of strategic communication still cannot guarantee the sustainability of corporate communication in the future

Misinterpretation on rumors towards racial conflict: a review on the impact of rumors spread during the riot of May 13, 1969

A rumor is a short-lived, unverified report, usually anonymous in its origin. Rumor exists, especially in a turbulent society. In fact, a plural society that comes from various background exhibits greater potential of its dissemination due to the diversity of aspirations and interpretations in obtaining information based from opinion differences. Malaysia had experienced the problem during the riots in Kuala Lumpur on May 13, 1969. The spread of rumors does not only affect the life victims and the destruction of the property, but also determines the path and direction of the nation’s politics. This change is in line with the prohibition of debate on sensitive matters which are enshrined in the constitution. The objective of this article is to assess the relationship between rumors and conflicts in a society. The initial discussion focuses on factors that determine the rate of spread in the society. It focuses on the authorities measures, inclusive of safety, administrative and legislative measures to control its dissemination. Finally, it focuses on the short, medium, and long-term implications arising from its dissemination. It can be concluded that the May 13 incident is an effective mechanism in controlling the conflict in the country. This does not mean that the spread of rumors specifically on negative matters will be discontinued. It relies heavily on the government’s sensitivity towards the current situation, therefore, necessary actions should be taken to address the dissemination in order to avoid similar events to recur