Ask a question from expert
Media Coverage on Religious Conflict in Malaysia
9 Pages3483 Words291 Views
Added on 2019-10-31
Media Coverage on Religious Conflict in Malaysia
Added on 2019-10-31
BookmarkShareRelated Documents
Malaysian media and its sensitivitytowards religious issues
IntroductionThe representation of religious issues by the media has been a controversial issue for sometime. The representation is even more problematic in societies with ethnic diversity.Reporting of religious issues in the media constitutes a part of identity formation of aparticular social group or community. It gives the media power to mirror the social reality aswell as give shape to the public narratives about certain social issues or events. On the one hand, media coverage helps in reinforcing the dominant stereotypes andprejudices that are prevalent at that society (McCombs, 2014). On the other hand, it is thejournalists’ responsibility to change the narratives of stereotyping and discrimination thatperpetuate in the society. Responsible journalism contributes to rational dialogues on religionand discrimination. The journalistic convention of reporting religious issues has changed inthe past few years. Initially, it was restricted to small stories that were not much highlighted.But in the recent years, these stories have become rampant in the social media. It is media’sresponsibility to report the facts accurately and authentically. It is also their responsibility tobe sensitive while reporting about certain conflicts. The media needs to avoid the derogatoryand stereotypical narratives about certain religious groups. During interviews, discussionprograms, intolerant remarks can be made by the public. It is the media’s responsibility tochallenge the presumptions underlying those comments so that those assumptions are notsubtly promoted. Stories about religions and ethnicity are often interconnected. The processof reporting about religious and ethnic stories is not entirely objective. While reporting, themedia, on a very subtle level, expresses judgements and interprets a part of reality(McCombs, 2011).Thus, the media is instrumental in forging social identities and socialrelations.Ethical journalism entails reporting realities with fairness and honesty (Knowlton and Reader,2009). The code of ethics in journalism includes accuracy, truth, independence, and respectfor privacy. The journalists are responsible for starting intercultural understanding anddialogues and fostering respect for diversity in the society. But on certain occasions, mediaalso contributes to the formation of negative stereotypes regarding ethnicity and religion. Oneof the ethical standards that need to be maintained in journalism is objectivity. The reportingof impartial and nonbiased information is essential in journalism. Polarization often createsnarratives that are far detached from reality. It is also important on the part of the journaliststo maintain the accuracy of the facts as far as possible. A journalist’s job is to present the
pure facts so that the common people are able to form opinions without any bias orjudgement (White, 2008). Fairness of the facts also needs to be kept in mind. All theinformation needs to be confirmed by at least two sources to maintain the fairness of thefactual information. It is also essential for the journalists to maintain balance while reportingfacts. In order to maintain accuracy, the journalists need to make use of reliable sources. Thefacts also need to be checked by another employee independently in order to confirm the fact.The harm limitation principle dictates that the journalists need to be especially attentivewhether any person would be harmed as a result of news coverage or not (Christians et. al.,2015). They also need to be cautious while seeking photographs of individuals who havesuffered from loss or grief. Intrusion to anyone’s privacy without the concerned individual’sconsent is forbidden in the code of ethics. The media has been instrumental in associating Islam with terrorism (Gower, 2016).Especially after the attacks on September 11th, the tendency of the international media hasbeen to depict Islam negatively. Media has been instrumental in associating Islam withmilitancy and danger. Thus the cultural hostility, racial hatred as well as ignorance that havebeen linked with Islam have made the true nature of Islam unknown to the public eye. Themedia images that have helped in perpetuating the narrative of Islam linked with aggressionand militancy have created different realities. The events on September 11th, 2001 havepainted Muslims as aggressors as well as ‘others’ (Powell, 2011). The demonization ofMuslims has been carried out by the media by constructing a public knowledge about Islam.Especially, Muslims as a united body are treated as a threat to the West. In this particularcontext, Edward Said’s concept of Orientalism is extremely relevant (Ashcroft andAhluwalia, 2008). Said postulated that the West has contributed to historically constructingthe idea of the east as alien or other. This idea also plays a role in forging binary andreductive concept about Islam. Muslims are thus painted as an unstable, irrational, backward,misogynist, and fundamentalist group. It is also assumed that they use their religion forpolitical and personal gain.In order to report effectively on religion and ethnicity, the journalists need to maintain certainpractices. They need to do in-depth reporting about the issue. They need to be careful aboutproviding the context and background information. They are obliged to provide legal contextsof the issue if there is any. They need to have enough foresight to estimate the consequencestheir reporting can have. It is the journalists’ responsibility to give voice to the voiceless inorder to make their pleas and opinions heard. In the process, they also need to show respect.
End of preview
Want to access all the pages? Upload your documents or become a member.