Editorial and Commentary Coverage of Foreign News Issues in Malaysian Newspapers: Variation and Consistency

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.