Media Industry

 By Baradan Kuppusamy

KUALA LUMPUR, Jul 28 (Asia Media Forum) – The freedom of information bill pending in opposition-ruled Selangor state may be just at the state level, but it throws a direct challenge to the federal government of Malaysia and its strict controls on the media.

By Ashfaq Yusufzai
 
ISLAMABAD, Jul 27 (Asia Media Forum) – Tired of fear-based propaganda coming over the airwaves used by extremist militants in Pakistan’s volatile regions near Afghanistan, radio producers are working on ways to reclaim this medium and relearn the skills to make it relevant to residents’ daily lives.

    "We want to utilise FM radios for raising awareness among the rural population about social, health, culture, economic and gender issues," said Aurangzeb Khan, media director of Intermedia, an independent Pakistani media support organisation specialising in advocacy, research and training on media issues.

By Li Tao

China's media landscape has changed drastically in recent years in which the country's rapid economic growth has had a major role to play. The reform and opening up and the subsequent relaxation of government regulations saw the birth of market-oriented media in China, after which even flagship Party newspapers began publishing profitable weeklies and dailies.

By Chularat Saengpassa - 'The Nation'

Using the emergency decree, authorities have recently shut down 26 community-radio stations in nine provinces and pressured six others to discontinue their services.

By Sam Rith

A prominent opposition-aligned newspaper has folded due to 'bankruptcy', its editor said yesterday, prompting concern from some observers that the national media landscape would continue to be dominated by outlets that support the ruling party.

By Kishor Pradhan*

KATHMANDU, Jun 21 - The issuance of more than 200 licences to operate community radio in Nepal in the past couple of years, and the fact that more than 150 of them are currently operational, is surely is a remarkable development. However, there is no denying the fact that community radio in Nepal faces inherent challenges.

By Zofeen Ebrahim

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 31 (IPS) - The continuing debate on the purported audiotape implicating Pakistani television anchor Hamid Mir, popular and controversial in equal measure, has raised serious concerns about the media amid calls for an impartial investigation to uncover the truth behind the recording.

By Gordon Ross

BEIJING, May 31 (IPS) - Last June, when thousands of Iranians – many organised through social networking websites such as Twitter – took to the streets to protest the outcome of the country’s presidential election, a Chinese English-language newspaper, ‘Global Times’, published an editorial critical of the Western media’s coverage of the protests.

By Farah Zahidi Moazzam

KARACHI, Pakistan, May 30 (Asia Media Forum) — While there was no question that the visual depictions of the Prophet Mohammad on Facebook hit a raw nerve among devout Muslims all over, the debate here in Pakistan has been all about whether the government should be the one making choices for its Internet users.

By Lynette Corporal

BANGKOK, May 29 (Asia Media Forum) – After months of turmoil, silence – albeit an uneasy one -- has finally fallen over the streets of Bangkok. But the shouting continues in cyberspace as Thais and even foreign residents bicker and debate over what this South-east Asian country has just experienced, as well as about the challenges it continues to face.