Contentious Journalism & the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia & Singapore

Cherian George

The Internet has been used to democratise public discourse in Malaysia and Singapore, two countries in the zone between liberal democracies and authoritarian states. Websites that have emerged on the margins of the political system engage in a contentious style of journalism challenging the consensus that prevails over and through mainstream media.

Cherian George, a well-known Singaporean public intellectual and journalist before he embarked on an academic career, provides detailed case studies of online alternative media sites in Singapore and Malaysia, and examines arguments that explain their development in terms of technology, and of differing norms of journalism and democracy.

This outstanding work draws on social movement studies and media studies to challenge current understandings of the relationship between media and the Internet. The book's lively style will make it relevant for anyone interested in politics and media in Malaysia and Singapore.

«In his nuanced analysis of political communication in Islamic democracies and the Internet architecture of Southeast Asia, George makes good use of existing theory from political sociology and political science on development democracies. He makes a convincing argument about the roles and limits of technology-empowered journalism in one-party governance states.»
-Philip N. Howard, University of Washington.

Cherian GEORGE is Acting Division Head and Assistant Professor at the Division of Journalism and Publishing, Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.  

publication year: 2006
240 pages
ISBN: 978-9971-69-325-1  Paperback  US$22.00  S$28.00

A co-publication with Institute of Policy Studies, Singapore and University of Washington Press.
Our edition is available worldwide except North America.