Look for a story that is reported on a news website but not in another / is given a small space for its report. Explain why.
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A comparison is made between two news websites which are The Star and the Malaymail. It is found out that the story of MCA party secretary-general, Datuk Chong Sin Woon urging the voters to take a stand for political stability was published in the Star but not in Malaymail. The story was published before the election in Johor. In the story, Datuk Chong Sin Woon said that Johor voters were sick of the "empty promises" by Pakatan Harapan and yearned for stability. He also spoke about his meeting with the leaders of Barisan National which came to the conclusion that all of them aimed to get support from all races to form a strong and stable government that is also multiculturally diverse.
There are a few reasons why the story is only published in the Star. First, it can be clearly seen that the information in this piece of news is the propaganda of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA). The MCA party secretary-general, Datuk Chong Sin Woon, criticized the Pakatan Harapan for their "empty promises" to the public and he stressed that Barisan National is able to build a strong and stable government that is also multiculturally diverse with the support from Malaysians. However, this piece of news did not include the viewpoint of Pakatan National or other parties.
The reason behind this can be explained through the ownership of the Star. In 2010, MCA announced that they has bought a 42% stake in Star for RM1.28 billion and was in the process of maintaining its beneficial interests in the Star. Therefore, it is possible that the MCA spread its propaganda through the Star. On the contrary, Malaymail is an independent online newspaper that strives to report the changes in a balanced and non-partisan manner. It aims to give readers and all Malaysians a wider perspective of what is going on in the country. Therefore, the editor of Malaymail might make a careful consideration before selecting the news.
Moreover, the target audience of the news website might affect the selection of the news of each news website. The Star is the country’s top English news portal which aims at reporting Malaysian news to the world. A lot of Malaysians are consuming news from the Star every day, therefore, the local political news might be the information that the readers are interested in especially before the election. On the other hand, although Malaymail also publishes news all around Malaysia, its main target audience is the professionals, managers, executives and businessmen so the news selection priority might be different.
However, this is not a piece of responsible news because, in order to ensure fairness, the reporters should make sure that all stories are slanted in favour of the common good. When issues have multiple sides, all are given a chance to make their best case. It will be better if the editor shows a bigger picture by including different viewpoints in the news.
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