Cherian George & Gayathry Venkiteswaran
Authors, Media and Power in Southeast Asia
Janet Steele
Author, Mediating Islam: Cosmopolitan Journalisms in Muslim Southeast Asia
Southeast Asian states have ceded more space to media in recent decades, resulting in pluralisation of public discourse and openings for citizen participation and the expression of professional norms. No country in the region, however, has become a liberal democracy. In this seminar, the authors of two recent books shed light on the state of journalism in Southeast Asia, focusing mainly on Indonesia, Malaysia, Myanmar and Singapore. Cherian George and Gayathry Venkiteswaran argue that the development of free, independent, and plural media has been complicated by trends towards commercialisation, digital platforms, and identity-based politics. Janet Steele probes how journalists in the region understand and practise their vocation, arguing that Muslim journalists draw on their religious beliefs in ways that defy stereotypes.