Comprehensive Study Notes on Public Journalism and Asian Development Journalism

Overview of Public Journalism vs. Asian Development Journalism

• General Context: Journalism is currently being challenged by new perspectives regarding the role of journalists in society. Specifically, this involves a shift toward being more involved with people.
• The Two Models:
  • US Public Journalism: Rose in the $1990\text{s}$; focuses on social issues, gender, civil rights, and poverty.
  • Asian Development Journalism: Rose in the $1970\text{s}$; focuses on national development issues, infrastructure, and poverty.
• Primary Question: Which journalism model serves a wider public sphere?

Case Studies in Asian Development Journalism: Sabah, Malaysia

• Government Infrastructure Investment:
  • The Madani government allocated $RM2.17 \text{ billion}$ under the $13\text{th}$ Malaysia Plan ($13\text{MP}$) for $39$ strategic projects in Sandakan.
  • Minister Datuk Mustapha Sakmud stated the allocation under Rolling Plan $1$ ($RP1$) covers road infrastructure, water supply, education, security, and environmental conservation.
• Pan Borneo Highway Development:
  • Phase $1\text{A}$ packages expected to open in $2026$ to ease traffic around Kota Kinabalu.
  • Specific work packages includes: $PK1$ (Sindumin to Kampung Melalia), $PK3$ (Beaufort to Bongawan), $PK4$ (Bongawan to Papar), $PK7$ (Inanam to Sepanggar), $PK8$ (Sepanggar to Berungis), $PK10$ (Pituru to Rampayan Laut), $PK11$ (Kampung Maya to Baungon), $PK29$ (Moynod to Sapi Nangoh), and $PK30$ (Sapi Nangoh to Telupid).
• Infrastructure Failure and Rural Struggle:
  • Beaufort and Tenom: Reports from $\text{August } 18, 2019$, highlight the Lumadan-Sipitang road as dangerous and sunken. Maintenance on the left lane of the Lumadan-Bukau stretch was reportedly ignored by the Public Works Department ($JKR$).
  • Kampung Pangi (Tenom): Residents defy bans on handmade trolleys on railway tracks because there are no connecting roads. These trolleys are the primary mode for transporting patients to hospitals. Village chief Udin Bangkiwoh requested increased train frequency from $JKNS$ (Jabatan Keretapi Negeri Sabah).
  • Anecdote: Andreas Pikan, a resident, credited a handmade trolley with saving his son's life during an asthma attack on $\text{February } 7, 2012$.
  • Pitas District: Over $10,000$ villagers across $20$ villages (including Bongkol, Malubang, Telaga, Liu, Datong) have waited $30 \text{ years}$ for better roads. The $35 \text{ km}$ road is mostly untarred and becomes impassable during the monsoon.
  • Nabawan: Teachers at SK Pengaraan trekked $18 \text{ hours}$ through the night after three bridges collapsed. Children were filmed crossing a dangerous river using a "zipline" method inside a used jerry can.
• Success Stories:
  • Farmers in seven villages in Bingkor (Keningau) received relief after a dam and drainage system were improved by the Drainage and Irrigation Department ($DID$) under Assemblyman Datuk Robert Tawik @ Nordin.

Defining Public Journalism (US Model)

• Jay Rosen’s Framework (1995):
  • Refers to a way of re-evaluating the journalist's role.
  • A set of practices spreading through American journalism.
  • A movement of people and institutions.
• Core Principles (Rosen, 1999):
  1. Journalists must connect with the people.
  2. They must help people engage in public issues and give citizens due attention.
  3. The focus should shift from elite sources to the people.
• Implementation Steps:
  1. Listen systematically to stories and ideas of citizens while maintaining freedom of choice in coverage.
  2. Examine alternative ways to frame stories on community issues.
  3. Choose frames that stimulate citizen deliberation and public understanding.
  4. Report on major problems in ways that advance knowledge of solutions.
  5. Pay continuous attention to communication credibility with the public.
• Motivation (Nip, 2006): Public journalism emerged as a movement in $1993$ in the US because citizens were reading less news and becoming disinterested in community issues.
• Goal: Enhance the society's ability to act upon reported news (Rosen et al., $1997$).

Global Examples of Public Journalism in Print

• The Independent (UK): Education leaders calling on the government to reopen pay discussions following a recommended $6.5\%$ pay rise for teachers.
• Daily Telegraph (UK): Michael Gove (Housing Secretary) acknowledging that the housing crisis cost the Conservative party votes.
• Washington Post (US): Reporting on a D.C. police officer arrested for assault.
• New York Post (US): Reporting on pro-choice activists (Ruth Sent Us) calling for Mother's Day protests at Catholic churches following the leaked Supreme Court draft opinion on $Roe \text{ v. } Wade$.
• CNN (US): Coverage of the Supreme Court's $5-4$ ruling legalizing same-sex marriage nationwide in $2015$, despite $13$ states still having bans at the time. By $2020$, support for same-sex marriage reached a high of $70\%$.

Defining Development Journalism (Asian Model)

• Foundational Context: In developing countries, journalists are seen as agents of community development (Wong, $2004$).
• Key Definitions:
  • Wimmer & Wolf (2005): News about ideas, programs, and activities related to enhancing the quality of living for rural people.
  • Aggarwala (1979): Journalists must critically evaluate the relevance of development projects to the nation's interest.
  • Kunczik (1995): Reporting is only essential if it leads to development and improved quality of living.
  • Hemant Shah (1996): Media plays a constructive role by criticizing the government and educating the people on the impact of national programs.
• Conceptual Assumptions:
  • Journalism influences development by reporting on programs.
  • Based on Modernization Theory ($1960\text{s}$) viewing communication as a tool for social change.
  • Often seen as "top-down" (Shafer, $1998$), where journalists disseminate government policy.
• Five Aspects of Reporting (Aggarwala / Kunezik):
  1. Reporting the gap between planned implementation and actual implementation.
  2. Focusing on long-term development.
  3. Maintaining media freedom to provide constructive criticism.
  4. Cooperating with the government on social/economic development.
  5. Encouraging ordinary people to improve their lives.

Five Roles of the Development Journalist

1. Nation-builders: Media acts as an agent to mobilize national development.
2. Government Partners: Identifying weaknesses in policy implementation while supporting (not questioning) the underlying policies.
3. Agents of Empowerment: Encouraging ordinary people to change their lives, focusing on the marginalized rather than elites.
4. Watchdogs: Monitoring government performance with transparent reporting.
5. Guardians of Transparency: Emerged post-$1997/98$ Asian financial crisis; ensures good governance in financial and government institutions.

Comparison: Public vs. Development Journalism

• Similarities:
  • Both emphasize involvement with citizens and using them as news sources.
  • Both aim to empower people to demand development or better governance.
  • Both act as watchdogs for the public interest.
  • Both prioritize public needs over elite interests.
• Key Differences:
  • News Sources: Asian Development Journalism still covers elite groups (Ministers) to promote programs; Public Journalism focuses almost exclusively on the people.
  • Freedom and Criticism: Public Journalism is notably more critical and independent. Asian Development Journalism is often strictly regulated by government info-gathering laws.
  • Demographics: Asian Development Journalism focuses heavily on rural development, whereas Public Journalism focuses on broader public engagement.
  • The "Top-Down" Problem: Asian Development Journalism is frequently criticized as "government say-so" journalism (Gunaratne, $1996$), though scholars like Hemant Shah argue it should focus on empowerment and marginalized voices.

Theoretical Critiques and Public Sphere

• Gunaratne’s View: Refutes the notion that Public Journalism is the ideal model. He argues both are concerned with public participation in nation-building within democratic frameworks.
• Objectivity Concerns: Public Journalism in the US is criticized for potentially violating ethics of objectivity when pursuing a social agenda.
• The Public Sphere:
  • Public Journalism: Creates a wider public sphere because it draws audiences together to discuss solutions to national issues (economy, social rights).
  • Asian Development Journalism: Inclined toward a smaller public sphere due to the "partnership with government" which leads to more top-down, positive reporting for the state.

Questions & Discussion

• Question: If Western journalism (the "free and independent" libertarian type) had truly won, why did the public journalism movement need to arise in the $1990\text{s}$? (Gunaratne, $1996$).
• Discussion on Press Libertarianism: The US system is also flawed; journalists may ignore "bottom-up" stories, leading to decreased readership. The media must play a mediating role between the people and the government to be effective.