Abstract
The studies of framing have been so far focusing on the analysis of media effects or the frame-setting process. Comparatively, the process of building media frames that takes place in the newsrooms has received meagre attention from the scholars. And traditionally, most of the studies that investigate frame-building process have their attention centred on the internal factors, including newsroom practices and characteristics of the journalist. External factors, especially the interaction between media and news sources, are thus far being overlooked. On that account, this study seeks to examine the influences of the above two variables on frame-building process through examination of a contemporary issue in Malaysia – teaching Mathematics and Science in English. The scrutiny of the role of news sources in the process of frame-building may contribute significantly to the knowledge of framing studies. Based on the 1,156 units of analysis collected from five Malaysian Chinese dailies, the study’s findings show that news sources or frame sponsors are comparatively more influential in the frame-building process.
Highlights
Like it or not, we are living in the era of information overload
Teaching and learning of Mathematics and Science in English (PPSMI: pengajian dan pembelajaran sains dan matematik dalam Bahasa Ingeris in Malay), is one of such issues that has getting on the nerves of many Malaysians from different ethnicity, including the Chinese community
United Malay National Organisation (UMNO) is the political party that dominates the ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional (BN). It took less than two weeks for the government to announce a rather disputed education policy that required all primary schools in Malaysia to teach Mathematics and Science subjects purely in English starting 2003
Summary
We are living in the era of information overload. Each day, mass audiences are bombarded with thousands of information in various media formats and forms. As noted by McCombs & Shaw (1972) in the Chapel Hill study (during the 1968 United States presidential election), news media are capable of telling the audience “what to think about” by highlighting on the salient issues throughout a period of time This discovery has given birth to the Agenda Setting Theory and set the milestone for the mass communication studies. UMNO is the political party that dominates the ruling coalition of Barisan Nasional (BN) It took less than two weeks for the government to announce a rather disputed education policy that required all primary schools in Malaysia to teach Mathematics and Science subjects purely in English starting 2003. Seeing the strong objection from the Chinese community and the appeal of the BN Chinese-based component parties, Malaysian government had agreed for Chinese national-type primary schools to use Mandarin along with English in teaching Mathematics and Science
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