Political Effects of Blogs in Malaysia

As part of its efforts to promote Malaysia as a regional hub of information technology, the government had an informal policy of not censoring the Internet (George 2006; Tan and Zawawi 2008). Thus, Malaysia does not completely control all forms of media. Independent news sites such as Malaysiakini and individual bloggers such as Raja Petra Kamarudin were able to voice anti-government opinions, and a greater diversity of political opinion was made public. It could have been this increased freedom of speech that led to increased participation in and support for opposition politics.

Blogs in an Agenda-Setting Model

The first, favored by political communications scholars such as Lenart (1994) and McCombs (2004), simply views the Internet and blogs as an example of a mass medium. This mechanism emphasizes media effects, such as agenda setting, on public opinion and voting behaviors. Through a process of diffusion, information that is first published by bloggers, for example, allegations of government corruption, is also picked up by the mainstream media in spite of the government's attempts to control published content. To avoid having their printing licenses revoked, traditional news media prefer to self-censor and refuse to break such stories, but bloggers self-publish. Once a blog has given sufficient coverage to a subject, print media can publish articles on the subject with less fear of being accused of starting the fire. Thus, the topic that the politician-blogger raised is now being circulated by mainstream media.

Blogs as a Social Setting

A second way that blogs may shape the public agenda is by serving as a setting for social and political discourse and allowing the public to develop a personal relationship with the blogger. Unlike other broadcast media, the Internet allows its audience to talk back and interact with both content creators and other content consumers, which could be an important aspect of its influence on voting behavior (Perlmutter 2008). Instead of having to write and mail a letter to the editor, blog readers are able to instantly voice and share their opinions. Generally, blogs give readers an evolving insight into the blogger's attitudes and opinions more than a single press release. By releasing new content regularly, bloggers encourage return visits to their blogs and provide fodder for social discourse, increasing their influence. It follows that by providing a natural link between media exposure and interpersonal communication, blogs should increase the effects of information flow on public opinion, insofar as such effects exist.

Blogs as a Means of Collective Mobilization

The third mechanism is best understood by considering socio-political blogging in Malaysia, at least on the part of the opposition, as a means of collective mobilization. Many first-time opposition candidates in this election started their political careers as bloggers and social activists. While the Internet remains uncensored, opposition bloggers are taking this opportunity to use it to garner support and mobilize resources, for example, to raise funds for their election campaigns. They have used blogs to distribute information not otherwise available, to promote their political platforms and agendas, and to organize collective action, such as announcing rallies and other public events. Popular bloggers may take advantage of their high status with microblogs (e.g. Twitter), which consist of much more abbreviated content (usually 140 characters or less) that dispense with political debate in favor of brief announcements.

http://www.cprsouth.org/wp-content/uploads/drupal/Rachel%20Gong.pdf  Political effects of blogs in Malaysia. (Rachel Gong) Retrieved on 4th March 2012