Article published in:
Strategic Communication: Beyond nation cultural adaption, images and identity
Edited by Hassan Abu Bakar and Bahtiar Bin Mohamad
[Journal of Asian Pacific Communication 28:1] 2018
► pp. 172–194

Understanding online consumption of public affairs news in Malaysia

A strategic approach

| Universiti Sains Malaysia
| Universiti Sains Malaysia
| Universiti Sains Malaysia
Evidence from past news research suggested that people are less interested to read hard news including public affairs news. Focusing on Malaysia, this study examines the role of demographic variables, mobile and social media use for news, perceived news credibility and users’ motivations for news in explaining online consumption of public affairs news in the setting which is known for its tight media control. An online survey was employed to collect data from Malaysian Internet users, aged between 18 and 64, who regularly read news online. Data were analyzed using multiple regression. The findings of the study suggest that digital immigrants, or older news users, are more likely to consume public affairs news than young ones. Malaysians read public affairs news which they perceive to be highly credible to fulfill their information and social needs. News organizations in Malaysia can use these findings to design a strategic approach for a more competitive news industry.
Published online: 19 January 2018
https://doi.org/10.1075/japc.00009.oma
References

References

Anuar, M. K.
(2007) Politics and the Media in Malaysia. Kasarinlan: Philippine Journal of Third World Studies, 20(1), 25–47.Google Scholar
Arnett, J. J.
(1995) Adolescents’ uses of media for self-socialization. Journal of youth and adolescence, 24(5), 519–533. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Attkisson, S., & Vaughan, D. R.
(2003) Writing right for broadcast and Internet news. Boston: Allyn & Bacon.Google Scholar
Babbie, E. R.
(2017) The basics of social research. Boston, MA: Cengage Learning.Google Scholar
Bachmann, I., Kaufhold, K., Lewis, S. C., & Gil de Zúñiga, H.
(2010) News platform preference: Advancing the effects of age and media consumption on political participation. International Journal of Internet Science, 5(1), 34–47.Google Scholar
Bakshy, E., Messing, S., & Adamic, L. A.
(2015) Exposure to ideologically diverse news and opinion on Facebook. Science, 348(6239), 1130–1132. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Baltar, F., & Brunet, I.
(2012) Social research 2.0: virtual snowball sampling method using Facebook. internet Research, 22(1), 57–74. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Baum, M. A., & Jamison, A. S.
(2006) The Oprah effect: How soft news helps inattentive citizens vote consistently. The Journal of Politics, 68(4), 946–959. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Becker, L. B.
(1979) Measurement of gratifications. Communication Research, 6, 54–73. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Becker, L. B., & Kosicki, G. M.
(1995) Understanding the message-producer/message-receiver transaction. Research in Political Sociology, 7, 33–62.Google Scholar
Blekesaune, A., Elvestad, A., & Aalberg, T.
(2012) Tuning out the world of news and current affairs: An empirical study of Europe’s disconnected citizens. European Sociological Review, 28(1), 110–126. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Blumler, J. G.
(1979) The role of theory in uses and gratifications studies. Communication Research, 6, 9–36. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Bryman, A.
(2016) Social research methods. United Kingdom: Oxford University Press.Google Scholar
Chan, M.
(2015) Examining the influences of news use patterns, motivations, and age cohort on mobile news use: The case of Hong Kong. Mobile Media & Communication, 3(2), 179–195. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chan-Olmsted, S., Rim, H., & Zerba, A.
(2013) Mobile news adoption among young adults examining the roles of perceptions, news consumption, and media usage. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 90(1), 126–147. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chiagouris, L., Long, M. M., & Plank, R. E.
(2008) The consumption of online news: The relationship of attitudes toward the site and credibility. Journal of Internet Commerce, 7(4), 528–549. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Choi, S., & Kim, J.
(2016) Online news flow: Temporal/spatial exploitation and credibility. Journalism, 1–22.Google Scholar
Chung, C. J., Nam, Y., & Stefanone, M. A.
(2012) Exploring online news credibility: The relative influence of traditional and technological factors. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 17(2), 171–186. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Chung, D. S., & Yoo, C. Y.
(2008) Audience motivations for using interactive features: Distinguishing use of different types of interactivity on an online newspaper. Mass Communication and Society, 11(4), 375–397. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Crispin, S.
(2011) Attracting young readers – tactics for engagement. Retrieved from Christchurch, New Zealand: http://​www​.canterbury​.ac​.nz​/media​/documents​/reports​/Shanna​-Crispin​_robert​_bell​_report​_nov11​.pdf
Deci, E. L., & Ryan, R. M.
(1985) Instrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York: Plenum. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Dutta-Bergman, M. J.
(2004) Complementarity in consumption of news types across traditional and new media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 48(1), 41–60. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
ElAbd, D.
(2015) Credibility of online political news among Egyptian youth. (Master of Arts), The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt. Retrieved from http://​dar​.aucegypt​.edu​/handle​/10526​/4521
Freeman, K. S.
(2013) News consumption behavior of young adults in Malaysia. International Journal of Social Science and Humanity, 3(2), 121–124. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Garrett, R. K.
(2009) Echo chambers online?: Politically motivated selective exposure among Internet news users. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 14(2), 265–285. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ghazali, A. H. A., & Omar, S. Z.
(2014) Mobile news: What kind of information needed by youth? Journal of Media Critique. Retrieved from http://​mediacritiques​.net​/index​.php​/jmc​/article​/viewFile​/35​/21
Ghersetti, M., & Westlund, O.
(2016) Habits and Generational Media Use. Journalism Studies, 1–20. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gil de Zúñiga, H., Jung, N., & Valenzuela, S.
(2012) Social media use for news and individuals’ social capital, civic engagement and political participation. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 17(3), 319–336. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Gillin, P.
(2014) Chronicling the decline of newspapers and the rebirth of journalism. Newspaper Death Watch. Retrieved from http://​newspaperdeathwatch​.com/
Go, E., You, K. H., Jung, E., & Shim, H.
(2016) Why do we use different types of websites and assign them different levels of credibility? Structural relations among users’ motives, types of websites, information credibility, and trust in the press. Computers in Human Behavior, 54, 231–239. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hamzah, S. R., Suandi, T., Krauss, S. E., Hamzah, A., & Tamam, E.
(2014) Youth hedonistic behaviour: Moderating role of peer attachment on the effect of religiosity and worldview. International Journal of Adolescence and Youth, 19(4), 419–433. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hanson, G., & Haridakis, P.
(2008) YouTube users watching and sharing the news: A uses and gratifications approach. Journal of Electronic Publishing, 11(3). CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Hermida, A., Fletcher, F., Korell, D., & Logan, D.
(2012) Share, like, recommend: Decoding the social media news consumer. Journalism Studies, 13(5–6), 815–824. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Internet Live Stats
(2016) Malaysia Internet Users. Retrieved October 24, 2016, from Internet Live Stats http://​www​.internetlivestats​.com​/internet​-users​/malaysia/
Ismail, N., Ahmad, J., Noor, S. M., & Saw, J.
(2017) Understanding youth’s usage of social media during natural disasters: An application of the social mediated crisis communication model. Paper presented at the The 5th International SEARCH Conference, Taylor’s University Kuala Lumpur.
Johnson, T. J., & Kaye, B. K.
(1998) Cruising is believing?: Comparing Internet and traditional sources on media credibility measures. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 75(2), 325–340. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2014) Credibility of social network sites for political information among politically interested Internet users. Journal of Computer‐Mediated Communication, 19(4), 957–974. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kaye, B. K., & Johnson, T. J.
(2002) Online and in the know: Uses and gratifications of the web for political information. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 46(1), 54–71. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Keat, K. Y. W.
(2014) The slow death of newspapers. Inksight. Retrieved from http://​inksight​.iact​.edu​.my​/the​-slow​-death​-of​-newspapers/
Kenyon, A. T.
(2010) Investigating chilling effects: News media and public speech in Malaysia, Singapore and Australia. International Journal of Communication, 4, 28.Google Scholar
Keyton, J.
(2015) Communication Research: Asking Questions, Finding Answers (4th ed.). New York: McGraw-Hill Education.Google Scholar
Korgaonkar, P. K., & Wolin, L. D.
(1999) A multivariate analysis of web usage. Journal of Advertising Research, 39, 53–68.Google Scholar
Krejcie, R. V., & Morgan, D. W.
(1970) Determining sample size for research activities. Educational and Psychological Measurement, 30(3), 607–610. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ksiazek, T. B., Malthouse, E. C., & Webster, J. G.
(2010) News-seekers and avoiders: Exploring patterns of total news consumption across media and the relationship to civic participation. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 54(4), 551–568. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Kwak, N., Campbell, S. W., Choi, J., & Bae, S. Y.
(2011) Mobile communication and public affairs engagement in Korea: An examination of non-linear relationships between mobile phone use and engagement across age groups. Asian Journal of Communication, 21(5), 485–503. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lee, S. H.
(2015) News Engagement Versus News Consumption: Does Online News Use Promote Civic Engagement? Electronic News, 9(2), 75–90. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Lenhart, A., Purcell, K., Smith, A., & Zickuhr, K.
(2010) Social Media & Mobile Internet Use Among Teens and Young Adults. Retrieved from http://​files​.eric​.ed​.gov​/fulltext​/ED525056​.pdf
Li, R., & Suh, A.
(2015) Factors influencing information credibility on social media platforms: Evidence from facebook pages. Procedia computer science, 72(2015), 314–328. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission
(2017) Internet Users Survey 2016. Retrieved from Cyberjaya, Selangor: https://​www​.mcmc​.gov​.my​/skmmgovmy​/media​/General​/pdf​/IUS2016​.pdf
Metzger, M. J., Pure, R., Flanagin, A. J., Markov, A., Medders, R., & Hartsell, E.
(2012) The special case of youth and digital information credibility. In M. Folk, S. Apostel, & (Eds.), Online credibility and digital ethos: Evaluating computer-mediated communication. Hershey PA: IGI Global.Google Scholar
Mitchell, A.
(2016) Young adults more likely than their elders to prefer reading news. Retrieved from Pew Research Center website: http://​www​.pewresearch​.org​/fact​-tank​/2016​/10​/06​/younger​-adults​-more​-likely​-than​-their​-elders​-to​-prefer​-reading​-news/
Mitchell, A., Gottfried, J., & Matsa, K. E.
(2015) Political interest and awareness lower among millennials. Retrieved from http://​www​.journalism​.org​/2015​/06​/01​/political​-interest​-and​-awareness​-lower​-among​-millennials/
Mitchelstein, E., & Boczkowski, P. J.
(2010) Online news consumption research: An assessment of past work and an agenda for the future. New Media & Society, 12(7), 1085–1102. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani, & Knocks Tapiwa Zengeni
(2010 5–8 July 2010) Democratisation in Malaysia: The impact of social media in the 2008 general election. Paper presented at the 18th Biennial Conference of the Asian Studies Association of Australia, Adelaide, Australia.
Mohd Safar, H.
(2003) Circulation of Malaysian newspapers: A decade of mixed fotune. Jurnal Komunikasi, 19(1), 79–98.Google Scholar
Mohd Yahya, M. A., & Noor Ismawati, J.
(2009) Online newspaper in Malaysia: A preliminary study. Jurnal Pengajian Media Malaysia, 11(1), 83–94.Google Scholar
Nguyen, A.
(2003) The current status and potential development of online news consumption: A structural approach. First Monday, 8(9). Retrieved from http://​firstmonday​.org​/ojs​/index​.php​/fm​/article​/viewArticle​/1075​/995 – author Crossref
(2010) Harnessing the potential of online news: Suggestions from a study on the relationship between online news advantages and its post-adoption consequences. Journalism, 11(2), 223–241. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Niinsalu, J.
(2016) The role of trust in long distance computer mediated communication: A study on Skype. (Master Degree), Tallinn University.Google Scholar
O’Brien, H., & Freund, L.
(2014) What motivates the online news browser? news item selection in a social information seeking scenario. Information research, 19(3).Google Scholar
Omar, Bahiyah
(2014) Immediacy gratification in online news consumption and its relation to motivation, orientation and elaboration of news. Procedia: Social and Behavioral Sciences, 155(i), 405–411.Google Scholar
Papacharissi, Z., & Rubin, A. M.
(2000) Predictors of Internet use. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 44(2), 175–196. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Patterson, T. E.
(2000) Doing well and going good: How soft news and critical journalism are shrinking the news audience and weakening democrcy-and what news outlets can do about it. Retrieved from http://​www​.mega​.nu​/ampp​/patterson​_news​_analysis​.pdf
Pew Research Center
(2004) News Audiences Increasingly Politicized Choice of President Matters More in 2004. Retrieved from http://​www​.people​-press​.org​/2004​/06​/08​/news​-audiences​-increasingly​-politicized/
(2010) Global publics embrace social networking. Retrieved from http://​www​.pewinternet​.org​/2010​/12​/15​/global​-publics​-embrace​-social​-networking/
(2012) In Changing News Landscape, Even Television is Vulnerable. Trends in News Consumption: 1991–2012 Retrieved from http://​www​.people​-press​.org​/2012​/09​/27​/in​-changing​-news​-landscape​-even​-television​-is​-vulnerable/
Prensky, M.
(2001) Digital Natives, Digital Immigrants Part 1. On the Horizon, 9(5), 1–6. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Ramirez, A., Walther, J. B., Burgoon, J. K., & Sunnafrank, M.
(2002) Information‐seeking strategies, uncertainty, and computer‐mediated communication. Human communication research, 28(2), 213–228.Google Scholar
Reeve, J.
(1997) Understanding motivation and emotion (2nd ed.). Texas: Harcourt Brace College Publishers.Google Scholar
Salman, A., Ibrahim, F., Abdullah, M. Y. H., Mustaffa, N., & Mahbob, M. H.
(2011) The impact of new media on traditional mainstream mass media. The Innovation Journal: The Public Sector Innovation Journal, 16(3), 1–11.Google Scholar
Samani, M. C., Maliki, J., Rahim, M. H. A., Rahman, M. P. A., & Mustaffa, N.
(2015) The media agenda of the new and traditional media in Malaysia: Constructing realities. e-BANGI, 10(1), 48–57.Google Scholar
Scacco, J. M., Muddiman, A., & Stroud, N. J.
(2016) The influence of online quizes on the acquisition of public affairs knowledge. Journal of Information Technology & Politics, 13(4), 311–325. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Shah, D. V., Kwak, N., & Holbert, R. L.
(2001) “Connecting” and “disconnecting” with civic life: Patterns of Internet use and the production of social capital. Political Communication, 18(2), 141–162. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Shen, F., Lu, Y., Guo, S., & Zhou, B.
(2011) News media use, credibility, and efficacy: An analysis of media participation intention in China. Chinese Journal of Communication, 4(4), 475–495. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Slattery, K., Doremus, M., & Marcus, L.
(2001) Shifts in public affairs reporting on the network evening news: A move toward the sensational. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 45(2), 290–302. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sousa, S., Dias, P., & Lamas, D.
(2014) A model for human-computer trust: a key contribution for leveraging trustful interactions. Paper presented at the 9th Iberian Conference on Information Systems and Technologies (CISTI), Barcelona, Spain. Crossref
Stafford, T. F., Stafford, M. R., & Schkade, L. L.
(2004) Determining uses and gratifications for the Internet. Decision Sciences, 35(2), 259–288. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sundar, S. S.
(1999) Exploring receivers’ criteria for perception of print and online news. Journalism & Mass Communication Quarterly, 76(2), 373–386. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sundar, S. S., & Limperos, A. M.
(2013) Uses and Grats 2.0: New gratifications for new media. Journal of Broadcasting & Electronic Media, 57(4), 504–525. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Sveningsson, M.
(2015) “It’s Only a Pastime, Really”: Young people’s experiences of social media as a source of news about public affairs. Social Media+ Society, 1(2), 1–11.Google Scholar
Tewksbury, D.
(2003) What do Americans really want to know? Tracking the behavior of news readers on the Internet. Journal of communication, 53(4), 694–710. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
The Statistics Portal
(2017) Internet penetration in Asia as of March 2017, by country. Retrieved from https://​www​.statista​.com​/statistics​/281668​/internet​-penetration​-in​-southeast​-asian​-countries/
(2017) Number of internet users in Malaysia from 2015 to 2021 (in millions). Retrieved from https://​www​.statista​.com​/statistics​/553752​/number​-of​-internet​-users​-in​-malaysia/
Thorson, K., Vraga, E., & Ekdale, B.
(2010) Credibility in context: How uncivil online commentary affects news credibility. Mass Communication & Society, 13(3), 289–313. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wei, R., & Lo, V. -h.
(2015) News on the Move: Predictors of mobile news consumption and engagement among Chinese mobile phone users. Electronic News, 9(3), 177–194. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Wei, R., Lo, V. -h., Xu, X., Chen, Y. -N. K., & Zhang, G.
(2014) Predicting mobile news use among college students: The role of press freedom in four Asian cities. New Media & Society, 16(4), 637–654. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Weiss, M. L.
(2012) Politics in cyberspace: New media in Malaysia. Berlin, Germany: Friedrich-Ebert-Stiftung.Google Scholar
Westlund, O.
(2007) The adoption of mobile media by young adults in Sweden. In Goggin, Gerald, & Hjorth, Larissa (Eds.), Mobile Media 2007. Sydney, Australia: University of Sydney.Google Scholar
(2008) From mobile phone to mobile device: News consumption on the go. Canadian Journal of Communication, 33(3), 443. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
(2013) Mobile news: A review and model of journalism in an age of mobile media. Digital Journalism, 1(1), 6–26. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Westlund, O., & Weibull, L.
(2013) Generation, life course and news media use in Sweden 1986–2011. Northern Lights: Film & Media Studies Yearbook, 11(1), 147–173. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Yang, J., & Patwardhan, P.
(2004) Determinants of Internet news use: A structural equation model approach. Web Journal of Mass Communication Research, 8(1), 1–19.Google Scholar
Yoo, C. Y.
(2011) Modeling audience interactivity as the gratification‐seeking process in online newspapers. Communication Theory, 21(1), 67–89. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
You, K. H., Lee, S. A., Lee, J. K., & Kang, H.
(2013) Why read online news? the structural relationships among motivations, behaviors, and consumption in South Korea. Information, Communication & Society, 16(10), 1574–1595. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Yuan, E.
(2011) News consumption across multiple media platforms: A repertoire approach. Information, Communication & Society, 14(7), 998–1016. CrossrefGoogle Scholar
Cited by

Cited by other publications

Chan-Olmsted, Sylvia & Rang Wang
2020. Understanding podcast users: Consumption motives and behaviors. New Media & Society ► pp. 146144482096377 ff. Crossref logo
Omar, Bahiyah, Hosam Al-Samarraie & Bianca Wright
2020. Immediacy as news experience: exploring its multiple dimensions in print and online contexts. Online Information Review ahead-of-print:ahead-of-print Crossref logo

This list is based on CrossRef data as of 02 january 2021. Please note that it may not be complete. Sources presented here have been supplied by the respective publishers. Any errors therein should be reported to them.