Kebebasan Media - Fungsi dan Impak Media Alternatif terhadap Masyarakat Cina di Malaysia Freedom of Media - The Function and Impact of Alternative Media on Chinese Community in Malaysia

Abstract

Abstrak
Sebahagian besar media arus perdana di Malaysia berada di bawah kawalan parti politik sama ada secara langsung atau tidak langsung. Pakatan sulit antara politik dan bidang perniagaan telah menyekat kebebasan bersuara dan kebebasan media yang berada di bawah pengawasan kerajaan. Memandangkan isu-isu seperti kebebasan media kian mendapat perhatian daripada masyarakat Cina menjelang abad ke-21, media alternatif telah muncul sebagai saingan kepada media arus perdana. Media alternatif dianggap sebagai saluran informasi baru yang dapat mencabar pemusatan kuasa media perdana. Di bawah keadaan kebebasan akhbar yang kian terhakis, fungsi sosial media semakin lenyap. Kemunculan media alternatif telah memperuntukkan satu ruang tambahan kepada masyarakat Cina untuk mendapat berita yang mengalami pengendalian yang berbeza daripada media arus perdana. Antaranya, ‘Malaysiakini’ dan ‘Merdeka Review’ sebagai media alternatif telah membuat penghuraian dan perbincangan isu dan berita melalui pelbagai perspektif. Masyarakat Cina mendapat maklumat tambahan mengenai masalah sosial melalui saluran
media alternatif ini. Jadi, kertas kajian ini membincangkan kemunculan media alternatif dan fungsi serta impaknya terhadap masyarakat Cina.

Abstract
Most of the mainstream media in Malaysia are under control of political parties either directly or indirectly. The coalition between politics and business has blocked the freedom of speech and media under government control. In twenty-first century, with the freedom of media and other related issues have gradually draw attention of the Malaysian Chinese community, the rising alternative media has contended against the mainstream media. Alternative media is regarded as a new information channel that can challenge the centralization of the power of media. Under the limited freedom of press, the social media’s function is getting lost. The emergence of alternative media has provided an additional platform for the Chinese community to get news in perspectives different from mainstream media. Among them, ‘Malaysiakini’ and ‘Merdeka Review’ analyze
and discuss issues and news through various perspectives. Through the alternative media, the Chinese community can get more information about social issues. Therefore, this paper will explore the function and impact of alternative media on Chinese community.