MEDIA COVERAGE NEEDS TO BE FAIR AND BALANCED

From The Straits Times

If you were residing in the US, you would either be suffering from campaign ad nauseum or from election fever. The relentless blitz of media coverage of the elections is finally coming to an end. Today US citizens go to the polls.

What strikes me most about the run-up to the US elections is how both presidential candidates are given equal media exposure, whether on TV, radio or in print. There are up to the minute polls that reflect public opinion on issues that would affect their choice of candidates - Obama or Romney.

From The Straits Times

In the 2011 Singapore elections, the Straits Times and other local media gave coverage to candidates from the ruling party as well as from the opposition, with the ruling party enjoying a slight edge in terms of media time and space.

The Students' Political Association of the National University of Singapore recently conducted an online survey to find out students' views on certain key issues affecting Singaporeans. 400 undergrads took the survey. The results were published in The Straits Times today.

From NST

To my knowledge, opposition candidates in Malaysia are rarely seen or mentioned in the local mainstream media (MSM). The exception is opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim. The New Straits Times (NST) has a daily column featuring a past quote from him. I am assuming the aim is to discredit him and show him up as inconsistent in what he says.

My point is this, will Malaysians ever see a fair and balanced coverage of candidates in the coming elections? Or do we have to resort to online alternative media to know more about opposition candidates?

Will the MSM have the courage to conduct polls to rate the present government's handling of major issues such as poverty eradication, corruption and education?

Malaysians probably know the answers.