Wednesday, February 7, 2023
12:30 PM – 2:00 PM EST
Lindner Family Commons Room 602
Elliott School of International Affairs
1957 E Street NW Washington, D.C. 20052
And Online
The Elliott School Book Launch Series, School of Media and Public Affairs, and Sigur Center for Asian Studies invite you to the book launch for Malaysiakini and the Power of Independent Media in Malaysia, the newest book by GWU Professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs Janet Steele.
This will be a hybrid, on the record, recorded event. Guests are welcome to join us in-person at the Elliott School of International Affairs or online via Zoom. Please register for more information on attending the event.
Light snacks will be provided.
About the Agenda:
- 12:30pm, Welcoming Remarks from Dean of the Elliott School of International Affairs, Alyssa Ayres
- 12:35pm, Book Talk by Author Janet Steele
- 1:05pm, Q&A with the Audience
About the Book:
Malaysiakini and the Power of Independent Media in Malaysia, chronicles the success of Malaysia’s only truly independent media outlet. Founded in 1999 by Steven Gan and Premesh Chandran, Malaysiakini was one of many online portals that sprung up in the wake of Reformasi, a period of public protests sparked by Prime Minister Mahathir Mohammad’s 1998 firing of his deputy Anwar Ibrahim. At first, there was no reason to think that Malaysiakini would be anything momentous. However, Malaysiakini wanted to do something much more important than just reporting on Reformasi—its founders intended to bring independent journalism to Malaysia in hopes of changing the country for the better.
Based on more than fifteen years of observation of Malaysiakini’s newsroom practices, Malaysiakini and the Power of Independent Media in Malaysia is an intimate portrait of the people and issues behind Malaysia’s only truly independent media outlet. Steele illustrates Malaysiakini’s unique mix of idealism in action, studying how sensitive issues such as race, religion, politics, and citizenship are discussed in the newsroom. This attention to the inner workings of one of the most important media institutions in the region yields not only a deep newsroom ethnography but a nuanced, rich history of modern Malaysia.
About the Author:
Janet Steele is professor of Media and Public Affairs and International Affairs, and the interim director of the Sigur Center for Asian Studies. She received her Ph.D. in History from the Johns Hopkins University, and focuses on how culture is communicated through the mass media.
Dr. Steele is a frequent visitor to Southeast Asia where she lectures on topics ranging from the role of the press in a democratic society to specialized courses on narrative journalism. Awarded two Fulbright teaching and research grants to Indonesia and a third to Serbia, she has served as a State Department speaker-specialist in Indonesia, Malaysia, Vietnam, Cambodia, Brunei, the Philippines, East Timor, Taiwan, Burma, Sudan, Egypt, India, Bangladesh, Jamaica, and Kosovo.
Steele is the author of numerous articles on journalism theory and practice and multiple monographs. Her 2005 book, Wars Within: The Story of Tempo, an Independent Magazine in Soeharto’s Indonesia, examines Tempo magazine and its relationship to the politics and culture of New Order Indonesia. In 2014 she authored, Email Dari Amerika, (Email from America), a collection of newspaper columns written in Indonesian and originally published in the newspaper Surya. Her 2018 book, Mediating Islam, Cosmopolitan Journalisms in Muslim Southeast Asia examines day-to-day reporting practices of Muslim professionals, from conservative scripturalists to pluralist cosmopolitans, at five exemplary news organizations in Malaysia and Indonesia.
