A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Media Discourses in Australia and Malaysia
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Media Portrayal of Ageing: A Cross-Cultural Comparison of Media Discourses in Australia and Malaysia Muhammad Asim Imran BA (Mass Communication), MA (Mass Communication) Media Department, School of Humanities, Faculty of Arts University of Adelaide, AUSTRALIA Submitted in fulfilment of the requirements of the degree of Doctor of Philosophy November 2020 Page 1 of 392 Table of Contents Abstract ................................................................................................................................................... 5 Declaration .............................................................................................................................................. 6 Acknowledgements ................................................................................................................................. 7 Chapter 1: Introduction and background ............................................................................................... 8 1.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................... 8 1.2 Research questions ...................................................................................................................... 10 1.3 Aims/ objectives of the project ................................................................................................... 11 1.4 Significance of the study ............................................................................................................. 11 1.5 Thesis structure: .......................................................................................................................... 13 Chapter 2: Literature review and theoretical framework ...................................................................... 16 2.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................................. 16 2.2 Ageing and ageism ...................................................................................................................... 16 2.3 Ageing in Australia ..................................................................................................................... 19 2.5 Portrayal of ageing in media discourses ..................................................................................... 29 2.6 Ageing and identity ..................................................................................................................... 35 2.7 Journalistic practices ................................................................................................................... 37 2.7.1 Role of journalists .................................................................................................................... 39 a. Roles of Australian journalists: ............................................................................................. 42 b. Roles of Malaysian journalists: ............................................................................................. 43 2.7.2 News values ............................................................................................................................. 46 2.7.2.1 Caple and Bednarek’s approach to news values ............................................................... 50 Chapter 2 Part B: Theoretical framework ............................................................................................. 52 2.8 Fairclough’s critical discourse analysis ...................................................................................... 54 a. Communicative event ................................................................................................................ 56 b. Order of discourse ..................................................................................................................... 57 Chapter 3: Methodology ....................................................................................................................... 60 3.1 Fairclough’s three-dimensional approach ................................................................................... 60 3.1.1 Text analysis – micro analysis ................................................................................................. 61 3.1.2 Discourse practice – meso analysis .......................................................................................... 62 a. Intertextuality ............................................................................................................................ 63 b. Modality .................................................................................................................................... 64 c. Recontextualization ................................................................................................................... 64 3.1.3 Social practice – macro analysis .............................................................................................. 65 3.2 Analysis of the news values ........................................................................................................ 65 3.3 Time frame .................................................................................................................................. 66 3.4 Newspapers as a site of analysis ................................................................................................. 68 Page 2 of 392 3.5 The sampling of newspapers ....................................................................................................... 70 3.5.1 The sampling of newspapers in Australia ................................................................................ 70 3.5.2 The sampling of newspapers in Malaysia ................................................................................ 75 Chapter 4: Media portrayal of ageing in Australia and Malaysia ......................................................... 80 4.1 Findings overview – Australian press ......................................................................................... 80 4.2 Main themes in Australian newspapers: ..................................................................................... 83 4.2.1 The marketization of aged care ................................................................................................ 84 a. Aged care as a commodity: ....................................................................................................... 85 b. The economics of aged care: ..................................................................................................... 92 4.2.2 Politicising aged care ............................................................................................................... 98 a. Quality of aged care ................................................................................................................ 101 b. Intergenerational wrangling: ................................................................................................... 103 Chapter 4 Part B: Is familism dying in East: fate of elderly Malaysians? ...................................... 108 4.3 Overview of findings of Malaysian press: ................................................................................ 108 4.3.1 Main themes – aged care responsibilities in Malaysia ........................................................... 110 a. Family supported aged care – familism .................................................................................. 111 b. Shift away from familism – detraditionalisation of aged care ................................................ 115 c. Government supported aged care – social welfare .................................................................. 120 4.4 Similarities and differences in Australian and Malaysian media discourses ............................ 127 Chapter 5: Consistently inconsistent identities ................................................................................... 130 5.0 Construction of identities in news discourses ........................................................................... 130 Chapter 5 Part A: Construction of identities in Australian newspapers .............................................. 131 5.1.1 Economic identities ................................................................................................................ 133 a. Consumers of aged care – affluent people: ............................................................................. 138 b. Dependent – burden ................................................................................................................ 144 5.1.2 Social identities ...................................................................................................................... 149 a. National/ political identity – voters ......................................................................................... 150 b. Relational / interpersonal identity ........................................................................................... 154 Chapter 5 Part B: Consistently inconsistent identities ........................................................................ 158 5.2 Identities constructed for Malaysian elderly: overview ........................................................... 158 5.2.1 Familial identities: ................................................................................................................. 160 5.2.2 Social identities