The propaganda strategies adopted by the Colonial British during the Malayan Emergency, 1948-1960 as applied in newspaper coverage: A case study

The ongoing discussions on the fluid boundaries between ‘propaganda’ and ‘persuasion’ have emerged in numerous studies, the most prominent being Jowett and O’Donnell (2006). Sharing their views, Herman and Chomsky (1988) argued on the repercussions of only using elite sources in media reports due to their capacity to mobilise the masses for a single cause and shape elite opinions, due to the absence of alternative or opposing viewpoints. This case study examined the nature of propaganda strategies adopted by the colonial British during the Malayan Emergency that proved to be highly effective. This study consisted of two separate elements. First, it extends the discussion on propaganda by examining the significance of ‘race’ used as a crucial element within the discourses of anti-communism, as a legitimate rationale to mobilise forces, primarily within a Malayan context. Second, it investigated how propaganda strategies such as the forced resettlement of the ethnic Chinese, strategies used in framing the insurgents, and psychological warfare operated as powerful mechanisms to shape propaganda communication. A comparative content analysis of two mainstream English newspapers – namely The Times (London) and Straits Times (Singapore) – was conducted to identify trends in reporting used. Juxtaposing this method was the administration of in-depth interviews with ex-service personnel who had actively served in Malaya during the Malayan Emergency. The findings of this research reveal a significant correlation between ‘race’ and the constructs of communism. The results also indicate that psychological strategies adopted by the British in the form of deeds and news production proved to be highly effective.

Just deserts in post-colonial society : problems in the punishment of indigenous offenders.

Revised version of a paper presented to the Australian and New Zealand Society of Criminology Conference, Sydney, 2-3 October 2003 - disproportionate number of indigenous persons in the criminal justice system - the concept of 'just deserts' in regard to indigenous punishment - legislative reforms are needed to empower the judiciary in the sentencing process - must take account of the historical fact of dispossession - destructive effects on indigenous communities.

Youth publications, generation Y and hopes for the future of newspapers

If readership projections are correct, newspapers in the United States will become niche players by 2010. That is, in about half a decade fewer than half of American adults will read a daily newspaper. This will produce major problems in attracting advertising, the lifeblood of the newspaper business. The biggest decline in readership has occurred among Generation Y - people born between 1977 and 1995. They do not read newspapers to the extent their parents did. They get their news elsewhere, mainly online. As part of a process to attract readers, many of America's major publishers launched a series of youth-focused newspapers in the 18 months to March 2004. The aim was to try to get the elusive 18-24-year-old demographic into the habit of daily reading, hoping that over time they would migrate to more traditional outlets. This paper explores the background to these youth-focused publications, describes the main players and issues involved, and provides a case study of a youth-focused pioneer, the Tribune Company s Red Eye, which is published in Chicago.

Staging modernity: the Semarang international colonial exhibition, 1914

The international exhibitions of the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries are now generally seen as sites for the dissemination of an evolving discourse on modernity's primary theme: progress. These technological and cultural spectacles represented 'the self-congratulatory pride' of the bourgeoisie in their attainment of world power (Corbey 1994:60). The didactic function of international exhibitions lay embedded in their carefully arranged, itemised and annotated displays, as well as in the very architecture within which such displays were housed. It was a pedagogy palely echoed in every elementary classroom and school textbook of the newly created mass education systems of the day (Cote 2000a). The exhibitions were also modern in their embrace of the mass audience and their intentionally populist focus. An exhibition was intended to provide the visitor, already touched by a modern curiosity, with personal access to the wonders of modernity.

Colonial designs: Thomas Karsten and the planning of urban Indonesia

Thomas Karsten (1885 – 1945) is undoubtedly a major figure in the history of architecture and town planning in Indonesia. Between 1915 and 1941 he was involved in town planning in 12 of the 19 municipalities and towns in Java (the most prominent exception being Surabaya) 3 of the 9 towns in Sumatra, and the only town in Borneo This paper does not attempts to investigate or question his importance in this field but to place his architectural and town planning ideas in the context of his broader politico-cultural ideas and activities in the Dutch East Indies between 1914 and 1942, and these, in turn, in the context of an evolving colonialism and colonial discourse.

Reconciling colonial memories in Korea and Japan

The Republic of Korea and Japan share a tumultuous history, but arguably no period has caused greater trauma in bilateral relations than the twentieth century. After Japan’s four-decade long colonial occupation of Korea, the two countries took two decades just to establish diplomatic relations. Subsequent interactions have remained seriously compromised by the memory of colonialism. This article reviews the tensions behind the tempestuous bilateral relationship, focusing on the depiction of Japan’s wartime past in school textbooks. We advance three suggestions for reconciliation: viewing reconciliation not as the restoration of a harmonious pre-conflict order, but as an ongoing, incomplete process; expanding promising bilateral dialogues; and accepting that there will always be differences between Korea and Japan, most notably with regard to representations of the past. Rather than being an inevitable source of conflict, these differences should contribute to an ongoing process of negotiation between the two neighbors.

Recalling the Indies : colonial culture & postcolonial identities

Recalling the Indies traces the life stories of former residents of the Dutch East Indies, the present-day Republic of Indonesia. These stories belong to people of Dutch and mixed Indonesian and European descent and traces their lives, their exodus from the Indonesian archipelago, and their journey to Australia. Very little of the history of the Indisch Dutch has appeared in the English language. Underlying the entire book is the interest in "History" and historical writing.