process which included as many perspectives as possible: e.g. oppositional, state/government,
mainstream, alternative, local, and international. Thirty-two of altogether forty-four conducted
interviews were selected for category-driven analysis: thirteen for Myanmar, ten for Malaysia, and
nine for Thailand.
The interview questionnaire was constructed deductively and inductively based on topics and
problems in media systems/media freedom research, and adapted to country specifics. The
interviews were as openly constructed as possible. This means that the interviewer started the
interview with an opening question and then guided the respondent into a particular aspect of the
topic necessary to answer research questions. After introducing the topic of the interview: “the
comparison of media systems in Southeast Asia”, the interviewer asked the expert(s) for an
assessment of the media situation in the country. This procedure led to a situation where the
interviewed experts set the agenda for the interview, and the interviewer served as neutral
discussant (to the greatest possible extent) and guided the interviewee through significant topics.
The comparability between the three countries was maintained by the use of a similar interview
guide for all three contexts, and contained the following sections for questions:
Table 1
Questionnaire topics for in-depth expert interviews
Media freedom
- Freedom of
Information/ Right to
information
- Freedom of
Assembly, speech
and opinion
- Laws and
regulations (state
agents and self-
control)
- Media
independence
- Digital freedom
- Safety and
Security
- Access to media
- specific
freedoms/restriction
s
- Harassments of
journalists/media
institutions
Specific
characteristics
- Differences to
other Southeast
Asian media
systems
- Market structures:
media providers,
ownership, financing
of the media (state,
private, public-
service, subsidies),
key media
- Journalists/media
role in society/
politics
- Reputation of
media and
journalism in society
- Society’s
expectations
Working
conditions of
journalists
- Payment and
resources
- Education
- The typical
journalist
- Role perception
(aims, conception
of the audience,
routines, criteria for
“good journalism“)
- entry
conditions/restriction
s for professional
journalists
- news room
structures
Most influential
context factors
on media policy
and practices
- socio-economic
factors
- cultural context
- style of
governance
- technology
- history
Relationship of
the media to
different actors
- Politics
-Civil society
(organizations)
- Economy
- Elites (other than
political elites)
- Military
- Other
73 | Journal of Contemporary Eastern Asia, Vol. 18, No.2
Other Factors
- Nation building
- Persisting conflicts
- National security
-Multi-ethnic,
-lingual, -religious
- Modernisation
- Technological
Standard
- Religion
- Alternative
communication
Structures
- Media
concentration
(economic/editorial)
- Commercialization
- Concepts like face
loyalty, community
etc.
- (De)Centralisation