Inimkond: Dr James Gomez - Media and Elections in Southeast Asia

Our next Inimkond seminar will be held by Dr James Gomez from the United International College, and is titled Media and Elections in Southeast Asia: The Changing Role in Coverage and Control.

The seminar will take place on Wednesday, February 25, from 6 to 8pm in room M-342 (Tallinn University Mare building). You are cordially invited to attend!

See also the Facebook event: https://www.facebook.com/events/1379454405703609

Abstract
This paper reviews the role of media coverage in recent elections in Southeast Asia. It argues in several countries in the region such as Cambodia, Malaysia and Singapore there is a trend among those seeking alternative news to source information from the internet. In these countries the mainstream media which is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the ruling regime, ruling political parties or their affiliated companies is largely seen as promoting the incumbents’ political interests. Such media promotion takes the form of election advertising by political parties or through advertisements placed by government agencies especially during the election period. The decreasing trust in mainstream media is also to some extent reflected in the drop in the circulation of print media in some of these countries, in particular, in Malaysia and Singapore. This has consolidated the shift towards online use, especially during elections.

Bio
Dr James Gomez is associate professor in the Humanities, Social Science and Journalism Faculty of the United International College in China. He is presently a research fellow in EHI and has more than two decades’ experience as a policy and communications specialist as a policy and communications specialist at universities, think-tanks, inter-governmental agencies and NGOs.

Inimkond: Current Issues in Anthropology and Beyond
full program at http://www.tlu.ee/en/estonian-institute-of-humanities/Anthropology/inimkond

This seminar series features speakers from anthropology and related fields, and fosters discussion of their research with a transdisciplinary audience. It aims to contribute to the culture of academic scholarship and debate at Tallinn University. Speakers include both local researchers and guests from a variety of disciplinary backgrounds and with various takes on anthropological theory and methods. Presentations in the seminar series will be of interest to staff and students in anthropology, cultural theory, sociology, and history, among others.