Download - Obama Analysis report
Media Analysis SeriesVOL 4 – MARCH 2009
THE OBAMA REPORTANALYSING THE MEDIA RESPONSE TO PRESIDENT OBAMA
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Contents:INTRODUCTION 2
METHODOLOGY 2
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY 3
KEY FINDINGS 5
CONCLUSIONS 14
MARKET ANALYSIS
AUSTRALIA 15
CHINA 20
HONG KONG 24
INDONESIA 28
MALAYSIA 32
NEW ZEALAND 36
SINGAPORE 40
PAN-ASIA 44
APPENDIX A. METHODOLOGY 47
APPENDIX B. MEDIA LIST 48
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Media Monitors
2
Media Monitors conducted a Media Analysis report to
examine the response to President Obama’s inauguration
across eight media markets in the Asia Pacifi c region.
The Obama Report analyses the key messages in media
coverage, providing insight on whether the media believes
President Obama can deliver on his messages of hope
and change. The report examines the discourse regarding
President Obama’s inauguration in traditional and new
media in order to understand the discrepancies between
different media types and their interdependencies.
The four media types analysed across the region are:
Blogs; >News websites; >Print (newspapers and magazines); and >Television. >
The Asia Pacifi c markets analysed for this report are:
Australia; >China; >Hong Kong; >Indonesia; >Malaysia; >New Zealand; >Singapore; and >Pan-Asia. >
This report also provides a baseline for measurement of
future media coverage of President Obama.
Barack Obama was elected President of the United States on 4 November 2008 with the twin messages of hope and change. Obama’s presidency was eagerly anticipated by the media around the world and the expectations for his presidency are signifi cant.
Introduction MethodologyMedia Monitors analysed all coverage containing
the key words “Obama” and “inauguration” from 213
media outlets across the region during the month
of January 2009. The coverage was monitored and
collated through Media Monitors’ group operations and
analysed by a team of experienced media analysts.
The overarching methodology used to analyse the
media content was the CARMA® methodology, outlined
in Appendix A. The list of media outlets analysed for
this report is in Appendix B.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Approximately a third of the media coverage in the >eight Asia Pacifi c markets conveyed the message that
President Obama offers hope for the future. However,
the ratio differed signifi cantly across markets.
Of the 3,417 media reports that were analysed for >The Obama Report, three out of four focused on
President Obama’s inauguration as an event or a
spectacle, without detailed policy discussion (Chart 1).
The Middle East was the most widely reported >challenge faced by President Obama. However, there
were quite distinct differences between how the media
in the eight markets discussed this topic.
Reports in Malaysian, Singaporean and Pan-Asian >media were critical of President Obama’s silence on
the Israeli confl ict in Gaza before his inauguration.
Following his inauguration, the media in Malaysia and
Singapore were more supportive of President Obama
on this issue. However, some Pan-Asian media were
still critical of President Obama’s silence on the issue
even after he appointed George Mitchell as U.S. Envoy
to the Middle East.
Executive Summary
OF THE 3,417 MEDIA REPORTS THAT WERE ANALYSED FOR THE OBAMA REPORT, THREE OUT OF FOUR FOCUSED ON PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INAUGURATION AS AN EVENT OR A SPECTACLE, WITHOUT DETAILED POLICY DISCUSSION.
Media Focus Chart 1
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Media Monitors
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Media in Malaysia, Indonesia, Singapore and New >Zealand focused more on U.S. foreign relations rather
than America’s domestic economic troubles. Media in
Australia, China and Hong Kong provided a relatively
equal amount of discussion about these two topics,
while Pan-Asian media was the only market where
there was greater focus on internal U.S. issues.
This suggests that media in the Asia Pacifi c region
believed President Obama’s response to international
confl icts, particularly in the Middle East, will be a key
determining factor of the success of his presidency.
More than 50% of all coverage about President >Obama’s inauguration occurred in news websites
across the region. This highlights the growing
importance of this medium. However, newspapers were
still infl uential, often discussing the more important
issues in greater depth. These results might point
towards the future media environment for these
complementary media types. News websites provided
immediate information about current events,
while newspapers and magazines analysed issues
in more depth.
There was scant discussion about President Obama’s >inauguration in the analysed blog coverage. Nor did
blogs infl uence the other types of media coverage.
These two results suggest that bloggers in the region
seldom add to conversations to which they cannot
contribute new or contentious information.
While the economy was still widely discussed, it was >not the leading topic of discussion in seven of the
eight analysed markets. In addition, there were very
few mentions of trade protectionism. These are both
surprising results given the current state of the U.S.
economy and the export focus of Asian economies.
The key fi ndings section of the report provides an analysis of the major themes apparent in the media coverage across the eight Asia Pacifi c markets. The report then provides insight into the media discussion of President Obama’s inauguration in each market.
Key Challenges Chart 2
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Rise of News Websites >Infl uence of Newspapers and Magazines >Lack of Infl uence of Blog Coverage >Obama and Hope >Inauguration as an Event >World Focus >Israeli Confl ict in Gaza >Economy >Protectionism >
Rise of News Websites
As highlighted by Chart 3, there was more discussion on news
websites about President Obama’s inauguration than there
was in any of the other three media, including newspapers.
This was a trend across fi ve markets (Australia, China,
Malaysia, New Zealand and Singapore) and highlights the
growing importance of this media in these markets.
Key Findings
THERE WAS MORE DISCUSSION ON NEWS WEBSITES ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INAUGURATION THAN BLOGS, PRINT OR TELEVISION.
Media Type Comparison Chart 3
Nine key themes were apparent in the analysis of the media response to President Obama’s inauguration on 20 January 2009 across eight Asia Pacifi c markets:
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Media Monitors
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Infl uence of Newspapers and Magazines
While there was more media coverage on news websites,
print media in most markets analysed the topic in more
detail, providing less coverage about the inauguration as
an event, and a higher level of unfavourable coverage, as
highlighted by Table 1.
This suggests print media would still be more infl uential
on this topic than news websites in most markets because
they are evaluating the issues in greater depth.
Media Focus Table 1
INAUGURATIONU.S.–WORLD RELATIONSHIP
U.S. DOMESTIC
Market Media Category % Vol % Vol % Vol
Australia Print 47% 28% 25%
Average 77% 12% 11%
China Print 82% 11% 7%
Average 90% 6% 4%
Hong Kong Print 97% 1% 1%
Average 97% 1% 2%
Indonesia Print 69% 22% 9%
Average 71% 21% 8%
Malaysia Print 77% 14% 10%
Average 61% 28% 11%
New Zealand Print 40% 36% 24%
Average 75% 15% 10%
Pan-Asia Print 38% 25% 38%
Average 38% 25% 37%
Singapore Print 48% 24% 29%
Average 47% 30% 23%
MALAYSIA WAS THE ONLY MARKET WHERE NEWS WEBSITES WERE LEADING THE POLICY DEBATE RATHER THAN PRINT. THIS REINFORCES THE INFLUENCE OF THIS MEDIA TYPE IN MALAYSIA.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Lack of Infl uence of Blog Coverage
As highlighted by Chart 3, there was scant coverage in
the blogs analysed. This result is probably unsurprising
given that Asia Pacifi c bloggers could add very little new
information to a conversation originating in the United
States. The blog coverage in the region had little partisan
material and the reporting was largely balanced. This
suggests that Asia Pacifi c bloggers did not provide any in
depth analysis on this topic.
Despite anecdotal evidence that blogs infl uence
mainstream media, there is no support for that assertion
in this study.
Media Intermediation Chart 4
Chart 4 details the number of occasions when an analysed
media report referred to another media type. Blogs
received very few references in other media coverage
compared to newspapers, television and news agencies.
For this particular topic, there was a very low volume of
blog coverage in the analysed markets and blogs had little
infl uence on the general discussion.
THE BLOG COVERAGE IN THE REGION HAD LITTLE PARTISAN MATERIAL AND THE REPORTING WAS LARGELY BALANCED.
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Media Monitors
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Obama and Hope
Across all markets, one in four stories contained the
message that President Obama offers hope, which
constituted 42% of all messages in the coverage. This high
message penetration rate reinforces the effectiveness of
President Obama’s campaign in building the message of
hope. Obama offers hope was the most frequently occurring
message in all eight Asia Pacifi c markets. President
Obama’s second key message was change and it was also
widely mentioned, appearing in 10% of coverage.
The media widely reported that the twin messages of hope and change have had an impact on people’s perceptions around the world. A number of media reports across all eight markets referred to poll results that found the vast majority of people believed President Obama will improve United States relations with the rest of the world.
OBAMA OFFERS HOPE WAS THE MOST FREQUENTLY OCCURRING MESSAGE IN ALL EIGHT ASIA PACIFIC MARKETS.
Leading Messages Chart 5
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Inauguration as an Event
Across the eight analysed markets, the overwhelming
focus of the media coverage surrounding President
Obama’s inauguration was on the inauguration as an
event or spectacle, as highlighted in Table 2. This media
coverage focused on topics such as celebration balls,
celebrity involvement, and predictions of the number of
people attending the event. As the discussion was mainly
about the event celebrations, there was not a great deal
of analysis about how United States-World relations
and United States domestic issues would be affected by
Obama’s presidency. Singaporean and Pan-Asia media
were the exceptions.
More than 50% of media coverage in Pan-Asia and
Singapore was about United States-World relations and
United States domestic issues. The media in these two
markets, as well as Malaysian media, which particularly
focused on the Middle East, provided the greatest level of
analysis about the likely success of Obama’s presidency.
When the media in the other fi ve markets focused on
United States-World relations or United States domestic
challenges, some did not critically evaluate President
Obama’s key messages. For example, in the analysed
media coverage from New Zealand there was very little
questioning of President Obama’s policies or readiness for
the challenges ahead.
AS THE DISCUSSION WAS MAINLY ABOUT THE EVENT CELEBRATIONS, THERE WAS NOT A GREAT DEAL OF ANALYSIS ABOUT POLICY ISSUES.
MARKET INAUGURATION U.S.–WORLD RELATIONSHIP U.S. DOMESTIC
Australia 77% 12% 11%
China 90% 6% 4%
Hong Kong 97% 1% 2%
Indonesia 71% 21% 8%
Malaysia 61% 28% 11%
New Zealand 75% 15% 10%
Pan-Asia 38% 25% 37%
Singapore 47% 30% 23%
Total 73% 15% 12%
Media Focus Table 2
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Media Monitors
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World Focus
All markets except Pan-Asia had a greater focus on
international affairs when discussing policy issues.
Across the other seven markets the greatest level of
discussion was on key global challenges facing President
Obama, with a specifi c focus on the Middle East.
The Asia Pacifi c media was more interested in Israeli-
Palestinian relations, than the Afghan and Iraq wars.
This suggests that the Palestinian situation is more
important to most of this region than Iraq and Afghanistan.
However, Israeli-Palestinian relations presents a more
diffi cult public relations challenge than Afghanistan and
Iraq for President Obama as he has less direct infl uence
over the outcomes.
The coverage indicates that many in the region believe
President Obama needs to focus on the Israeli-
Palestinian issue.
Given the importance of the United States economy for
this region and its current signifi cant problems, it was
surprising that in only two markets, Singaporean and Pan-
Asian media, policy issues and serious challenges lying
ahead for the new President were more widely discussed
than the celebrations surrounding his inauguration.
U.S.-World and U.S. Domestic Comparison Chart 6
... IT WAS SURPRISING THAT IN ONLY TWO MARKETS, SINGAPOREAN AND PAN-ASIAN MEDIA, POLICY ISSUES AND SERIOUS CHALLENGES LYING AHEAD FOR THE NEW PRESIDENT WERE MORE WIDELY DISCUSSED THAN THE CELEBRATIONS SURROUNDING HIS INAUGURATION.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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The Pan-Asian media analysed United States domestic
issues in far more depth, discussing health care, taxation,
education and job creation proportionally more frequently
than other markets. However, the domestic focus of the
Pan-Asian coverage is unsurprising given that both of
the analysed Pan-Asian newspapers (International Herald Tribune and Wall Street Journal Asia) have ownership
structures based in the U.S.
A key trend showed that markets with a greater amount
of analytical discussion were less favourable towards
President Obama overall. Australia, China and Hong
Kong appear to be anomalies (see Chart 7). However,
the media reporting in all three markets, focused on the
event and spectacle of the inauguration ceremonies rather
than policy issues. This meant President Obama’s likely
performance was less widely discussed and coverage was
considered balanced, bringing the overall favourability in
those markets closer to neutral (50).
A KEY TREND SHOWED THAT MARKETS WITH A GREATER AMOUNT OF ANALYTICAL DISCUSSION WERE LESS FAVOURABLE TOWARDS PRESIDENT OBAMA OVERALL.
Media Favourability - Market Comparison Chart 7
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Media Monitors
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Confl ict in Gaza
One of the key topics that was widely discussed across all
markets was the Middle East and in particular the confl ict
in the Gaza strip. However, the emphasis of the discussion
was quite different across the markets.
Malaysian, Singaporean and Pan-Asian media included
a number of references that directly criticised President
Obama for not speaking out about the Gaza confl ict before
his inauguration. The reporting in these three markets was
particularly critical. On 6 January 2009, the International Herald Tribune stated:
“Obama has disappointed many commentators in the
Muslim world by steadfastly declining to condemn
Israel’s Gaza operation, and he maintained his
silence over the weekend as Israel began its ground
invasion ... But Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and Obama’s
studied silence about it threatens to short-circuit his
plans for a U.S. image makeover.”
(International Herald Tribune, 6 January 2009)
Less than a week later, an article appeared in The Jakarta Globe which quoted a President Obama interview from the
ABC (America) program, This Week. On the Middle East and
Guantanamo Bay, President Obama said:
“What I am doing right now is putting together the
team so that on January 20, starting day one, we
have the best possible people who are going to be
immediately engage in the Middle East peace process
as a whole”.
(The Jakarta Globe, 12 January 2009).
This story also ran in Suara Pembaruan, 12 January 2009;
antara.co.id, 12 January 2009; Kompas Cyber Media, 12
January 2009; and Seputar Indonesia, 13 January 2009.
Before President Obama’s inauguration, Malaysian and
Singaporean reporting was similar to Pan-Asian media.
However, after his inauguration speech, call to Arab and
Israeli leaders, and announcement of George Mitchell as
the United States envoy to the Middle East, Malaysian and
Singaporean media were more supportive of President
Obama. This was not the case in Pan-Asia, where as late
as 24 January 2009, atimes.com was still very critical.
Indonesian media was quite supportive of President
Obama’s Middle East stance throughout the analysed
period, Malaysian and Singaporean media were more
supportive following his inauguration while some reports
in Pan-Asian media remained critical following the
inauguration.
Given the highly focused and divergent reporting across
the Asia Pacifi c, it seems evident that a resolution to
issues surrounding Israeli-Palestinian relations is a
critical success factor for President Obama, particularly
in predominantly Muslim countries in the region. While
Afghanistan - and by implication Pakistan - were also seen
as very important, they did not attract the same level of
discussion, with the timing of the confl ict in Gaza pushing
that part of the world to the forefront in the weeks around
President Obama’s inauguration.
... BUT ISRAEL’S INVASION OF GAZA, AND OBAMA’S STUDIED SILENCE ABOUT IT THREATENS TO SHORT-CIRCUIT HIS PLANS FOR A U.S. IMAGE MAKEOVER.”
Media Coverage - Leading Key World Challenges Chart 8
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Economy
Table 3 displays the number of mentions of economic issues
as a percentage of the total number of media reports in
each market. Given the importance of the U.S. economy
to the region and the current global fi nancial crisis, it was
surprising that this topic was not discussed more widely.
Hong Kong and China showed the lowest level of interest of
all markets analysed.
MARKETMENTIONS OF U.S. ECONOMY AS PERCENTAGE OF TOTAL COVERAGE
Singapore 29%
Pan-Asia 25%
New Zealand 24%
Malaysia 23%
Australia 20%
Indonesia 16%
China 14%
Hong Kong 13%
Protectionism
There was very little discussion about protectionism across
the analysed markets. In China, Hong Kong, Indonesia
and Pan-Asian media, there were no mentions of possible
moves towards greater protectionism by the new U.S.
administration. However, Chinese media reports warned
against any lessening of the relationship between the U.S.
and China, with one in particular highlighting President
Bush’s achievements in this area.
GIVEN THE IMPORTANCE OF THE U.S. ECONOMY TO THE REGION AND THE CURRENT GLOBAL FINANCIAL CRISIS, IT WAS SURPRISING THAT THIS TOPIC WAS NOT DISCUSSED MORE WIDELY.
Mentions of Economy Table 3
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Media Monitors
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ConclusionsMedia across the region have largely supported >the contention that President Obama has provided
the United States and the world with hope that
international relations will be better; and that he has
created enormous momentum and therefore the
opportunity to deliver change.
Pan-Asian media discussion provides an insight into >the possible communication challenges that President
Obama will face in other markets once the euphoria
surrounding his inauguration dissipates and media
reports focus more strongly on current and future
policy challenges.
The region’s media seemed to be more interested >initially in how President Obama will deal with
international troublespots rather than his response to
American and global fi nancial problems.
Ongoing media coverage of President Obama’s >response to challenges across the Middle East will
have a signifi cant impact on how his performance is
evaluated in large parts of the Asia-Pacifi c region.
Positively for President Obama, he is starting with
considerable goodwill from the media.
At the time of President Obama’s inauguration, the >media did not focus on the possibility of protectionist
policies from the incoming U.S. administration.
President Obama may fi nd it increasingly diffi cult to
manage the expectations of protecting U.S. jobs, while
encouraging free trade.
Across the region, there was more discussion on >news websites about President Obama’s inauguration
than there was in television, blogs and print, although
newspapers and magazines generally covered the
topic in far more depth than the other media types.
THE REGION’S MEDIA SEEMED TO BE MORE INTERESTED INITIALLY IN HOW PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL DEAL WITH INTERNATIONAL TROUBLE-SPOTS RATHER THAN HIS RESPONSE TO AMERICAN AND GLOBAL FINANCIAL PROBLEMS.
ACROSS THE REGION, THERE WAS MORE DISCUSSION ON NEWS WEBSITES ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INAUGURATION THAN THERE WAS IN TELEVISION, BLOGS AND PRINT.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Market Analysis – AUSTRALIA
THERE WAS VASTLY MORE COVERAGE (A TWO TO ONE RATIO) ON NEWS WEBSITES COMPARED TO PRINT, WHICH HIGHLIGHTS THE SIGNIFICANT ROLE OF ONLINE MEDIA IN THIS MARKET.
The Australian media focused more on the inauguration as an event than providing in depth analysis of the challenges facing President Obama.
There was vastly more coverage (a two to one ratio) on
news websites compared to print, which highlights the
signifi cant role of online media in this market. Australian
newspapers, however, debated the likely success of the
Obama presidency in far greater depth than news websites,
blogs and television.
There was very little blog discussion in Australia, a pattern
that was repeated across all markets. While blogs have
often been seen as partisan, discussion in this medium
was almost balanced, whereas reporting in the other three
media types was comparatively favourable.
While the majority of Australian coverage was about the
inauguration as an event, the message that Obama offers
hope was strongly evident across all media. This key
message was largely split into two categories:
Hope that President Obama will be far superior to >President Bush and begin to undo the perceived
malaise that has fallen over America in over the past
eight years (theaustralian.news.com.au, 19 January
2009, theage.com.au, 20 January 2009 and
news.com.au/dailytelegraph, 26 January 2009).
Hope that through his superior oratorical skills and >ability to unite people across the spectrum he will
bring a new dawn to the United States and externally
to the world (smh.com.au, 6 January 2009 and SBS:
World News Australia, 21 January 2009).
Media Focus Chart 9
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Media Monitors
16
As illustrated in Chart 10, only a very small fraction of
reports (0.5%) questioned President Obama’s ability to
deliver on the promise of hope, compared to 31% that
supported this assertion.
Two commentators who questioned whether President
Obama could bring change were Anne Summers, a
columnist for The Sydney Morning Herald, and Alexander
Downer, the Foreign Minister in the previous Federal
Government. Summers questioned President Obama’s
ability to create change as he was surrounding himself
with former Clintonites in his administration (The Sydney Morning Herald, 10 January 2009).
Downer believed that change under President Obama
would be slight because he has limited policy options
and there is “seldom radical policy change unless the
new government is determined to wreck the place”
(The Advertiser, 12 January 2009). Downer ended his
analysis by stating that “Obama will be a competent but
not a revolutionary president. Thank goodness for that”.
Downer’s position is perhaps unsurprising given his
ideological perspective.
Obama and Hope Chart 10
DOWNER ENDED HIS ANALYSIS BY STATING THAT “OBAMA WILL BE A COMPETENT BUT NOT A REVOLUTIONARY PRESIDENT. THANK GOODNESS FOR THAT”.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
17
The United States-World relationship and United States
domestic economic issues received an equal amount of
coverage in the Australian media during the analysed
period. Only China and Hong Kong demonstrated this
characteristic, while all other markets showed greater
focus on international relations than U.S. economic issues
in their media coverage.
Afghanistan, Iraq and Israeli-Palestinian relations were
all seen as important challenges for President Obama
and therefore widely discussed. President Obama
gave one of his fi rst major television interviews on an
Arabic cable channel called Al-Arabiya Arab TV Network,
possibly to demonstrate his greater engagement with the
Muslim world. This interview and the messages around
engagement and peace, rather than unilateralism and war,
were widely reported in Australian media (abc.net.au, 27
January 2009 and smh.com.au, 27 January 2009).
In relation to the economy, some fi nancial market analysts
saw the inauguration of President Obama as a key driver of
momentum in the Australian share market from November
2008 (The Australian Financial Review, 10 January 2009).
Others believed that there was a lack of direction in the
Australian share market, but thought “there’s a perception
we’ll go for a little bit of a run on the back of the Obama
presidential inauguration on January 20” (The Advertiser, The Canberra Times, The Sydney Morning Herald, Herald Sun, 10 January 2009).
These predictions did not accurately forecast the slide
in the Australian share market leading up to President
Obama’s inauguration nor the steady result for the week
after. The All Ordinaries closing results on the following
days were:
Closed on 5 November 2008 at 4,287.30 >
Closed on 9 January 2009 at 3,680.40 >
Closed on 21 January 2009 at 3,394.80 >
Closed on 27 January 2009 at 3,392.30 >
Closed on 24 February 2009 at 3,285.00 >
PRESIDENT OBAMA GAVE ONE OF HIS FIRST MAJOR TELEVISION INTERVIEWS ON AN ARABIC CABLE CHANNEL CALLED AL-ARABIYA ARAB TV NETWORK, POSSIBLY TO DEMONSTRATE HIS GREATER ENGAGEMENT WITH THE MUSLIM WORLD.
Key Challenges Chart 11
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Media Monitors
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Given the large number of media reports in Australia
compared to other markets, the key messages in this
market were uniformly aligned with the overall message
results. However, there were some unique aspects of the
Australian coverage with a number of reports containing
the message that President Obama does not understand
the enormity of the task that lies ahead, a message almost
entirely missing in other markets. There was also a
greater level of concern about the future importance of
U.S.–Asian relations.
Compared to the other seven markets, Australian media
included more discussion that questioned President
Obama’s understanding of the gravity of the challenge.
Nine of the 12 messages about this topic occurred in the
Australian media. The Weekend Australian used content
from an editorial in the China Daily, to create doubt about
President Obama. The Weekend Australian said that the
“China Daily newspaper editorialized snipingly after
Obama’s inauguration: ‘The U.S. leaders have never been
shy of talking about their country’s ambition to be leader
of the world. For them, it’s a divinely granted destiny no
matter what other nations think. The realities on the
ground are more complex than those presented by Obama”
(24 January 2009).
The discussion about President Obama’s likely relations
with Asia was more complex. In comparison to the other
markets, there was proportionally less favourable coverage
about Asian relations in the Australian media. In contrast,
the Australian media was more critical about Asian
relations, reporting more often that President Obama will
not improve relations with Asia and the region will not
benefi t economically from his presidency.
Leading Messages Chart 12
COMPARED TO THE OTHER SEVEN MARKETS, AUSTRALIAN MEDIA INCLUDED MORE DISCUSSION THAT QUESTIONED PRESIDENT OBAMA’S UNDERSTANDING OF THE GRAVITY OF THE CHALLENGE.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
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Despite the views of some commentators that blogs
heavily infl uence mainstream media, the coverage related
to President Obama’s inauguration seems to show that
for global stories local bloggers have little to add to the
conversation, and hence were not active. In Australia, there
was only one instance of a blog being referred to in another
media type (a news website). While the numbers were
small, Australian bloggers referred to the other three types
of media analysed more than to blogs in their posts.
Media Intermediation Chart 13
IN AUSTRALIA, THERE WAS ONLY ONE INSTANCE OF A BLOG BEING REFERRED TO IN ANOTHER MEDIA TYPE.
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Media Monitors
20
Upon initial analysis, Chinese media seemed to be less interested in the message of hope President Obama offers than other markets, with only 26% of media coverage in China reporting that he does offer hope compared to an average of 45% in the other seven analysed markets.
China had the second highest percentage of media reports
that were predominantly about the inauguration as an
event (90% compared to an average of 73%). The high level
of inauguration coverage masked results about specifi c
expectations for Obama’s presidency (Chart 14).
In the relatively small number of reports discussing
policy issues, there was a far higher level of message
penetration than in the overall coverage. Over 80% of
non-inauguration-focused Chinese media reports were
favourable, and China had the second highest percentage
of favourable non-inauguration media reports. Only New
Zealand had a slightly higher proportion.
The challenges that President Obama faces and the
solutions that were discussed in the Chinese media
were very similar to those discussed in the other seven
markets. Three of the top four were external challenges
(Iraq, Afghanistan and Israeli - Palestinian relations). Only
the economy was reported as an internal U.S. problem
(Guangzhou Daily, 20 January 2009, Beijing Evening News, 21
January 2009, and XinMin Evening News, 22 January 2009).
Market Analysis – CHINA
THE HIGH LEVEL OF INAUGURATION COVERAGE MASKED RESULTS ABOUT SPECIFIC EXPECTATIONS FOR OBAMA’S PRESIDENCY.
Media Focus Chart 14
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
21
Given its potential impact on China, it is surprising that
there was no direct discussion of protectionism by the
Chinese media, and very little in the other markets.
As displayed in Table 4, the media seemed to largely
ignore evaluation of the possible trade implications of
President Obama’s domestic economic problems. Instead,
where the U.S. economy was discussed, it was largely
straight reporting of President Obama’s talking points i.e.
recognition that the U.S. economy has failed but he has a
plan to fi x it, including the fi scal stimulus plan, tax cuts and
job creation.
Discussion of protectionism may gather momentum over
the next few months to become a more signifi cant topic of
discussion in the future.
Key Challenges Chart 15
Mentions of Protectionism Table 4
MARKETPERCENTAGE OF COVERAGE MENTIONING PROTECTIONISM
Malaysia 2%
Australia 1%
New Zealand 1%
Singapore 1%
China 0%
Hong Kong 0%
Indonesia 0%
Pan-Asia 0%
GIVEN ITS POTENTIAL IMPACT ON CHINA, IT IS SURPRISING THAT THERE WAS NO DIRECT DISCUSSION OF PROTECTIONISM BY THE CHINESE MEDIA.
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Media Monitors
22
As a case in point, an opinion article in the China Daily
did not provide analysis of the international ramifi cations
of President Obama’s domestic economic challenges.
It briefl y outlined those challenges and reaffi rmed that
“interdependence between the two economies is beyond
description. Particularly during this recession”. However,
the article did not discuss any potential solutions (21
January 2009). Instead the story argued that President
Bush’s positive legacy was the Sino-American relationship
and that President Obama needs to continue positive
relations with China while moving away from President
Bush’s policies in the Middle East. The article said that
the “yet-to-be-justifi ed war on Iraq, for one, proves an
outstanding discredit to his country and himself (Bush).
President Obama vowed to put an end to that. Which is
correct and overdue”.
The article was picked up by the Malaysian news website
thestar.com.my with the headline “Don’t undo Bush’s work,
China tells Obama” (thestar.com.my, 21 January 2009). The
website interpreted the article as a direct statement to
President Obama to maintain the strengthening of U.S.-
China relations undertaken by the Bush administration:
“Chinese state media urged new U.S. President Barack
Obama not to ignore the “hard-earned progress” in ties
made by George W. Bush”.
Another article in the Guangzhou Daily also questioned
President Bush’s legacy. The article commended President
Obama for defending the Constitution of the United States
and was glad to have a president who respects the rule
of law. It reinforced this view by stating that “Americans hope
President Obama takes his oath more seriously than President
George W. Bush” (Guangzhou Daily, 21 January 2009).
As seen in Chart 16, the top fi ve messages in the Chinese
media were the same across the other seven markets.
Supporting these positive messages was the inclusion of
poll results that nearly 70% of those interviewed believed
President Obama will improve relations with the rest of the
world (chinanews.com.cn, 12 January 2009, netease.com,
16 January 2009, CCTV9, 21 January 2009, Beijing Evening News, 22 January 2009.
Leading Messages Chart 16
“CHINESE STATE MEDIA URGED NEW U.S. PRESIDENT BARACK OBAMA NOT TO IGNORE THE “HARD-EARNED PROGRESS” IN TIES MADE BY GEORGE W. BUSH”.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
23
Compared to the other analysed markets, the Chinese
media showed a stronger belief that President Obama
will focus more on Asia, with 11 of the 18 instances of this
message appearing in Chinese media, making up 10% of
all favourable messages from that market.
From one perspective, the Chinese media was criticising
the former U.S. administration over the war in Iraq
and adhering to the rule of law. Conversely, the media
praised President Bush for his greater engagement with
China. It would appear that the Chinese media were
acknowledging that some differences still exist with the
United States, but the desire to continue building a closer
relationship remains strong, owing to the economic
importance of that relationship.
Chinese coverage had a relatively low level of media
intermediation, with television, blogs and news websites not
mentioned by any other media in the analysed coverage.
There were eight instances of newspaper reports being
mentioned, fi ve of those in other newspaper articles and
three in news website items. Interestingly, these eight news
items had a signifi cantly higher average favourability than
overall coverage from China.
Media Intermediation Chart 17
COMPARED TO THE OTHER ANALYSED MARKETS, THE CHINESE MEDIA SHOWED A STRONGER BELIEF THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL FOCUS MORE ON ASIA.
IN THE COVERAGE ANALYSED, BLOGS, TELEVISION NEWS AND NEWS WEBSITES HAD NO INFLUENCE ON THE REPORTING OF PRINT MEDIA IN CHINA.
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Media Monitors
24
The Hong Kong media covered the inauguration predominantly as an event more than the media of any of the other seven Asia Pacific markets. Only 3% of media reports analysed President Obama’s likely performance in any depth (Chart 18).
Despite the lack of analysis, 31% of Hong Kong
coverage concluded that President Obama does offer
hope, which is the average across all markets. A slight
difference between the reporting in Hong Kong and the
rest of Asia was that 3% of Hong Kong media felt that
President Obama does not offer hope, compared to the
average of just 1%.
While the majority of coverage in Hong Kong was largely
factual reporting on the event, there is strong evidence
that Hong Kong media, like most other Asian media,
believed that President Obama does offer hope (Table 5).
Market Analysis – HONG KONG
Media Focus Chart 18
ONLY 3% OF MEDIA REPORTS ANALYSED PRESIDENT OBAMA’S LIKELY PERFORMANCE IN ANY DEPTH.
ISSUE DESCRIPTION VOL % VOL AVG FAV
Does Not Mention Hope 102 61% 50.3
Obama Offers Hope 51 31% 57.0
Balanced On Obama’s Hope 7 4% 52.9
Obama Does Not Offer Hope 5 3% 45.0
Hope Mentioned Unrelated To Obama
1 1% 55.0
Obama and Hope Table 5
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
25
Given Hong Kong’s position as a fi nancial centre in the Asia
Pacifi c region, it is unsurprising that the poorly performing
United States economy was more widely discussed and seen as
a greater challenge than external issues such as Afghanistan,
Iraq and the Israeli-Palestinian relations by its media.
The key challenge reported most often in Hong Kong was
the economy, with the fi scal stimulus plan the most often
discussed solution to improve the United States economy
(Apple Daily, 13 January 2009). This was the most frequently
mentioned solution across all analysed markets.
In comparison to Chinese media, the media in Hong Kong
were not focused on how President Obama would engage
with Asia. While one Hong Kong media report did make
this link through the headline “Obama shows friendliness
only because China is infl uential” (Ming Pao, 13 January
2009), the link was conditional. The condition of infl uence
reinforces the dichotomy that was found in the Chinese
media on Sino-American relations.
Media reports on President Obama’s stance and
importance on the Middle East reinforced that he
represents a change from President George W. Bush
because he views the Middle East as a top priority (Apple
Daily, 13 January 2009).
GIVEN HONG KONG’S POSITION AS A FINANCIAL CENTRE IN THE ASIA PACIFIC REGION, IT IS UNSURPRISING THAT THE POORLY PERFORMING UNITED STATES ECONOMY WAS MORE WIDELY DISCUSSED THAN INTERNATIONAL ISSUES.
Key Challenges Chart 19
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Media Monitors
26
Hong Kong coverage showed less dominance of hope as
the leading message, accounting for 30% of messages,
while President Obama’s understanding of the enormity of
the task that lies ahead represented 23%, a signifi cantly
higher level than the average across all markets.
Hong Kong was also one of the few markets with three
unfavourable messages appearing, accounting for 8% of
all messages. Overall these messages seem to indicate
that Hong Kong media are pleased to see a change in the
presidency, and believe President Obama is fully aware of
the challenges ahead, however they are not yet convinced
he will be able to successfully deal with all of those
challenges until President Obama proposes a wider range
of solutions to back up his rhetoric.
Leading Messages Chart 20
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
27
There was very little media intermediation in the coverage
analysed from Hong Kong, refl ecting the high levels of
straight factual reporting of the inauguration as an event.
Only three items mentioned other media reports, and all
three discussed newspaper articles. As in China, none of
the analysed coverage referred to other television news
items, blogs or news website articles. This again points to
print media as maintaining a higher level of authority in
both Hong Kong and China than other forms of media.
Media Intermediation Chart 21
As with China, Hong Kong media referred to print
publications in its reporting, rather than blogs or news
websites (Wen Wei Po, 21 January 2009). However, media
in Hong Kong also linked to stories already broadcast on
television to substantiate its reporting. A Hong Kong Daily News article repackaged a CNN survey that found 75% of
United States citizens are certain that Obama would be a
strong and determined leader if elected president and that
Obama achieved the highest popularity in a president-elect
for over 30 years (2 January 2009).
A HONG KONG DAILY NEWS ARTICLE REPACKAGED A CNN SURVEY THAT FOUND 75% OF UNITED STATES CITIZENS ARE CERTAIN THAT OBAMA WOULD BE A STRONG AND DETERMINED LEADER IF ELECTED PRESIDENT.
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Media Monitors
28
Market Analysis – INDONESIAThe overall focus of Indonesian media coverage was very similar to the average across all markets. In Indonesia, approximately 71% of media reports mostly discussed President Obama’s inauguration, 21% were about United States-World relations and 8% focused predominantly on United States domestic issues. (Chart 22)
Even the percentage of overall discussion in the different
media types (blogs, print, news websites and television news)
in Indonesia was largely the same as the other markets.
However, Indonesian media conveyed the message that
President Obama offers hope signifi cantly more than their
Asia Pacifi c counterparts. Nearly 79% of all Indonesian
media reports were favourable, compared to an average of
just 45% across the other analysed markets. This includes
reports on the inauguration as an event. (Table 6)
NEARLY 79% OF ALL INDONESIAN MEDIA REPORTS WERE FAVOURABLE, COMPARED TO AN AVERAGE OF JUST 45% ACROSS THE OTHER ANALYSED MARKETS.
Media Focus Chart 22
Market Favourability Table 6
MARKET FAV NEU UNFAV
Indonesia 79% 21% 0%
New Zealand 50% 50% 0%
Australia 44% 55% 1%
Singapore 41% 48% 11%
Hong Kong 37% 60% 4%
Malaysia 36% 60% 3%
Pan-Asia 36% 48% 16%
China 26% 72% 2%
Total 45% 52% 3%
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
29
While Indonesian media also widely discussed Israeli-
Palestinian relations and Iraq as the two key challenges
that Obama faces (see Chart 23), they were not critical
of President Obama’s silence about the Israeli confl ict in
Gaza, as was the case in the media in other markets. In
fact, a number of Indonesian media reports in both print
and news websites used a quote from a President Obama
interview on the ABC (America) program, This Week, that
contradicted media reporting in other markets that he was
silent on the subject before his inauguration. On the Middle
East and Guantanamo Bay, President Obama said:
“What I am doing right now is putting together the
team so that on January 20, starting day one, we
have the best possible people who are going to be
immediately engage in the Middle East peace process
as a whole.”
(Jakarta Globe, 12 January 2009, Suara Pembaruan, 12
January 2009, antara.co.id, 12 January 2009, Kompas Cyber Media, 12 January 2009 and Seputar Indonesia,
13 January 2009).
Favourable coverage about the Middle East and
Guantanamo Bay continued after President Obama’s
inauguration (RCTI, 22 January 2009 and Metro TV, 23
January 2009). In fact, 34% of all messages that the
United States’ world standing is enhanced through
President Obama appeared in Indonesia media. This is a
disproportionate number, given that Indonesia accounted
for only 10% of the total number of media reports.
Key Challenges Chart 23
34% OF ALL MESSAGES THAT THE UNITED STATES’ WORLD STANDING IS ENHANCED THROUGH PRESIDENT OBAMA APPEARED IN INDONESIA.
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Media Monitors
30
Indonesian media also included a disproportionate number
of favourable messages about President Obama’s handling
of the U.S. economy. Over 60% of all favourable messages
about President Obama’s plan to ease the credit crisis were
reported in this market. Both results strongly reinforce
the very supportive media coverage that President Obama
received in Indonesia.
OVER 60% OF ALL FAVOURABLE MESSAGES ABOUT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PLAN TO EASE THE CREDIT CRISIS WERE REPORTED IN THIS MARKET.
Leading Messages Chart 24
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
31
INDONESIA HAD 25% OF ALL OCCURRENCES OF MEDIA INTERMEDIATION.
There were a signifi cant number of references in
Indonesian media to other media in their stories. In total,
there were 100 examples of intermediation in the analysed
Indonesian media, with a large proportion from news
agencies like AP. Indonesia had 25% of all occurrences of
intermediation, a disproportionate level compared to its
overall level of coverage.
Media Intermediation Chart 25
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Media Monitors
32
While the majority of coverage in Malaysia focused on the inauguration as an event (for example, rehearsals, celebrities, attire, balls and entertainment), there was a higher level of discussion in Malaysian media about United States-World relations than in all markets except Singapore. (Chart 26)
The Malaysian focus on international issues chiefl y
concerned discussion of the Israeli confl ict in Gaza. This
issue was particularly important to the Malaysian media,
and by implication to the Malaysian community.
As displayed in Table 7 only Pan-Asian media focused
more on this issue than their counterparts in Malaysia
and only marginally.
The vast majority of coverage about the Israeli confl ict
in Gaza mentioned President Obama’s inauguration
only in passing. Some of this coverage suggested that
his inauguration was a catalyst for Israel to call off
the attacks so that it did not antagonise the incoming
administration (thestar.com.my, 16 January 2009).
However, a small number of stories questioned President
Obama’s Middle Eastern credentials and as a result
the tone of reports towards him probably gave a mixed
impression in the lead-up to the inauguration. It was
reported that President Obama’s silence over the Israeli
confl ict in Gaza reduced expectations in the Arab world
because it suggested that he would not be changing the
United States’ policy of support for Israel (thestar.com.my,
21 January 2009) and therefore might place greater
priority on other foreign relations issues.
Market Analysis – MALAYSIA
Media Focus Chart 26
THE MALAYSIAN FOCUS ON INTERNATIONAL ISSUES CHIEFLY CONCERNED DISCUSSION OF THE ISRAELI CONFLICT IN GAZA.
MARKETNUMBER OF MIDDLE EAST MENTIONS
MIDDLE EAST COMPARED TO KEY CHALLENGES MENTIONS
Pan-Asia 15 39%
Malaysia 64 37%
Indonesia 50 30%
New Zealand 39 30%
Singapore 50 30%
Australia 122 24%
China 31 20%
Hong Kong 21 20%
Mentions of the Israeli-Palestinian Confl ict Table 7
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
33
Yet Hilal Khasnan, political science professor at the American
University of Beirut, provided an alternative reading of
President Obama’s inauguration speech. He believed that
President Obama’s reference to Muslims was signifi cant
because it was “a symbolic gesture to the Muslim world that
they are part of the world” (thestar.com.my, 21 January 2009).
The Malaysian Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad
Badawi appeared to offer President Obama some advice
immediately after the inauguration. A quote from the
Prime Minister strongly encouraged President Obama
to engage with the Muslim world to solve the problems.
He was quoted as saying “I think this is important as he
understands that America is deeply involved and associated
with problems faced by the Muslim world”
(thestar.com.my, 22 January 2009).
In the same news website on the same day, the report
reproduced key President Obama messages on Israeli-
Palestinian relations, Iraq, and Afghanistan. It was reported
that President Obama would pursue Israeli-Palestinian
peace more boldly than Bush as he called both Israeli and
Arab leaders to tell them he would actively engage with
the different parties, while promising to consolidate the
Gaza ceasefi re. On Iraq, President Obama said he favours
a 16-month timetable for combat troop withdrawal, but he
would increase troop numbers in Afghanistan
(thestar.com.my, 22 January 2009).
President Obama supported his rhetoric immediately after
his inauguration by appointing George Mitchell as his
Middle East envoy. This helped to reduce earlier doubts in
the media about his commitment to the region.
While there was a great deal of discussion about the Middle
East, and some of it was unfavourable towards President
Obama, overall the Malaysian media reported that he does
offer hope. As occurred in Singapore, the use of survey
results by the Malaysian media illustrated the strength of
belief around the world that the United States will have a
better relationship with the world. A BBC survey found that:
69% of respondents in 17 Asian, African and European >countries believed that Obama will improve relations
with the world, compared to 47% six months ago
68% of respondents in China believed that Obama will >improve relations with China 68%, compared to 39%
six months ago
(Nanyang Siang Pau, 21 January 2009).
Key Challenges Chart 27
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Media Monitors
34
Malaysian leading messages refl ected the overall averages
quite closely, with hope clearly the dominant message.
However there were a higher proportion of messages
specifi cally relating to U.S.-World relations, accounting for
21% of all messages, which was higher than the average
across all markets (12%). This was not unexpected given
the Malaysian media’s focus on the confl ict in Gaza during a
large part of the analysis period.
In comparison to other markets, where print media had
the most stories about United States-World relations or
United States domestic issues, in Malaysia, news websites
had signifi cantly more reports about these two topics than
newspapers and magazines. Malaysian news websites
provided much greater analysis of President Obama’s key
challenges than print media.
Key Messages Chart 28
MALAYSIAN NEWS WEBSITES PROVIDED MUCH GREATER ANALYSIS OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S KEY CHALLENGES THAN PRINT MEDIA.
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
35
Malaysian coverage had a relatively high level of media
intermediation, with 35 instances across fi ve media types.
Newspapers and TV news reports were both mentioned
extensively in the analysed coverage, with these items
once again showing a higher level of average favourability
than coverage that did not mention any other media. This
trend of higher favourability where media intermediation
occurred was consistent across six of the eight markets
and in many cases the material quoted contained
messages favourable to President Obama.
Media Intermediation Chart 29
IN ALL BUT 2 MARKETS, ITEMS MENTIONING OTHER MEDIA SOURCES HAD A SIGNIFICANTLY HIGHER AVERAGE FAVOURABILITY THAN ALL COVERAGE.
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Media Monitors
36
Market Analysis – NEW ZEALANDNew Zealand coverage concerning President Obama’s inauguration was consistent to the average of all markets. Nearly 75% of all coverage was focused on the inauguration as an event, compared to the average of 73% (Chart 30).
The proportion of reports predominantly about United
States-World relations was 15% in New Zealand, the same
as the average across all markets. As with most other
markets, United States-World relations were discussed
more frequently than United States internal issues.
While the overall topics of coverage in New Zealand were
very similar to the averages, the discussion was much
more favourable in New Zealand, particularly when
coverage about the inauguration as an event is excluded.
Omitting inauguration as event stories, the three most
frequently mentioned themes across all coverage were
hope, the economy and the Middle East. These themes
were also widely discussed in New Zealand, but, as the
results reinforce, its coverage was glowing in its support
of President Obama and at times highly critical of the
previous president. The day after his inauguration, The New Zealand Herald compared President Obama to
Abraham Lincoln as a man of the people and castigated
“the arrogant, ignorant, empty headed immediate past-
president, led by the nose for eight long years by a bunch of
ruthless, greedy and unscrupulous neoconservatives”
(22 January 2009).
THE DAY AFTER HIS INAUGURATION, THE NEW ZEALAND HERALD COMPARED PRESIDENT OBAMA TO ABRAHAM LINCOLN AS A MAN OF THE PEOPLE AND CASTIGATED “THE ARROGANT, IGNORANT, EMPTY HEADED IMMEDIATE PAST-PRESIDENT, LED BY THE NOSE FOR EIGHT LONG YEARS BY A BUNCH OF RUTHLESS, GREEDY AND UNSCRUPULOUS NEOCONSERVATIVES”.
Media Focus Chart 30
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
37
Such was the extent of the favourable coverage in New
Zealand, it appeared at times that the media reiterated
President Obama’s key messages without critical
evaluation. In a tvnz.co.nz piece, most of his key messages
were present. The story mentioned the challenges the
United States faces - a deep economic downturn, a
trillion-dollar federal defi cit and a struggling bank sector.
However, the report said President Obama vowed to meet
the challenges through the $U.S.700 billion fi nancial
rescue plan, and continued that the country’s predicament
is a consequence of greed and irresponsibility on the part
of some. The report quoted President Obama who said
that “the challenges are real. They will not be met easily.
But know this ... they will be met.” The report fi nished by
referencing a CBS/New York Times poll that found 79% of
Americans are optimistic about the next four years
(tvnz.co.nz, 20 January 2009).
Even the subject that drew a comparatively signifi cant level
of criticism in other analysed markets, President Obama’s
lack of a response on the Israeli confl ict in Gaza, was given
favourable treatment by the analysed New Zealand media.
A nzherald.co.nz report on the day of his inauguration
speculated that one of President Obama’s fi rst acts would
be to appoint George Mitchell as his Middle East envoy.
The story then provided Mitchell’s credentials for the
position and surmised that the appointment would signal
that President Obama intends to plunge immediately into
the turbulent waters of Middle Eastern politics.
This last sentence was juxtaposed against the statement
that President Obama remained almost silent on the Gaza
confl ict in the lead up to his inauguration
(nzherald.co.nz, 21 January 2009).
Key Challenges Chart 31
OBAMA’S LACK OF A RESPONSE ON THE ISRAELI CONFLICT IN GAZA, WAS GIVEN FAVOURABLE TREATMENT BY THE ANALYSED NEW ZEALAND MEDIA.
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Media Monitors
38
Support of President Obama on tvnz.co.nz was
strengthened later in January through its reporting of his
television interview on Al Arabiya. Key President Obama
favourable messages discussed in the report, included:
America will work with Iran if it “unclenched its fi st” >
Israel and Palestinians should resume peace negotiations >
Americans are not the enemy of Arabs and Muslims >
President George W. Bush damaged relations >with many Arab and Muslim nations by invading
Afghanistan and Iraq and his initial reluctance to push
for Israeli-Palestinian peace
President Obama has fulfi lled a campaign promise by >not waiting until the end of his administration to deal
with Palestinian and Israeli peace
Ehud Olmert, the Israeli Prime Minister, was optimistic >because President Obama had assured him that
he intended to maintain Washington’s traditional
commitment to Israel
President Obama praised Saudi King Abdullah for the >Saudi-sponsored peace initiative
President Obama acknowledged that the United States >had made mistakes but said he would try to restore
relations with Arab and Muslim nations
Mustafa Alani, an analyst, believes Arabs are optimistic >that President Obama will turn a new page, but the
devil is in the detail
(tvnz.co.nz, 27 January 2009).
As highlighted in Chart 32, there were no mentions of
unfavourable messages for President Obama in the
analysed New Zealand media coverage. New Zealand
had an extremely high penetration of the message of hope,
accounting for 55% of all messages in this market.
Those broader themes of hope, change and renewal
dominated the messages seen in New Zealand media,
with less than 5% of messages relating to specifi c
policy solutions.
NEW ZEALAND HAD AN EXTREMELY HIGH PENETRATION OF THE MESSAGE OF HOPE, ACCOUNTING FOR 55% OF ALL MESSAGES IN THIS MARKET.
Leading Messages Chart 32
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Media Analysis Series: The Obama Report
39
New Zealand was the only market where television news
reports received more mentions in the analysed coverage
than any other type of media. 50% of all cases of media
intermediation involved television news items, although the
average favourability of these items was consistent with
the average favourability of all New Zealand coverage.
So while it seems television news had a greater infl uence
on other media than in the other markets, it did not have a
large impact on the favourability of that coverage.
Media Intermediation Chart 33
WHILE IT SEEMS TELEVISION NEWS HAD A GREATER INFLUENCE ON OTHER MEDIA THAN IN THE OTHER MARKETS, IT DID NOT HAVE A LARGE IMPACT ON THE FAVOURABILITY OF THAT COVERAGE.
MM2232_ObamaReport.indd Sec1:39MM2232_ObamaReport.indd Sec1:39 24/3/09 11:26:39 AM24/3/09 11:26:39 AM
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Market Analysis – SINGAPORESingaporean media was only one of two markets (the other was Pan-Asia) that had more than 50% of its coverage predominantly about United States-World relations and United States internal issues. While the single biggest story focus of the coverage was still the celebratory nature of the inauguration (particularly yahoo.com.sg), Singaporean media analysed the potential of Obama’s presidency in more depth than all other markets except Pan-Asia (Chart 34).
News websites and newspapers debated the prospects for
success of President Obama in equal depth in Singapore,
unlike in most other markets, where newspapers were
more analytical than the other media types. Media
companies in Singapore, as in Australia and Malaysia, have
embraced online technology to deliver their information.
There were almost double the number of media reports on
news websites such as asiaone.com and channelnewsasia.com
than there were in newspapers in Singapore.
Overall, Singaporean media reported that President Obama
does offer hope. The same themes used in other markets
to conclude that he offers hope and is a change from the
past were also present in Singaporean media (asiaone.com, 20 January 2009, The Business Times, 20 January and
Today, 22 January 2009).
A number of stories quoted surveys that found
President Obama had a very high approval rating
compared to previous incoming presidents (asiaone.com,
channelnewsasia.com and The Business Times, 19 January
2009). Singaporean media also reported that President
Obama’s inauguration had “unleashed a robust mood
of optimism, a feeling that under his leadership, the
United States may pull through” (The Straits Times,
26 January 2009).
Media Focus Chart 34
SINGAPOREAN MEDIA ALSO REPORTED THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA’S INAUGURATION HAD “UNLEASHED A ROBUST MOOD OF OPTIMISM, A FEELING THAT UNDER HIS LEADERSHIP, THE UNITED STATES MAY PULL THROUGH”.
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However, as in Malaysian and Pan-Asian media, there
was more doubt that President Obama could deliver on
his rhetoric about hope and change than in the other
analysed markets.
There was slightly more speculation in the Singaporean
media than most other markets about how President
Obama will handle the Israeli-Palestinian confl ict.
Singaporean media also included a greater amount of
commentary that criticised his decision not to comment on
Israel’s confl ict in Gaza in the lead-up to his inauguration.
The Business Times quoted a Republican strategist, Scott
Reid, who said: “Obama’s silence during these 10 deadly
days in Israel has been deafening and heard all over the
world ... I think it’s caution in that there’s one president
at a time but the lack of even supporting the president’s
position has been shocking to all Americans” (7 January
2009). However, The Business Times also included
comments from Shibley Telhami of the Saban Centre
for Middle East Policy, who thought President Obama’s
decision not to comment was correct.
Whether in reaction to the criticism for maintaining silence
before his inauguration or possibly because it was his
strategy, President Obama called Arab and Israeli leaders
in the days immediately following his inauguration. This
action was reported favourably in Singaporean media
because it was not expected to happen so quickly and
it showed that President Obama was serious about the
Palestinian problem (Channel NewsAsia, 22 January
2009). President Obama’s appointment of George Mitchell
as Middle East envoy was also reported as a positive
development (The Straits Times, 29 January 2009), and
Mitchell’s comments about the importance that he places
on the region were quoted by channelnewsasia.com (29
January 2009).
Key Challenges Chart 35
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42
Another signifi cant difference between Singaporean
coverage and reporting in the other markets was the
criticism of President Obama’s plan to ease the credit
crisis. 50% of all unfavourable messages about this
topic were found in Singaporean media, reinforcing the
importance of this issue in this market.
Singapore’s messages had a higher focus on policy than
most other markets, with Obama proposes solutions to back up his rhetoric the third leading message, achieving similar
levels of coverage to the message of change and three
quarters the coverage of the message of hope.
Singapore’s negative messages were also policy focused,
criticising President Obama’s approach to international
relations and U.S. economic challenges in equal
measure, rather than critiquing the broader themes of
hope and change.
50% OF ALL UNFAVOURABLE MESSAGES ABOUT CRITICISM OF PRESIDENT OBAMA’S PLAN TO EASE THE CREDIT CRISIS WERE FOUND IN SINGAPOREAN MEDIA, REINFORCING THE IMPORTANCE OF THIS ISSUE IN THIS MARKET.
Leading Messages Chart 36
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43
THIS HIGH LEVEL OF INTERMEDIATION SEEMS TO INDICATE THE SINGAPOREAN MEDIA IS MORE OPEN TO ACCESSING OTHER MEDIA TYPES.
Singapore had an extremely high level of media
intermediation, with other media items referenced in
a quarter of all Singaporean coverage. As with most
markets, newspapers were the most mentioned media
type, however television news reports and items from News
Agencies were also widely mentioned. The favourability
of these items was higher than the overall favourability of
Singaporean coverage. This high level of intermediation
seems to indicate the Singaporean media is more open to
accessing other media types as well as international and
agency media reports in developing news stories, although
once again blogs had no impact on any other media type.
Media Intermediation Chart 37
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Pan-Asia media provided the greatest analysis of what Obama’s presidency is likely to mean to the United States and the rest of the world of any of the eight analysed markets. Only 38% of Pan-Asia coverage predominantly focused on the inauguration as an event, compared to an average of 73% across all markets (Chart 38).
While both United States-World relations and United States
domestic issues were important for the Pan-Asian media,
there was a greater focus on U.S. domestic issues. In fact,
domestic issues had a similar volume of media reports to
discussion about the inauguration as an event.
Market Analysis – PAN-ASIA
PAN-ASIA MEDIA PROVIDED THE GREATEST ANALYSIS OF WHAT OBAMA’S PRESIDENCY IS LIKELY TO MEAN TO THE UNITED STATES AND THE REST OF THE WORLD OF ANY OF THE EIGHT ANALYSED MARKETS.
Key U.S. Domestic Issues Table 8
PAN-ASIA ALL MARKETS
Key Issues % Vol % Vol
Economy 25.3% 36.9%
Fiscal Stimulus Plan 16.1% 15.5%
Other 14.9% 19.7%
Health Care 13.8% 4.0%
Taxation 8.0% 3.6%
Education 6.9% 2.7%
Job Creation 6.9% 3.7%
Unemployment Benefi t 3.4% 1.0%
Job Losses 2.3% 5.3%
Subsidies 1.1% 0.1%
Clean Energy 1.1% 4.4%
Media Focus Chart 38
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The greater focus on the issues surrounding President
Obama’s inauguration meant that there was a higher level
of critical discussion in Pan-Asian media. In this market,
19% of messages were unfavourable, compared to an
average of only 6% across all analysed countries. Also,
there were more than fi ve times as many unfavourable
media reports in Pan-Asian media (16%) than the average
across all markets (3%).
The media in most markets talked about the economy
generally, whereas Pan-Asia media focused on other key
internal problems in the United States, including health care,
taxation, education and job creation, as shown in Table 8.
Leading Messages Chart 39
THERE WERE MORE THAN FIVE TIMES AS MANY UNFAVOURABLE MEDIA REPORTS IN PAN-ASIAN MEDIA (16%) THAN THE AVERAGE ACROSS ALL MARKETS (3%).
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While United States-World relations were not as important
in media discussion as domestic topics in the United
States, they were still signifi cant in this market. By a
margin of two to one, the Middle East was reported by the
Pan-Asian media as the most important challenge. Like
Malaysian and Singaporean media, Pan-Asian media were
critical of President Obama’s lack of a position on the
Israeli confl ict in Gaza in the lead-up to the inauguration.
The International Herald Tribune said:
Obama has disappointed many commentators in the
Muslim world by steadfastly declining to condemn
Israel’s Gaza operation, and he maintained his
silence over the weekend as Israel began its ground
invasion ... But Israel’s invasion of Gaza, and Obama’s
studied silence about it threatens to short-circuit his
plans for a U.S. image makeover (6 January 2009).
Even after it was reported in Malaysia that President
Obama had told Israeli and Arab leaders that he would be
actively engaging the different parties, and also after he
announced that George Mitchell would be his envoy to the
Middle East, atimes.com was still very critical. It argued:
Lest United Stated President Barack Obama’s
opportunistic silence when Israel began the Gaza
offensive that killed more than 1,400 Palestinians
(more than 400 of them children) be misinterpreted,
his aides pointed reporters to comments made
six months earlier in the Israeli town of Sderot. ‘If
somebody was sending rockets into my house, where
my two daughters sleep at night, I’m going to do
everything in my power to stop that’ (24 January 2009).
The Pan-Asian results give an insight into the
possible communication challenges that President
Obama will face in other markets once the euphoria
surrounding his inauguration dissipates, which will
be to demonstrate progress on a range of issues to a
global community with high expectations.
THE PAN-ASIAN RESULTS GIVE AN INSIGHT INTO THE POSSIBLE COMMUNICATION CHALLENGES THAT PRESIDENT OBAMA WILL FACE IN OTHER MARKETS ONCE THE EUPHORIA SURROUNDING HIS INAUGURATION DISSIPATES.
Key Challenges Chart 40
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Appendix A. METHODOLOGYMedia Monitors uses the CARMA
®, media content analysis
methodology, which is internationally recognised as one of
the most sophisticated and rigorous commercial systems
available and its executives are foremost specialists in
media research and analysis worldwide.
Media Monitors analyses media coverage of companies,
organisations, products, events, campaigns, trends and
issues quantitatively and, most importantly, qualitatively.
Quantitative analysis is relatively straightforward. However,
in addition to simply counting the total number of articles
and column centimetres/inches or minutes of air time,
Media Monitors is able to calculate the total impressions
generated (the total circulation or audience reached by
media coverage).
Also, where competitors are analysed, Media Monitors can
report editorial ‘share of voice’.
Importantly, Media Monitors analyses media content
qualitatively taking into account multiple key variables that
determine the impact of media coverage. These include:
The > media in which articles appear (with weightings
applied for priority and target media);
Positioning > (front page, front of business section, etc);
Prominence > (size or length of articles; headline
mentions; photo; etc);
Issues > discussed;
Messages > contained in articles (positive and negative);
Sources > quoted (favourable and unfavourable); and
Other textual and contextual factors such as > tone, headline, photos, etc.
From this multi-variate analysis, an aggregate score
is derived and presented on a 0-100 scale where 50 is neutral to provide a sophisticated overall rating of the
favourability or otherwise of each article, each media,
each source and each writer for the client. Average favourability is also calculated for issues, media, writers
and sources, providing valuable data for identifying trends
and for comparing with benchmarks or previous data. This
aggregate score is called the CARMA® Favourability Rating.
The CARMA® Favourability Rating is much more than a
positive or negative description which is the basis of some
simplistic (univariate) media analysis systems. It provides
a precise overall qualitative rating that refl ects the likely
impact of coverage.
Quality control to ensure rigor and reliability of analysis is
achieved in four key ways:
First, most of the variables analysed by Media Monitors >- eg. media name, page number, positioning, sources’
names, etc - are objective criteria;
‘Issues’ and ‘Messages’ (somewhat more subjective) >are identifi ed by either (a) exact word or phrase
matching or (b) presence of acceptable synonyms.
A list of acceptable synonyms and coding instructions
is provided to analysts in Coding Guidelines to
maintain consistency and rigour (eg. “Innovator” can =
“cutting edge products”; “ahead of competitors”; “fi rst
to market”; etc);
Media Monitors uses > multiple coders on all projects to
minimise individual subjectivity; and
Media Monitors conducts > intercoder reliability assessment.
Media Monitors is a member of the Association for Measurement and Evaluation of Communication (AMEC), the leading international organisation for communication
and media research based in the UK and fully complies
with its strict standards (see www.amecorg.com/amec).
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Australia
BlogsAndrew BoltClub TroppoCore EconomicsJohn QuigginLarvatus ProdeoTim Blair
NewspapersThe Australian Financial ReviewThe Australian including The Weekend AustralianThe Sydney Morning Herald including the Sun HeraldThe Age and The Sunday AgeHerald SunThe Courier-Mail and The Sunday Mail (Brisbane)
The Canberra Times and The Sunday Canberra TimesThe Advertiser (Adelaide) and The Sunday Mail (Adelaide)
The West AustralianThe Sunday TimesBusiness Review WeeklyCFO
News Websitesabc.net.aunews.com.aunews.com.au/dailytelegraphsbs.com.ausmh.com.autheage.com.autheaustralian.news.com.au
Television NewsABC1: 7:00pm News
Channel 7: 6:00pm News
Channel 9: 6:00pm News
SBS: World News Australia Sky: Sky News
China
Blogsblog.focus.cnChina HeraldChina JournalChina Rises Notes from the Middle KingdomWen Yun ChaoZeng Jin Yan ___ (Hu Jia’s wife)
Newspapers21st Century Business HeraldBeijing Evening NewsBeijing Youth DailyChina DailyChina Economic TimesChina Business NewsChina Business HeraldChina Economic HeraldChina Economic TimesEconomic DailyGlobal TimesGuangzhou DailyGuangming DailyInformation ReferenceInternational Business DailyJiefang Ribao People’s DailyReference NewsShenzen Commercial NewsWenhui DailyWest-China City DailyXinmin Wanboa Yangtse NewsYangcheng Evening News
News Websiteschina.comchinanews.com.cncn.yahoo.comnetease.compeople.com.cnsina.com.cnsohu.comtom.comeastday.comxinhuanet.com
Television NewsCCTV 1: CCTV Major NewsCCTV 4: World ExpressCCTV 9: World Wide WatchCCTV News: 8 O’clock News
Appendix B. MEDIA LIST
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Hong Kong
Blogsleftbbs.mysinablog.com
NewspapersAM 730Apple DailyHeadline DailyHong Kong Daily NewsHong Kong Economic JournalHong Kong Economic TimesOriental DailyMetropolis DailyMing Pao Daily NewsSouth China Morning PostSing Tao Daily NewsTa Kung PaoThe StandardWen Wei Po
News WebsitesHong Kong iMailInterfax ChinaSouth China Morning Postthestandard.com.hk
Television NewsATV World: 19:30 NewsTVB Jade: 18:30 NewsTVB Pearl: 18:00 News
Indonesia
BlogsAdinotoBloggombalBudiraharjoEnda NasutionGerakan bawah tanahHarry SufehmiIndonesia anonymousMasekoNdoro KakungWimar Witoelar
NewspapersBisnis IndonesiaBisnis InternationalEksekkutifIndonesian BusinessJawa PosKedaulatan RakyatKompas Morning DailyKoran TempoMedia IndonesiaRepublikaSeputar IndonesiaSinar HarapanSuara MerdekaSuara PembaruanThe Jakarta GlobeThe Jakarta PostWarta EkonomiWarta Kota
News Websitesantara.co.idantaranews.comastaga.combisnis.comdetik.cominvestorindonesia.comkompas.commediaindonesia.comokezone.comtempointeraktif.com
Television NewsMetro TV
RCTI
SCTV
Trans TV
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Malaysia
BlogsAnwar IbrahimBerita Malaysia KiniDEMA - Malaysia Youth & Students Democratic MovementI am MalaysianKickdefellakyspeaks.comPendapat KritisProject MalaysiaRocky’s BruThe People’s ParliamentWest Malaysia
NewspapersBerita HarianBusiness WeekChina PressDewan EkonomiMalay MailMalaysia NambanMalaysian BusinessNanyang Siang PauNew Straits TimesSin Chew Jit PohThe Edge The StarThe SunUtusan Malaysia
News Websitesbernama.comnst.com.mytheedgedaily.comthestar.com.my
Television NewsBernama: 9:00pm NewsNTV7: 7:00pm NewsTV2: Dateline on 2TV3: Nightline
New Zealand
BlogsJust LeftKiwiblogKotareMulholland Heeft Meer Mmmmmmmm...Public AddressSecond p0st
NewspapersThe Dominion Post and The Dominion Post WeekendThe New Zealand Herald and The Herald on SundayNational Business Review
News Websitescio.co.nznzherald.co.nzstuff.co.nztvnz.co.nz
Television NewsSky News NZ: 7:00pm NewsTV ONE: 6:00pm NewsTV3: 6:00pm News
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Singapore
Blogsjournalism.sgmrbrown L’infantile terrible of SingaporeSingapore DailySingapore Dissident
NewspapersBerita HarianThe Business TimesLianhe WanbaoLianhe ZaobaoShin Min DailyThe EdgeThe New PaperThe Straits TimesToday
News Websiteasiaone.combusinesstimes.com.sgchannelnewsasia.comnewpaper.asia1.com.sgyahoo.com.sg
Television NewsChannel 5: News 5 TonightChannel 8: News 8 @ 10Channel News Asia: World Tonight
Pan-Asia
BlogsMutant Frog Travel Log
NewspapersInternational Herald TribuneThe Wall Street Journal Asia
News Websiteatimes.com
Television NewsCNBC Asia: Nightly News Bulletin
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AUSTRALIA
Media Monitors Pty LtdLevel 3, 219-241 Cleveland Street
Strawberry Hills, NSW 2012
Australia
Phone: +61 2 9318 4000
SINGAPORE
Media Monitors Pte Ltd39 Tras Street
Singapore 078978
Phone: +65 6302 1510
Fax: +65 6302 1515
CHINA
SinoFile InformationConsulting Co Ltd
85A Tonglinge St,
Beijing 100031
Phone: +86 10 6605 9202
NEW ZEALAND
Media Monitors LtdLevel 9, 1 Willis Street
Wellington Central, Wellington 6011
Phone: +64 4 462 6200
Freecall in NZ: 0800 607 000
MALAYSIA
Asia Media Monitors Sdn BhdA-15M-1 Menara Taipan
6 Jalan P Ramlee
50250 Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia
Phone: +603 2730 1600
HONG KONG
Media Monitors LtdUnit 3204B - 5
32/F, AIA Tower, 183 Electric Road,
North Point, Hong Kong
Phone: +852 3664 2700
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