“The intelligentsia, academics, think tank analysts, civil society and business people, who are equally important stakeholders in the development of South-east Asian societies and economies, seem to be overlooked as key sources in news articles, analyses and commentaries,” she added.
While there was a good amount of coverage on the political and foreign-policy aspects as well as economic issues around ASEAN, there was a “severe lack of reportage on social issues that included poverty, education, unequal development and gender – even as ASEAN pursues its goal of becoming a community with deeper links among its member countries,” Ubonrat said.
The ASEAN articles did not show much discussion of other development issues, which are key to strengthening the foundation of the ASEAN Community due in 2015. “The inclusion of commoners’ voices would make the ASEAN news agenda more people-oriented,” she added.