Academics and researchers accounted for 18.38% of all sources quoted, and civil society and non-government societies, business people, individuals and labour unionists accounted for only 14.29% of all sources.
“This means that the voices of ASEAN leaders are the ones most heard in media reports, and that top-level state policies dominate the news agenda, while the views of individuals from the ASEAN constituency and groups like labour unionists rarely got space,” wrote communications professor Ubonrat Siriyuvasak, who analysed the research data gathered by IPS Asia-Pacific’s team of journalist-researchers.