Silence can be deafening too

 

It is often said that what is reported and the way an incident or issue is reported tell a lot about the political preference or ideological bent of a newspaper.

But it also matters a lot what is left out or, to use the language of the digitial age, deleted by the newspaper concerned.

Well-known lawyer and former UMNO member Zaid Ibrahim publicly made a strong remark yesterday at a weekly luncheon meeting of the Kuala Lumpur Rotary Club about premier-in-waiting Najib Razak that could be interpreted as something ‘newsworthy’ because it has elements of public significance and national importance.

And yet, mainstream dailies, in particular the New Straits Times and The Star, or at least their online versions, chose not to carry the statement of this public figure for reasons best known to themselves.

At the very least, Najib should be given an equal opportunity to respond to such a strong statement via the mainstream media after Zaid’s utterance had been made and duly reported.

On the other hand, websites such as Malaysiakini, The Malaysian Insider and The Nut Graph carried a report of Zaid’s statement, if not his entire speech.

Or could it be that the two mainstream newspapers are indeed trying to indicate something important to us the readers? That, for instance, the news websites concerned do not have a good sense of news or, worse, are socially and politically irresponsible?