Cooperation amidst crises: Dynamics of media strategic alliance networks between Thailand and Malaysia

Abstract

While issues relating to globalization and cross-border cooperation in political, economic and trade contexts have been discussed and explored extensively across both developed and developing nations, not much has been discussed on the role of media in enhancing cooperation between nations. Media institutions, which encompassed both electronic media and print media, together with the new media that focused on information and communication technologies, have the capacity to strategically enhance the extent of cooperation between governments, societies and nations. This article examines how media institutions in Thailand and Malaysia can play a more proactive role in strengthening bilateral cooperation between the two countries. Conducted at the macro and micro levels of analysis, it analyses the political, economic, cultural, and social image of both countries through media coverage encompassing television programs, news, films, advertisements, and Internet communication. The focus is on the end results of the consumers’ use of the media, the anticipation of the mass communicator, and the dynamics of media strategic alliance of both countries. The discussions show that media strategic alliances are indeed critical in reinforcing the legitimacy and authority of mainstream reportage by news agencies and media institutions across all spheres of public existence within the border worlds.

Keywords: cross-borders, globalization, media content, media institutions, media strategic alliance networks, new
media