Media Practitioners' Perspective On News Media Reporting Of Islam And Muslims: A Room For Improvement Through A Formulation Of Writing News Guideline

The idea to embark this study on Islam and Muslim issues is still relevant due to there are many reportings from the Western media especially about Middle East. On that account, the purpose of this study is to find out the solution to encourage more positive reporting about Islam and Muslim issues. Eight Malaysian media practitioners have been interviewed to share their experiences and ideas in finding an answer to formulate a new, fair and balanced guideline to be practiced. All of them were interviewed via face-to-face methods and phone calls. From the interview, the researchers found out the important tips with regards to assisting students, journalists and individuals to become more expert in writing news accurately. The researchers
found out how a journalist played the role of an Islamic journalist and anchor the meaning of Islamic journalism. In addition, the results of this study also managed to formulate a guideline in writing reports or news related to Islam and Muslim community to produce a positive image of Islam and the Muslims in the media.