Question 1 it is

After some considerations, I've finally decided to pick Question 1 as my essay question.

Question 1: Analyse in detail the coverage of a single story, comprising of text and images, in two contrasting newspapers or magazines, one of which should be a South East Asian publication. Compare and contrast the techniques used and the target market for each sample.

Requirements:
1. choose 2 newspapers OR 2 magazines with the same story which have both text and image (with one a South East Asian publication) 
2. compare and contrast (similarities and distinctive features) between the two:
   (a) techniques
   (b) target audience

The news I've chosen is about the banning of Ultraman comic book over the usage of "Allah" by the Home Ministry of Malaysia. It is found in the world news section in The Guardian, an international British newspaper and the national news section in Sin Chew Daily, a Malaysian Chinese newspaper. Both coverage are online versions.

The Guardian (7 March 2014): 
Malaysia censors Ultraman comic for 'irresponsible use of the word Allah'
AND
Sin Chew Daily (7 March 2014): 
1. Home Ministry: Only the Malay version of Ultraman The Ultra Power is banned. Ultraman did not break the law*
2. MCA: the statement 'threaten public safety' is not justified. "should instill positive values of Ultraman"*
3. "The explanation of banning Ultraman is ridiculous". Gerakan: Home Ministry should reconsider the decision*
4. Loke Siew Fook: improper wordings should be amended. 'what wrong did Ultraman do?'*
5. Malay version of Ultraman The Ultra Power banned. all because of translator's fault from "God" to "Allah"*

* translated from Chinese to English

The reason of me choosing this particular news is because it is interesting to know how and why different newspapers (in this case: different country, different language) chose different approach/techniques to report about religion-related media censorship, which is quite a sensitive issue in Malaysia.
eg. merely facts to inform OR uncover more details to inform or to clarify OR including other issues or information to distract or to provoke?

In the coming posts, I'll do 
1. a simple compare and contrast on the newspapers' contents and images 
2. compare and contrast between target audience and the contents of both newspapers
3. social semiotic analysis guided by Daniel Chandler

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References:

Sin Chew Daily (2014a) [Home Ministry: Only the Malay version of Ultraman The Ultra Power is banned. Ultraman did not break the law]. Sin Chew Daily. 7 March 2014. (In Chinese). [Online] Available at: http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/352794?tid=1 [Accessed: 26 June 2014].

Sin Chew Daily (2014b) [MCA: the statement 'threaten public safety' is not justified. "should instill positive values of Ultraman"]. Sin Chew Daily. 7 March 2014. (In Chinese). [Online] Available at: http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/352796?tid=1 [Accessed: 26 June 2014].

Sin Chew Daily (2014c) [The explanation of banning Ultraman is ridiculous". Gerakan: Home Ministry should reconsider the decision]. Sin Chew Daily. 7 March 2014. (In Chinese). [Online] Available at: http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/352802?tid=1 [Accessed: 26 June 2014].

Sin Chew Daily (2014d) [Loke Siew Fook: improper wordings should be amended. 'what wrong did Ultraman do?']. Sin Chew Daily. 7 March 2014. (In Chinese). [Online] Available at: http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/352805?tid=1 [Accessed: 26 June 2014].

The Guardian (2014) Malaysia censors Ultraman comic for 'irresponsible use of the word Allah'. The Guardian, 7 March 2014. [Online] Available at: http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/mar/07/malaysia-censors-ultraman-comic-allah [Accessed: 26 June 2014].

Xu, J.J. and Wan, Q.S. (2014) [Malay version of Ultraman The Ultra Power banned. all because of translator's fault from "God" to "Allah"]. Sin Chew Daily. 7 March 2014. (In Chinese). [Online] Available at: http://news.sinchew.com.my/node/352818 [Accessed: 26 June 2014].