Media freedom and media control are two concepts closely related to democracy where it involves the struggle and cooperation between media and the government. Although Freedom House – an international body that classified a few countries in Europe as practicing press freedom, the truth is absolute press freedom does not exist. Those countries actually have their own control mechanism. In Malaysia, media freedom and media control are always questioned because the government was accused of using various reasons to control media freedom. The media freedom issue is considered as not important for a developing country like Malaysia because multiracial harmony is essential in order for the government to focus on the development. However, the advancement of technology has loosened the government’s control and makes it more complex. This situation has raised concerns about how the media can be controlled in the era of new media. Through a literature review of secondary sources, this article is going to evaluate the control element in the Agenda Setting Theory proposed by McCombs and Shaw (1972) and how press freedom in Malaysia has been impacted by the advancement of communication technology. This article will also suggest a few solutions for the government to control the media in the era of new media.
