Abstract: “News making in Malaysia involves various types of newspaper production, including serious and tabloid newspapers. This paper intends to study the practices in three Malaysian newspapers, namely Utusan Malaysia (UM), Sinar Harian (SH) and Harian Metro (HM). These newspapers are distinct in their own ways, in that UM is associated with the state and SH is privately-owned and non-partisan, while HM is the most popular tabloid newspaper in the country. The elements of news production examined include the considerations involved in publishing front page news and news selections in editorial meetings, picture selections and the placement of entertainment news in the newspapers. Generally, the findings indicate that each newspaper follows specific methods of determining news, although, on the surface, there are so-called ‘universal’ methods of news making. Thus, the paper argues that, even when a newspaper is produced in a particular country, news making practices are specific and still bound”

Keywords: News production, Malaysia, newspaper, Utusan Malaysia, Sinar Harian.