The sort of cathartic change in our national life like the general election result on March 8 is bound to subvert and implode many of the institutions that have been frozen frigid by the architectonic gridlock of past totalitarianism. One such institution is the media.

Overnight, many of the premises and assumptions about the functions of and roles of the media long held to be gospel truth by practitioners and information consumers alike have been proven to be downright false. The new political landscape the morning after must have compelled many politicians and journalists to rethink orthodox media policy and practices. Certainly, they have discovered with shock and awe the power of the small narratives swamping the marginal alternative media in Malaysia. The cyber world of the internet has come of age.