The Media of Singapore refers to mass communication methods through broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet available in the city-state. Singapore's media environment is considered to be highly controlled by the government.[1][2] Comprising the publishing, print, broadcasting, film, music, digital, and IT media sectors, the media industry collectively employed about 38,000 people and contributed 1.56% to Singapore's gross domestic product (GDP) in 2001 with an annual turnover of S$10 billion. The industry grew at an average rate of 7.7% annually from 1990 to 2000, and the government seeks to increase its GDP contribution to 3% by 2012. [3][4]
Mass communication is the study of how people exchange their information through mass media to large segments of the population at the same time with an amazing speed. In other words, mass communication refers to imparting and exchanging information on a large scale to a wide range of people. It is usually understood for relating newspaper, magazine, and book publishing, as well as radio, television and film, even via internet as these mediums are used for disseminating information, news and advertising. Mass communication differs from the studies of other forms of communication, such as interpersonal communication or organizational communication, in that it focuses on a single source transmitting information to a large number of receivers. The study of mass communication is chiefly concerned with how the content of mass communication persuades or otherwise affects the behavior, the attitude, opinion, or emotion of the person or people receiving the information.
A city-state is a sovereign state, also described as a type of small independent country, that usually consists of a single city and its dependent territories. Historically, this included cities such as Rome, Athens, Carthage, and the Italian city-states during the Renaissance. As of 2019, only a handful of sovereign city-states exist, with some disagreement as to which are city-states. A great deal of consensus exists that the term properly applies currently to Monaco, Singapore, and Vatican City. City states are also sometimes called microstates which however also includes other configurations of very small countries, not to be confused with micronations.
The Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts is the government's regulatory body that imposes and enforces regulation over locally produced media content. It also decides on the availability of published media from abroad. Political, regulatory and structural control over all media forms restricts and discourages criticism of the government.[5][6][7][8][9] Issues deemed to be inciting racial and religious hatred are prohibited,[10][11]and media advocating non-traditional family units and lifestyles are selectively censored.[12][13][14]
Reporters Without Borders (RWB), also known under its original name Reporters Sans Frontières (RSF), is an international non-profit, non-governmental organization based in Paris that conducts political advocacy on issues relating to freedom of information and freedom of the press.
The press freedom index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to reflect the degree of freedom that journalists, news organisations, and netizens have in each country, and the efforts made by authorities to respect this freedom. Reporters Without Borders is careful to note that the index only deals with press freedom and does not measure the quality of journalism nor does it look at human rights violations in general.
Most of the local media are directly or indirectly controlled by the government through shareholdings of these media entities by the state's investment arm Temasek Holdings, and are often perceived as pro-government.[16] William Gibson's Disneyland with the Death Penalty described Singapore's newspapers as "essentially organs of the state",[17] while political scientist and opposition politician James Gomez has studied the role of self-censorship in restricting expression in Singapore.[16]
Temasek Holdings Private Limited is a Singaporean holding company. It is owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated in 1974 as a Commercial Investment Company, Temasek owns and manages a net portfolio of $308 billion, with S$16 billion divested and S$29 billion invested during the year, and 68% exposure to Asia – 27% Singapore and 41% Asia ex-Singapore. It is an active shareholder and investor, and its investments are guided by four key themes – transforming economies, growing middle income populations, deepening comparative advantages and emerging champions. Its portfolio covers a broad spectrum of sectors including financial services, telecommunications, media and technology, transportation and industrials, life sciences and agribusiness, consumer and real estate, energy and resources, as well as multi-sector funds. Headquartered in Singapore, Temasek has a multinational team of 730 people, in 11 global offices including 2 offices in Beijing, and 1 office in Shanghai, Mumbai, Hanoi, London, New York, San Francisco, Mexico City, Washington, D.C., Sao Paulo.
"Disneyland with the Death Penalty" is a 4,500-word article about Singapore written by William Gibson. His first major piece of non-fiction, it was first published as the cover story for Wired magazine's September/October 1993 issue (1.4).
James Gomez is a Singaporean academic and former politician. He is presently Professor of Communications and Associate Dean at the School of Communication Arts, Bangkok University, Thailand. In 2015, he founded the Asia Centre, a regional educational enterprise based in Bangkok, Thailand.
In 2011, 56% of 1092 respondents to a telephone poll agreed that "there is too much government control of newspapers and television", and 48% felt that "newspapers and television are biased when they report on Singapore politics, political parties and elections".[18]
State-owned MediaCorp owns and operates all seven free-to-air terrestrial local television channels licensed to broadcast in Singapore, as well as 14 radio channels. Radio and television stations are all government-owned entities. The radio stations are mainly operated by MediaCorp with the exception of four stations, which are operated by So Drama! Entertainment (a part of the Singapore Armed Forces) and SPH UnionWorks. The only radio station in Singapore that is entirely outside government control is the BBC Far Eastern Relay station, which broadcasts the BBC World Service locally on FM.[19]
So Drama! Entertainment is a Singapore media company owned by SAFRA National Service Association. In their portfolio are four brands - 883JiaFM, Music and Drama Company, PIONEER and Power98FM.
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) is the military component of the Ministry of Defence of the Republic of Singapore as part of the city-state's Total Defence strategy.
Private ownership of TV satellite dishes is forbidden.[19]
No person shall print or publish or assist in the printing or publishing of any newspaper in Singapore unless the chief editor or the proprietor of the newspaper has previously obtained a permit granted by the Minister authorising the publication thereof, which permit the Minister may in his discretion grant, refuse or revoke, or grant subject to conditions to be endorsed thereon.
—Newspaper and Printing Presses Act of 1974, Cap. 206, Sec. 21. —(1)
Section 10 of the same act gives the Minister the power to appoint the management shareholders of all newspaper companies and to control any transfers of such management shares.[20] The same section specifies that a management share equals 200 ordinary shares for "any resolution relating to the appointment or dismissal of a director or any member of the staff of a newspaper company",[20] and that the number of management shares must equal at least 1% of ordinary shares.[20] This gives the management shareholders, and by proxy the government, a minimum 66% majority in any votes regarding staffing decisions.
The print media are largely controlled by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), publisher of the flagship English-language daily, The Straits Times. SPH publishes all daily newspapers with the exception of TODAY, which is owned by MediaCorp. A United States diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks[21] quotes Chua Chin Hon, the Straits Times' US bureau chief, saying that the paper's "editors have all been groomed as pro-government supporters and are careful to ensure that reporting of local events adheres closely to the official line", and that "the government exerts significant pressure on ST editors to ensure that published articles follow the government's line".[22]
As of 2008[update], there are 16 newspapers in active circulation. Daily newspapers are published in English, Chinese, Malay and Tamil.
There are restrictions on importing foreign newspapers to Singapore, especially for politically sensitive publications. Also, under a reciprocal agreement, Malaysia's New Straits Times newspaper may not be sold in Singapore, and Singapore's Straits Times may not be sold in Malaysia.
↑ "Media Overview". Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts. Archived from the original on 10 September 2006. Retrieved 17 September 2006.
The Straits Times is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore currently owned by Singapore Press Holdings. Singapore Press Holdings claims that the print and digital editions of the newspaper have a daily average circulation of 383,600. It was established on 15 July 1845 as The Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce, There are specific Myanmar and Brunei editions published, with a newsprint circulation of 5,000 and 2,500 respectively.
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is a Singaporean commercial broadcasting conglomerate. It holds interests in radio, television and digital content creation. It runs 6 television channels and 11 radio stations, making it the largest media business in Singapore; it holds a monopoly on free-to-air television in Singapore. It is owned by Temasek Holdings, a state-owned investment arm.
The New Paper is a Singaporean newspaper in tabloid form. It was originally published as a "noon paper", but since 2016 has been published daily as a freesheet in the morning from 7 a.m. onwards.
The Fiji Times is a daily English-language newspaper published in Suva, Fiji. Established in Levuka on 4 September 1869 by George Littleton Griffiths, it is Fiji's oldest number 1 newspaper still operating. The newspaper's masthead states that it is: "The First Newspaper Published In The World Every Day".
Broadcasting in Singapore began on 5 May 1923 when Radio Singapura was established as the first local mass market radio service. Subsequently, on 15 February 1963, before the withdrawal of the British Armed Forces and after the merger with Malaya, Singapore's first television service began as Televisyen Singapura under its owner, Radio Television Singapore (RTS).
TODAY is a Singapore English-language digital news provider under MediaCorp. It was formerly a national free daily newspaper. MediaCorp, the newspaper's parent company is Singapore's largest media broadcaster and provider in Singapore and the only terrestrial television broadcaster in the country.
The government in Singapore has broad powers to limit citizens' rights and to inhibit political opposition. In 2018, Singapore was ranked 151st out of 180 nations by Reporters Without Borders in the Worldwide Press Freedom Index. Freedom in the World scored Singapore 4 out of 7 for political freedom, and 4 out of 7 for civil liberties, with an overall ranking of "partly free" for the year 2015.
Singapore Press Holdings Limited is a media organisation in Singapore with businesses in print, digital, radio and outdoor media, and property and aged care. SPH has over 4,000 employees, including a team of approximately 1,000 journalists, including correspondents operating around the world. The company was one of the country's "blue-chip" counters on the Singapore Stock Exchange, and is a constituent of the Straits Times Index.
Censorship in the People's Republic of China (PRC) is implemented or mandated by the PRC's ruling party, the Communist Party of China (CPC). The government censors content for mainly political reasons, but also to maintain its control over the populace. The Chinese government asserts that it has the legal right to control the internet's content within their territory and that their censorship rules do not infringe on the citizen's right to free speech. Since Xi Jinping became the General Secretary of the Communist Party of China in 2012, censorship has been "significantly stepped up".
The media of Brunei are strictly controlled by the government under Sultan Hassanal Bolkiah, which has effectively imposed martial law in the country since the Brunei Revolt of 1962. News coverage consists of police-beat reporting, lifestyle features and community events, with little in the way of diverse viewpoints. Reporters Without Borders reports there is "virtually no criticism of the government". The liberal democracy watchdog Freedom House lists Brunei's media as "not free".
Glenn Francis Ong Su Kar is a Singaporean DJ at SPH Radio's One FM 91.3, a Singapore English radio station, hosting the morning show with The Flying Dutchman. A radio veteran of over 20 years, Ong has been described as "foul, politically incorrect but refreshingly candid".
The media of Malaysia includes television, radio, newspapers, and web-based media such as bloggers. Many media outlets are either owned directly by the government of Malaysia or owned by component parties of the Barisan Nasional coalition which formed the government until May 2018. Opposition parties PAS and PKR, now the main parties of the ruling "Pakatan Harapan" coalition, publish their own newspapers, Harakah and Suara Keadilan, respectively, which are openly sold alongside regular publications.
Censorship is a long term issue in Malaysia which has become more apparent as it attempts to adapt to a modern knowledge-based economy. Despite having in its Federal Constitution states that subject to certain conditions, “every citizen has the right to freedom of speech and expression”, Malaysia has consistently sat low on global indexes related to press and media freedom.
Laws on censorship in Israel are based on British emergency regulations from 1945 that apply to domestic media, foreign newspapers and wire service transmissions from or through Israel.
Internet censorship in Singapore is carried out by the Media Development Authority (MDA). Internet services provided by the three major Internet service providers (ISPs) are subject to regulation by the MDA, which requires blocking of a symbolic number of websites containing "mass impact objectionable" material, including Playboy, YouPorn and Ashley Madison. The civil service, tertiary institutions and Institute of Technical Education has its own jurisdiction to block websites displaying pornography, information about drugs and online piracy.
The print, broadcast and online media of Burma has undergone strict censorship and regulation since the 1962 Burmese coup d'état. The constitution provides for freedom of speech and the press; however, the government prohibits the exercise of these rights in practice. Reporters Without Borders ranked Burma 174th out of 178 in its 2010 Press Freedom Index, ahead of just Iran, Turkmenistan, North Korea, and Eritrea. In 2015, Burma moved up to 144th place, ahead of many of its ASEAN neighbours such as Singapore, as a result of political changes in the country.
Censorship is the suppression of speech, public communication, or other information, on the basis that such material is considered objectionable, harmful, sensitive, or "inconvenient". Censorship can be conducted by a government, private institutions, and corporations.
SPH MediaWorks Ltd was a free-to-air terrestrial television broadcaster in Singapore that operated two television channels: Channel U and Channel i. It merged with the city-state's long-established broadcasting company, Mediacorp, in 2004.
Media regulation in the Republic of Singapore is carried out by the Info-communications Media Development Authority (IMDA) and effected by various laws.
MONEY FM 89.3 is a radio station operated by SPH Radio in Singapore. It is a business and personal finance radio station that focus on business and money-related topics, as well as general news and discussion of wider social topics such as health, education, food, music, fitness and more. The station launched officially on 29 January 2018 at 8 a.m.
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