December, 2006
Gerald Giam, Main Stories, RecomendRead - Sunday, December 31, 2006 15:41 - 19 Comments
Review – The politics of Singapore’s new media in 2006
by Gerald Giam
The year 2006 was a landmark year for the new media and citizen journalism in Singapore. The government’s “light touch” approach to regulating the Internet was probably one of the factors that emboldened many Singaporeans to step up and push the political boundaries through their blogs, podcasts (online sound clips) and vodcasts (online video clips).
There were too many developments in the new media in Singapore in the past year to capture in one article. Nevertheless, this piece will highlight just a few of the more significant happenings in Singapore fuelled by this phenomenon.
Election podcasting and vodcasting
In the weeks leading up to the General Election in May, Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts Balaji Sadasivan announced a ban on “explicitly political” podcasting and vodcasting during the hustings. This move was ostensibly in response to the Singapore Democratic Party’s (SDP) plans to circumvent the government-controlled mainstream media by reaching out to the electorate using sound and video clips on its website. After the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA) informed political parties of this regulation, the parties had no choice but to comply. The SDP reluctantly removed the podcasts from their website, but not without protest.
- Review – GE 2006 & The Internet
- Jurong Island Theft: 100kg of Jet fuel additive stolen.
- Singaporean students to be re-valued monthly
- Landmark decision for ‘free speech’
- “Homing instinct” requires fundamental shift in mentality
- Give a simple gift this christmas
- A stranger, my friend.
- The Geopolitics of Asian Cyberspace
- Income gap tears at Singapore social fabric
- Self-regulation of Singapore Blogosphere- Whatever for??
- Ensure GST increase of 2% truly benefit the people
- Radicality – The Singaporean Youth?
- Freedom Walk
- Launch Of “Days Of Being Wild”
- Does criticism = opposition?
- Tough love
- A kindness revolution
- Self-regulation by the blogging community: why not?
- S’pore and Malaysia should aim for maximum engagement
- How much bonus/raise does a civil servant need?
- NCMP Sylvia Lim : Population, Immigration and Rooting Singaporeans
- A dash of tolerance and a big helping of smart power
- Being myself..
- Dismantling the bloggers vs journalists debate
- The Rise Of The Political Internet
- Why do teachers stop wanting to be teachers?
- Globalization and its impact on Singapore family values
- Foreign labour policy & income disparity in Singapore
- Singapore’s declining birth rate
- Blogs, bloggers, blogging
- “Please, get out of my elite uncaring face.”
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