How did the local media, particularly the press, cover the defamation lawsuit brought against the Chees by the Lees? Was the coverage fair? Balanced? Have a look at this video.
Special thanks to Rachel Zeng.
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Why are you mainly using ST and TNP- the usual suspects- as sole benchmarks and representatives of “local media”? It’s just highlighting examples that suit your agenda, and omitting completely those that don’t. Where’s the balance? You decide.
ST and TNP are representative of both the local print and broadcast media. Both have very high circulation rates too. And its no state secret that the local media are a bias lot when it comes to reportage of local politics. As for the coverage of the chees vs lees, the local media’s coverage proves it. This video has done a pretty good job of capturing it.
My point is this: Don’t generalise and lump all the media together. There are people within the news organisations working for change everyday, whether we think it’s futile or not. Criticise by all means but target those criticisms and don’t taint everyone with a single brushstroke. If all the newspapers screw up the coverage, then yes, criticise all of them by backing it up with examples. No, TNP and ST do not represent local media.
Annonymous,
Your message would best be directed at the MSM itself – “Criticise by all means but target those criticisms and don’t taint everyone with a single brushstroke.”
I refer to their constant, regular and unceasing effort to demonise all bloggers, tainting them (to use your own words) with the same brush.
the main stream ha talk about them , i really wonder what are they thinking?
Anonymous, you say, “There are people within the news organisations working for change everyday, whether we think it’s futile or not.”
How you know? And even if that is true, they should start by exercising their conscience too. So many years of being complicit in destroying the lives of PAP’s political opponents, just because they’re scared or want to save their own ricebowls.
Anyway, what you say is nothing new. Heard before. “There are people within the news organisations working for change everyday, whether we think it’s futile or not.”
It’s been 42 years already. I think we can discount what you say.
Anonymous,
since you feel this video was one-sided, and st and tnp are not representative of local media’s coverage of this Chee v. Lee issue, why don’t you offer an example of any form of local media to show that the coverage HAS in fact been WELL-BALANCED, and not just in the favour of the Lee Family? Please reply soon, i eagerly await your answer. It shall be my local media of choice from now on.
Anonymous,
Say there are only 10 people in an organisation just for illustrative purpose.
Say 9 people are working very hard to tell you that the answer is 1.
Say 1 person (the most powerful one over the other 9) comes out and officially declare that the answer is 2 and having the full backing of authority & officialdom.
Which one counts more and how does it fit into your explanation. Sometimes, in life, if there are many people in a same boat, it just needs one person to poke a hold for the whole boat to sink.
ST and TNP belong to SPH. SPH is mostly owned and run by PAP people. How can we expect them to be impartial?
As far as journalists are concerned, we know where you have to stand. There is simply no other news company for you to work in here. As for political coverage, Mui Hoong and Lee Hoong should just focus on economic dry/soup bee hoon for the masses’ consumption.
It may taste much better than their reports which are only fit for PAP’s reading.
Thanks, Boatman. I take the point. But Andrew, I don’t think the fact some of the newspapers have a vendetta against bloggers is ample reason for the latter to stoop to their level. I don’t think that’s constructive.
Metalhead: So if previous generations have tried and failed for 42 years, it means later generations should not even try at all?
And Weijia, it’s not my businesss to plug for a particular newspaper but some reports were definitely more balanced, and conspicuously steered clear from the mud-slinging and namecalling- at least tags like “liar” and “political juvenile” were not blared on the headlines or front page.
For that matter, read the wire reports. I don’t think most of them are balanced. Perhaps to cancel out the biasness in some of the local media, some of them were obviously tilted to Dr Chee’s side.
Okay, i don’t think the discussion would lead to anywhere but just to make the point that both the Singapore media AND the Singapore audience have a long way to go.
As Jacob pointed out, TNP and ST have “very high circulation rates”. This can only mean that the supposed biasness is not enough to put people off from buying the papers.
I think both Anonymous and the rest are right:
1. Local papers ARE generally biased against individuals, groups and parties who are anti-govt. The Newspaper and Printing Presses Act makes them so.
2. All of the young journos I know are trying to push the boundaries, but they are bound by editors who are beholden to their political masters. So it’s not fair to paint everyone in the mainstream media as being biased.
“There are people within the news organisations working for change everyday, whether we think it’s futile or not.”
What kind of changes ? Who are the people ? Are they the ‘little people’ that Catherine Lim talk about ?
Annonymous,
I am afraid I have to disagree with you that we have stooped to ‘their level’, as you put it.
The video is there. The newspaper reports are out there. Everyone has read them. Judge for yourself. If you say the reports are fair, well.. ok. For me, I have seen enough of totally-biased coverage by the media to know that change is almost unattainable. (I’ll never forget the atrocious media coverage of the opposition in the elections in 2006. Yet, since then, nothing much has improved.)
So, forgive me if I am skeptical and even cynical about what you said – that there are people in there working for change. Just about the only reporter whom I would say was professional and fair in his reports was Ken Kwek.
But sadly, I think Ken Kwek has left SPH – coincidentally after he had that ‘encounter’ with LKY in a CNA programme. Now, I do not see much in the way of fairness and balanced reports when it comes to politics.
For people who want to see the photo of Ken Kwek, it is here
http://www.yawningbread.org/arch_2006/yax-601.htm
” I think Ken Kwek has left SPH – coincidentally after he had that ‘encounter’ with LKY in a CNA programme.”
Andrew, having visit like Taiwan, I sympathize with Ken Kwek. In Taiwan, there are cases where reporters before interviewing a political figures are told to only ask answerable question that will not embarrass and place the interviewee in bad light. The question are prepared before hand and make known to the interviewee for approval prior to interviewing.
Did Ken Kwek and rest of SPH reporters face the same issue ? To me, I have no doubt they have since SPH is under the control of the coffers and there are history that reporters are admonished for the sensitive questions asked.
Remember nation building so LKY must place himself in the best and most positive light. Incorruptible, infallible and invinicible. The emperor really has no cloth but who to tell him he is naked ?
To be fair, many of the young journalists I’ve interacted with from ST, TNP and Today do have minds of their own. Ultimately though, they don’t have much control over whether their piece appears the next day, or what form it will appear in.
Which is why if you’re a young journalist looking for authorial freedom, you should consider coming online.
Sori but had bad experience with journalists. So until you’ve been crossed by them, you’ll all b divided. Anyway my view is the sane with those who said that they cannot b trusted. Stop buying newspapers for quite sometime. Like someone said b4 if there is no demand there will b no supply. Remember back then Mr. Brain Richmond was hosting a nite radio show & many people call in to highlight something that concern them and also for the good of the citizens. Sad but that night radio program was scrap. U see they not only control what’s to b printed in the newspapers, they also control the radio. Soon they’ll control the Internet. Still not convince?