The mass media in Singapore refers to
mass communication methods through broadcasting, publishing, and the Internet available in the
city-state
A city-state is an independent sovereign city which serves as the center of political, economic, and cultural life over its contiguous territory. They have existed in many parts of the world since the dawn of history, including cities such as ...
. Singapore's media environment is dominated by two major players,
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
and
SPH Media Trust
SPH Media Trust (SMT), commonly known as SPH Media, is a media organisation with businesses in print, digital, radio, and outdoor media in Singapore. Legally a company limited by guarantee, it was incorporated on 19 July 2021, and begin establ ...
.
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.
Regulation
The
Ministry of Communications and Information
The Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI; ms, Kementerian Perhubungan dan Penerangan; zh, 通讯及新闻部; ta, தொடர்பு, தகவல் அமைச்சு) is a ministry of the Government of Singapore respo ...
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. Issues deemed to be inciting racial and religious hatred are prohibited, and media advocating non-traditional family units and lifestyles are avoided.
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
Temasek Holdings (Private) Limited, or simply Temasek, is a Singaporean state holding company owned by the Government of Singapore. Incorporated on 25 June 1974, Temasek owns and manages a total of US$496.59 billion (S$671 billion) in assets u ...
, and are often perceived as pro-government.
In 2021,
Reporters Without Borders ranked Singapore 158 out of 180 countries in the
Press Freedom Index
The Press Freedom Index is an annual ranking of countries compiled and published by Reporters Without Borders since 2002 based upon the organisation's own assessment of the countries' press freedom records in the previous year. It intends to re ...
.
In 2011, 56% of 1,092 local 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".
Radio and television broadcasting
State-owned
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
owns and operates all six free-to-air terrestrial local television channels licensed to broadcast in Singapore, as well as 12 radio channels. Radio and television stations are all government-owned entities. The radio stations are mainly operated by Mediacorp with the exception of seven stations, which are operated by
So Drama! Entertainment
''So Drama!'' Entertainment (previously SAFRA Radio) is a Singapore media company owned by SAFRA National Service Association. In their portfolio are four brands - 883Jia, Power 98, SAF Music and Drama Company and PIONEER (Magazine).
PIONEER
O ...
(a part of the
Singapore Armed Forces
The Singapore Armed Forces (SAF) are the military services of the Republic of Singapore, responsible for protecting and defending the security interests and the sovereignty of the country. A military component of the Ministry of Defence (MIND ...
) and
SPH Media Trust
SPH Media Trust (SMT), commonly known as SPH Media, is a media organisation with businesses in print, digital, radio, and outdoor media in Singapore. Legally a company limited by guarantee, it was incorporated on 19 July 2021, and begin establ ...
respectively. 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 88.9 FM.
Private ownership of TV satellite dishes was previously forbidden.
Newspapers
The
Newspaper and Printing Presses Act of 1974 states:
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.
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''",
and that the number of management shares must equal at least 1% of ordinary shares.
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
SPH Media Trust
SPH Media Trust (SMT), commonly known as SPH Media, is a media organisation with businesses in print, digital, radio, and outdoor media in Singapore. Legally a company limited by guarantee, it was incorporated on 19 July 2021, and begin establ ...
, publisher of the flagship English-language daily, ''
The Straits Times
''The Straits Times'' is an English-language daily broadsheet newspaper based in Singapore and currently owned by SPH Media Trust (previously Singapore Press Holdings). ''The Sunday Times'' is its Sunday edition. The newspaper was establish ...
''. SPH publishes all daily newspapers with the exception of ''
TODAY
Today (archaically to-day) may refer to:
* Day of the present, the time that is perceived directly, often called ''now''
* Current era, present
* The current calendar date
Arts, entertainment, and media Films
* ''Today'' (1930 film), a 1930 ...
'', which is owned by
Mediacorp
Mediacorp Pte. Ltd., doing business as Mediacorp and stylised as mediacorp, is a media conglomerate in Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings—the holding company of the Government of Singapore—it owns television, radio, and digital media prope ...
, now a digital publication. In 2009, a United States diplomatic cable leaked by
WikiLeaks
WikiLeaks () is an international non-profit organisation that published news leaks and classified media provided by anonymous sources. Julian Assange, an Australian Internet activist, is generally described as its founder and director and ...
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". As with worldwide trends, SPH readership and subscription numbers have stagnated since the early-2000s, as Singaporeans increasingly turned to online media for their news.
, there are 16 newspapers in active circulation. Daily newspapers are published in English, Chinese,
Malay and
Tamil
Tamil may refer to:
* Tamils, an ethnic group native to India and some other parts of Asia
**Sri Lankan Tamils, Tamil people native to Sri Lanka also called ilankai tamils
**Tamil Malaysians, Tamil people native to Malaysia
* Tamil language, nativ ...
.
Under a reciprocal agreement between Malaysia and Singapore, Malaysia's ''
New Straits Times'' newspaper may not be sold in Singapore, and Singapore's ''The Straits Times'' may not be sold in Malaysia. This is largely due to the history between these two countries.
See also
*
Cinema of Singapore
Despite having a flourishing Chinese and Malay film industry in the 1950s and 1960s, Singapore's film industry declined after independence in 1965. Film production increased in the 1990s, which saw the first locally-produced feature-length film ...
*
Communications in Singapore
The telecommunication infrastructure of Singapore spans the entire city-state. Its development level is high, with close accessibility to the infrastructure from nearly all inhabited parts of the island and for all of the population, with except ...
*
Article 14 of the Constitution of Singapore
Article 14 of the Constitution of the Republic of Singapore, specifically Article 14(1), guarantees to Singapore citizens the rights to freedom of speech and expression, peaceful assembly without arms, and association. However, the enjoyment ...
Notes
{{Asia topic, Media of
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...
Singapore
Singapore (), officially the Republic of Singapore, is a sovereign island country and city-state in maritime Southeast Asia. It lies about one degree of latitude () north of the equator, off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, bor ...