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84-636: Mediacorp Pte. Ltd. is the state-owned media conglomerate of Singapore. Owned by Temasek Holdings —the investment arm of the Government of Singapore —it owns and operates television channels, radio , and digital media properties. It is headquartered at the Mediapolis development in Queenstown's One-north precinct, which succeeded Caldecott Hill —the long-time home of its predecessors—in 2015; as of 2022, Mediacorp employs over 3,000 employees;

168-481: A 9 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour Asiatic one. Included in the proposal was the creation of a second medium wave transmitter for the two programmes to be delivered from the extant facilities. Subsequently, a second plan to increase the power of the shortwave transmitter was held in early 1940, this time increasing its coverage to reach out to the entirety of Malaya, Borneo, the Netherlands Indies and Siam. Much of

252-523: A government. These are media outlets that, while they may not be directly controlled by the state in terms of ownership, are effectively under government influence due to financial dependencies or managerial control. This category includes both public media that have lost their independence and private media that operate under significant government influence. These are media that manage to maintain high levels of independence in funding, governance, and editorial decisions. These media are primarily funded by

336-523: A large number of them are in both public and private sector broadcasting. The company forms half of the mass media duopoly in the country alongside SPH Media Trust ; the company was established in its current form in 1999, following the 1994 privatization of one of its predecessors—the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC)—as a group of state-owned enterprises known as Singapore International Media. Mediacorp holds

420-458: A method to combat efforts by protestors. Propaganda spread by state-media organizations can detract from accurate reporting and provide an opportunity for a regime to influence public sentiment. Mass protests against governments considered to be authoritarian, such as those in China, Russia, Egypt, and Iran are often distorted by state-run media organizations in order to defame protesters and provide

504-616: A monopoly on terrestrial television in Singapore, operating six channels broadcasting in the official languages of English ( Channel 5 and the pan-Asian news channel CNA ), Mandarin Chinese ( Channel 8 and Channel U ), Malay ( Suria ), and Tamil ( Vasantham ), as well as the streaming service meWatch . It also operates eleven radio stations, and the websites Today and 8days —both of which had previously operated as print publications. Its monopoly on terrestrial television

588-477: A positive light on the government's actions. It is common for countries with strict control of newspapers to have fewer firms listed per capita on their markets and less developed banking systems. These findings support the public choice theory, which suggests higher levels of state ownership of the press would be detrimental to economic and financial development. This is due to state media being commonly associated with autocratic regimes where economic freedom

672-566: A reliance on imported programmes rather than domestic productions. In September 1979, an act was proposed in the Parliament of Singapore to separate RTS from the Ministry of Culture, and replace it with a new statutory body known as the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation (SBC). The SBC was envisioned as an autonomous, state-owned enterprise akin to Singapore Airlines and comparable to the BBC in

756-613: A second shortwave transmitter was added on 29 September 1940, ZHP 3 (the existing transmitter was renamed ZHP 1). The station carried a special programme in German on Friday nights from 10pm to 10:30pm. The remainder of the line-up consisted of music and news, in Hindustani , Dutch , Tamil , Arabic and French. ZHL and ZHP 1 carried primarily content in English and Chinese dialects, with some Malay programming as well. By April 1941 ZHP 2

840-591: A total state monopoly in the media like North Korea and Laos experience a "Castro effect", where state control is powerful enough that no journalistic harassment is required in order to restrict press freedom. Historically, state media also existed during the Cold War in authoritarian states such as the Soviet Union , East Germany , Republic of China (Taiwan) , Poland , Romania , Brazil and Indonesia . The public interest theory claims state ownership of

924-452: Is a public good that benefits the nation in question. It contradicts the belief that all state media is propaganda and argues that most states require an unbiased, easily accessible, and reliable stream of information. Public interest theory suggests that the only way to maintain an independent media is to cut it off from any economic needs, therefore a state-run media organization can avoid issues associated with private media companies, namely

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1008-655: Is also referred to media entities that are administered, funded, managed, or directly controlled by the government of a country. Three factors that can affect the independence of state media over time are: funding, ownership/governance, and editorial autonomy. These entities can range from being completely state-controlled, where the government has full control over their funding, management, and editorial content, to being independent public service media , which, despite receiving government funding, operate with editorial autonomy and are governed by structures designed to protect them from direct political interference. State media

1092-473: Is beneficial, whereas the public choice theory suggests that state control undermines economic and political freedoms . The public interest theory , also referred to as the Pigouvian theory, states that government ownership of media is desirable. Three reasons are offered. Firstly, the dissemination of information is a public good, and to withhold it would be costly even if it is not paid for. Secondly,

1176-408: Is considered at risk because it is susceptible to slipping into state control if the political or economic pressures increase. Its content, according to some sources, is usually more prescriptive, telling the audience what to think, particularly as it is under no pressure to attract high ratings or generate advertising revenue and therefore may cater to the forces in control of the state as opposed to

1260-502: Is often associated with authoritarian governments that use state media to control, influence, and limit information. Media and Journalism Research Center uses State Media Matrix, a typology of state and public media that allows their classification according to three sets of factors that affect the independence of these media: funding, ownership/governance, and editorial autonomy. This category includes media outlets that are predominantly funded, managed, and editorially controlled by

1344-461: Is part of a checks-and-balances system of a democracy , known as the Fourth Estate , along with the judiciary , executive and legislature . States are dependent on the public for their legitimacy that allows them to operate. The flow of information becomes critical to their survival, and public choice theory argues that states cannot be expected to ignore their own interests, and instead

1428-579: The Journal of Democracy , " authoritarian or totalitarian media outlets" take advantage of both domestic and foreign media due to state censorship in their native countries and the openness of democratic nations to which they broadcast. He cites China's CCTV , Russia's RT , and Venezuela's TeleSUR as examples. Surveys find that state-owned television in Russia is viewed by the Russian public as one of

1512-635: The Malaysia Agreement which garnered autonomy in this area, among others. Television advertising started on 15 January 1964. After the separation of Singapore from the Malaysian federation, its radio and television outlets became part of Radio Television Singapore (RTS), a division of the Ministry of Culture. This led to expansions of the network, including a move to the new $ 3.6 million Television Centre at Caldecott Hill on 27 August 1966. Within days of independence, TV Singapura's main studio

1596-586: The Middle East and some Asian countries (with the exception of Japan , India , Indonesia , Mongolia , Nepal , the Philippines , South Korea and Thailand where large areas of private press exist.) Full state monopolies exist in China , Myanmar , and North Korea . Issues with state media include complications with press freedom and journalistic objectivity . According to Christopher Walker in

1680-588: The Singapore Bus Service (SBS) and others pejoratively nicknaming it " s i b ei c ham" which meant "damn terrible" in Hokkien. SBC introduced "weather girls" on 1 May 1980 for its English news broadcasts, before expanding to other languages in 1981. The format ended in March 1982 because it wanted the weather report to be the same as the other languages and the "weather report within the news bulletin

1764-420: The 5,104 licence holders (number of receivers) in Singapore, 2,574 were Europeans and Eurasians, 2,023 were Chinese, 219 were Malays, 195 were Indians, 87 were Japanese and six were Siamese. The shortwave transmitter carrying ZHO upgraded its power in mid-1939, from 400 watts to 2 kilowatts. At the 1939 Annual Report, there were plans to create two separate services, an 8 + 1 ⁄ 2 -hour European service and

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1848-529: The Dutch Indies, especially in tin mines and rubber estates. Thanks to the wider coverage range of ZHP, ZHL was able to broadcast more sporting events, namely horse races, tennis and the football, specifically the Malayan Cup . Before the change in policy, it was more likely for attendees to go to the matches. The shortwave frequency moved in on 1 October 1938 from 30.96 meters to 48.58 meters, under

1932-590: The FM Stereo service started on 18 July 1969 using the 92.4 frequency. New radio studios were built in 1972, starting with the addition of the Radio House, then in 1975 by a new complex costing $ 4.2 million. From 30 March 1973, Channel 5 began focusing on English and Malay-language programmes, while Channel 8 would focus on Chinese- and Tamil-language programmes. On 24 October 1973, RTS aired a 40-minute documentary titled Addiction: Three Experiences , chronicling

2016-621: The Malay and Chinese versions of the corporation's sports programme Sports Parade were cancelled; the programme now only airs in English. In May 1981, on the day President Benjamin Sheares was pronounced dead, SBC's television channels cancelled their regular programming and replaced them with "solemn music and serious documentaries". The next day, the corporation aired two episodes of Destiny and an episode of Sandiwara , which SBC thinks were too serious to be aired. SBC also decided not to repeat

2100-742: The People's Action Party getting 12 minutes of broadcast, the United Front and the Workers' Party three minutes each and United People's Front three and a half minutes. The shortest available broadcasts were for parties with six candidates with two and a half minutes. The participating parties were required to send five copies of their manifestos to SBC. A final broadcast was held on 22 December. The English-language current affairs programme Friday Background debuted in March 1981. In April 1981, to maximise SBC's resources in improving its sports presentation,

2184-500: The SBC. The rebrand was not ceremonious. Ahead of closedown, an announcement was made telling viewers of the rename. The following morning, at 6 a.m., SBC formally started with no preamble, with the only visible changes being a new interim wordmark logo, updated startup and closedown sequences, and a new news intro. The new logo competition finished on 16 February. A preliminary selection was determined by five judges on 22 February. At first

2268-715: The Singapore Port Authority commenced its short wave broadcast every fortnight either on Sundays or Wednesdays. The BBC World Service of the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) was inaugurated on 19 December 1932 as the BBC Empire Service, broadcasting on shortwave and aimed principally at English speakers across the British Empire . In his first Christmas Message (1932), King George V characterised

2352-581: The United Kingdom and its neighbours' RTM and TVRI. The SBC Act was approved in parliament on 12 January 1980. A competition for a new SBC logo was initiated in January 1980. The characteristics of the new brand were to be "simple and attractive", while not having more than three colours, including the background. The winner would receive a cash prize worth $ 5,000. The government officially dissolved RTS on 31 January 1980 and transferred its assets to

2436-597: The artists had paid more. The existing charter suggested that the daily schedule would last at least four hours, with extensions depending on listener feedback. Any potential expansion was hampered purely by lack of budget. The monthly income was of $ 3,500, $ 2,500 from the licence and $ 1,000 from the Municipality. There were hopes to increase the income due to the start of sponsored programmes. Plans for shortwave broadcasting had been outlined in July 1937, despite concerns over

2520-574: The broadcaster. In accordance with the 1975 Geneva Frequency Plan , the RTS radio stations moved their frequencies effective 23 November 1978: Since their frequencies were already spaced in the multiples of 9 kHz before the Geneva Frequency Plan, the English and Malay stations had their frequencies unchanged. The ability for RTS to grow was hampered by administrative and budgetary constraints, leading to frequent turnover in staff, and

2604-533: The closing time moved to 10:30pm) with an additional hour-long period from 10am to 11am for educational programming. Programming was still in the same mix of languages as before but content in Japanese was added. In June 1942, the Syonan station broadcast Japanese language learning classes to students, installing sets in 87 schools. During occupation, a confidential British Far Eastern Broadcasting Service (BFEBS)

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2688-580: The cost of the provision and dissemination of information is high, but once costs are incurred, marginal costs for providing the information are low and so are subject to increasing returns. Thirdly, state media ownership can be less biased, more complete and accurate if consumers are ignorant and in addition to private media that would serve the governing classes. However, Pigouvian economists, who advocate regulation and nationalisation , are supportive of free and private media. Public interest theory holds that when operated correctly, government ownership of media

2772-496: The country's most authoritative and trusted institutions. Nations such as Denmark, Norway and Finland that have both the highest degree of freedom of press and public broadcasting media. Compared to most autocratic nations which attempt to limit press freedom to control the spread of information. A 2003 study found that government ownership of media organizations was associated with worse democratic outcomes. "Worse outcomes" are associated with higher levels of state ownership of

2856-475: The determinants and consequences of ownership of the media. The public interest theory suggests that more benign governments should have higher levels of control of the media which would in turn increase press freedom as well as economic and political freedoms. Conversely, the public choice theory affirms that the opposite is true - "public spirited", benevolent governments should have less control which would increase these freedoms. Generally, state ownership of

2940-680: The equipment used was already manufactured in Singapore. The corporation was taken over by the Straits Settlements government in 1940 as a part of the British Department of Information, subsequently nationalised and reorganised as the Malaya Broadcasting Corporation (MBC), the local counterpart to the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC). Additional French programming was added on 16 September 1940. In order to counter German propaganda,

3024-534: The exception of Belarus , Russia and Ukraine ) is mostly private and free of state control and ownership, along with North and South America (with the exception of Cuba and Venezuela ) The press "role" in the national and societal dynamics of the United States and Australia has virtually always been the responsibility of the private commercial sector since these countries' earliest days. Levels of state ownership are higher in some African countries,

3108-468: The first person to appear on Singapore TV, announcing that "Tonight might well mark the start of a social and cultural revolution in our lives." The first programme aired was a documentary, TV Looks at Singapore . The pilot service would broadcast for one hour and 40 minutes nightly; at the time, it was estimated that only one in 58 Singaporeans owned a television. On 2 April 1963, Channel 5 was officially inaugurated by Yang di-Pertuan Negara Yusof Ishak ;

3192-431: The forces in control of the corporation, as described in the propaganda model of the mass media. In more controlled regions, the state may censor content which it deems illegal, immoral or unfavorable to the government and likewise regulate any programming related to the media; therefore, it is not independent of the governing party. In this type of environment, journalists may be required to be members or affiliated with

3276-549: The formal launch the previous year. Ahead of the start of the shortwave service, it was reported that it would be picked up by over 9,000 radio receivers in Malaya - combined with over 4,000 in Singapore, the number of potential listeners was going to increase threefold. The station started on 19 July 1938 under the callsign ZHP (the "P" stood for " P rogress") attracting an audience not just in Malaya, but also in Sarawak, Borneo and

3360-659: The formation of the Amateur Wireless Society of Malaya (AWSM) in April 1925, which launched shortwave transmission from a studio in the Union Building at Collyer Quay using a 100-watt transmitter lent by the Marconi Company under callsign 1SE (One Singapore Experimental). The transmissions could be received as far as Penang , albeit with atmospheric interferences at times. In 1930, Sir Earl from

3444-513: The government. It represents the highest level of state control over media entities. These outlets lack editorial independence , with the government controlling their editorial agenda in various ways. According to Facebook , state-controlled media are media outlets that Facebook believes may be partially or wholly under the editorial control of their government. State-controlled media extends beyond just assessing financial control or ownership and includes an assessment of editorial control exerted by

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3528-556: The hill on Thomson Road. ZHL made its first broadcast of Chinese music on 10 June 1936 as an experiment. The BMBC conducted auditions in November 1936. On 1 March 1937 at 6pm, its studios and transmitters at Caldecott Hill were officially opened by Governor of the Straits Settlements Shenton Thomas , aiming at a potential target audience of 10,000 listeners. In a move to adjust its budget, BMBC cut

3612-537: The impending launch of full-time colour broadcasts, RTS held a contest to design a new logo. After 662 submissions, the winning design by Loh Hong Liat and Lawrence Wong Heng Kwok was unveiled in August 1975. Lok designed the letters "R and T" which represent recording, while Wong designed the letter "S". Full-time colour broadcasts began on 1 November 1977. RTS radio stations began extending broadcasting hours of programmes in stereo on 3 April 1978, adding technical costs to

3696-634: The lives of three drug addicts. The documentary was given a Special Commendation by the Asia-Pacific Broadcasting Union in 1974. In January 1974, RTS bought two colour television transmitters worth $ 700,000. The old transmitters installed in 1966 would remain as standby equipment. On 2 May 1974, the two channels conducted colour test broadcasts of The Mary Tyler Moore Show , followed in July by its first live colour broadcast—the 1974 FIFA World Cup final . About 2,000 colour television sets were sold in Singapore three days before

3780-585: The local counterpart to the Japan Broadcasting Corporation (NHK). Broadcasts under the new administration started on 13 March 1942 and broadcast over three frequencies, one in medium wave for within Singapore, another to relay output from Tokyo and a shortwave frequency aimed at the time in Australia. After repairs, broadcasts officially started on 28 March. Programming was at the outset of occupation airing daily from 7pm to 10pm (later

3864-404: The logo was set to be introduced in March. A total of 4,042 entries were received. The new logo was unveiled to the public on 18 May 1980. The winner was Laurence Wong Heng Kwok—who had previously co-designed the RTS logo. Its programming had not changed much following the relaunch, to the point that some viewers mockingly said that "SBC" stood for "Same Boring Channel", while some confusing it for

3948-498: The match. On 9 August, that year's Singapore National Day Parade became the first live broadcast to be produced by RTS in colour. The second phase of the pilot colour service began on 11 November 1974, with newsreels being converted to colour, but it still had to air monochrome newsreels because some of the footage available was still in black and white. The number of weekly hours given to colour programming increased from two to four on weekdays and four to six on weekends. In honour of

4032-406: The media is found in poor, autocratic non-democratic countries with highly interventionist governments that have some interest in controlling the flow of information. Countries with "weak" governments do not possess the political will to break up state media monopolies. Media control is also usually consistent with state ownership in the economy . As of 2002, the press in most of Europe (with

4116-511: The media, which would reject Pigouvian theory. The news media are more independent and fewer journalists are arrested, detained or harassed in countries with less state control. Harassment, imprisonment and higher levels of internet censorship occur in countries with high levels of state ownership such as Singapore , Belarus , Myanmar , Ethiopia , the People's Republic of China , Iran , Syria , Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan . Countries with

4200-410: The new Televisyen Malaysia from Kuala Lumpur and was subsequently rebranded as sister channel "Television Malaysia (Singapura)". During its time as part of Malaysia , Singapore, like its three other partners–Sabah, Sarawak and Malaya—had its own radio network, but Singapore was the only state to have its own television network. The state's radio and television broadcast right was included as an annex in

4284-760: The new callsign ZHO , at the request of the Posts and Telegraphs Department. The extant medium wave frequency (225 metres or 1333kc) remained unchanged. In February 1939, the government started giving aid to the BMBC. The listener base was by then upgraded to 15,000 listeners: 5,000 in Singapore, a further 5,000 in the Federated Malay States, 2,000 in Penang, 1,000 in Johor and 350 in Malacca. Statistically, out of

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4368-411: The number of weekly hours in late June 1937, from the initial 34 3/4 hours to 28 3/4. The Sunday schedule was cut from seven hours to four: before the revision, the daytime period ran from 11am to 1:30pm and the evening period from 5:30pm to 10pm. This was cut to 11:30am to 1:30pm for the daytime period (reducing half an hour) and 6pm to 8pm for the evening period (cutting two and a half hours). On weekdays

4452-470: The press can compromise election monitoring efforts and obscure the integrity of electoral processes. Independent media sees higher oversight by the media of the government. For example, reporting of corruption increased in Mexico , Ghana and Kenya after restrictions were lifted in the 1990s, but government-controlled media defended officials. Heavily influenced state media can provide corrupt regimes with

4536-429: The press enhances civil and political rights ; whilst under the public choice theory, it curtails them by suppressing public oversight of the government and facilitating political corruption . High to absolute government control of the media is primarily associated with lower levels of political and civil rights, higher levels of corruption, quality of regulation, security of property and media bias . State ownership of

4620-421: The prioritization of the profit motive. State media can be established as a mean for the state to provide a consistent news outlet while private news companies operate as well. The benefits and detriments of this approach often depend on the editorial independence of the media organization from the government. Many criticisms of public interest theory center on the possibility of true editorial independence from

4704-414: The public choice theory argue that the economic incentives involved in a public business force media organizations to stray from unbiased journalism and towards sensationalist editorials in order to capture public interest. This has become a debate over the effectiveness of media organizations that are reliant on the attention of the public. Sensationalism becomes the key focus and turns away from stories in

4788-404: The public interest in favor of stories that capture the attention of the most people. The focus on sensationalism and public attention can lead to the dissemination of misinformation to appease their consumer base. In these instances, the goal of providing accurate information to the public collapses and instead becomes biased toward a dominant ideology. Both theories have implications regarding

4872-413: The public, either through taxation or a specific license fee. This funding model is designed to insulate them from commercial pressures and government influence, ensuring that their programming decisions are made in the public interest. These media entities receive funding from the state and may have some level of state involvement in their management, but they maintain editorial independence. This category

4956-481: The quality of its reception. In its first trimester on air, the BMBC was operating at a loss, a cause of "grave concern" for the staff. Work on the shortwave BMBC station started in October 1937, aiming at a March 1938 launch date. The station was to broadcast at a frequency of 31.48 meters daytime and 49.9 meters nighttime. The programming would be the same as the existing medium wave ZHL station. In January 1938, it

5040-431: The radio service for Singapore, organised into a station each for English, Malay and Mandarin listeners, plus a blocktime slot for Tamil speakers. Shortwave broadcasts commenced on 14 February 1960, consisting of relays of extant Radio Singapore output. The frequency changed in 1961, with test transmissions in the new frequencies (7250, 6175, 6615 and 4280) were carried from mid-January. A new radio station, Siaran Istimewa ,

5124-592: The ruling party, such as in the Eastern Bloc former Socialist States the Soviet Union , China or North Korea . Within countries that have high levels of government interference in the media, it may use the state press for propaganda purposes: Additionally, the state-controlled media may only report on legislation after it has already become law to stifle any debate. The media legitimizes its presence by emphasizing "national unity" against domestic or foreign "aggressors". In more open and competitive contexts,

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5208-417: The schedule ran from 6pm to 10pm, simply cutting the last quarter hour on air (before then, the station closed at 10:15pm). On Saturdays, the afternoon period remained in the 12:45pm to 2pm slot, but the evening period, starting at 6pm, now ended at 9:35pm instead of 11:15pm. This also prompted ZHL to reduce the number of artists to those able to perform without paying fees. Juvenile sessions were dropped because

5292-507: The service as intended for "men and women, so cut off by the snow, the desert, or the sea, that only voices out of the air can reach them". First hopes for the Empire Service were low. The Director General , Sir John Reith , said in the opening programme: Don't expect too much in the early days; for some time we shall transmit comparatively simple programmes, to give the best chance of intelligible reception and provide evidence as to

5376-400: The service expanded to 7:15 to 11:00 p.m. nightly. By September, its broadcast day had been lengthened to begin at 6:30 p.m. Initially, Channel 5 carried programmes in all four of Singapore's official languages . On 31 August, Channel 8 started trial broadcasts, before starting its regular service on 23 November 1963. In January 1964, Television Singapura became the state branch of

5460-433: The sources of information must remain as independent from the state as possible. Public choice theory argues that the only way to retain independence in a media organization is to allow the public to seek the best sources of information themselves. This approach is effective at creating a free press that is capable of criticizing government institutions and investigating incidents of government corruption. Those critical of

5544-707: The state funeral of Sheares because it would "lend levity to a sad occasion". On 1 January 1982, SBC renamed its radio stations: The revamp was the result of a 1978 survey where listeners preferred entertainment programming over talk. State media State media serve as tools for public diplomacy and narrative shaping. These media outlets can broadcast via television, radio, print, and increasingly on social media, to convey government viewpoints to domestic and international audiences. The approach to using state media can vary, focusing on positive narratives, adjusting narratives retroactively, or spreading misinformation through sophisticated social media campaigns. State media

5628-416: The state may control or fund its own outlet and is in competition with opposition-controlled and/or independent media. The state media usually have less government control in more open societies and can provide more balanced coverage than media outside of state control. State media outlets usually enjoy increased funding and subsidies compared to private media counterparts, but this can create inefficiency in

5712-467: The state media. However, in the People's Republic of China , where state control of the media is high, levels of funding have been reduced for state outlets, which have forced Chinese Communist Party media to sidestep official restrictions on content or publish "soft" editions, such as weekend editions, to generate income. Two contrasting theories of state control of the media exist; the public interest or Pigouvian theory states that government ownership

5796-639: The state to legitimize their actions. The public choice theory asserts that state-owned media would manipulate and distort information in favor of the ruling party and entrench its rule and prevent the public from making informed decisions, which undermines democratic institutions. That would prevent private and independent media, which provide alternate voices allowing individuals to choose politicians, goods, services, etc. without fear from functioning. Additionally, that would inhibit competition among media firms that would ensure that consumers usually acquire unbiased, accurate information. Moreover, this competition

5880-519: The state. While there is little profit motive, the media organization must be funded by the government instead which can create a dependency on the government's willingness to fund an entity may often be critical of their work. The reliability of a state-run media outlet is often heavily dependent on the reliability of the state to promote a free press, many state-run media outlets in western democracies are capable of providing independent journalism while others in authoritarian regimes become mouthpieces for

5964-536: The type of material most suitable for the service in each zone. The programmes will neither be very interesting nor very good. In Singapore, the BBC World Service in English is essentially treated as a domestic broadcaster, easily available 24/7 through long-term agreement with British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation which expanded the array of programmes available for resident listeners. In 1933, Radio ZHI

6048-625: Was activated. The station was merely a relayer of ZHL's output, that was also heard on ZHP 1. During World War II, when the Japanese Imperial Army occupied Singapore from 1942 to 1945, the radio station on the island of Singapore was seized by the Japanese authorities and renamed Syonan Hoso Kyoku ('Light of the South' Broadcasting Corporation, 昭南放送局, known in English as the Syonan Broadcasting Station or SBS),

6132-460: Was adequate". From June 1980, SBC would start sponsoring the clock before the news on its television channels, which it anticipated could bring in an additional S$ 1 million in revenue. SBC began adapting a new format for its television news broadcasts in August 1980. The new format would feature two newscasters and more on-location reporting. SBC introduced political party broadcasts for the 1980 general election campaign on 17 December 1980, with

6216-519: Was announced in May 1961 as the nation's first multilingual radio station signing on offially on 3 June, with programming in all 4 languages airing on the 990 kc (990 kHz) band. When Singapore joined Malaysia on 16 September 1963, Radio Singapura's stations became part of Radio Malaysia and rebranded as "Radio Malaysia (Singapura)". From 2 March 1964, the Malay, Tamil and Mandarin language divisions increased their airtime. The number of radio news bulletins

6300-410: Was announced that the BMBC would cease receiving its monthly $ 1,000 grant from the municipality effective the end of February. In the year ending February 28, 1938, the BMBC was operating at a net profit of $ 275.88; compared to the loss of $ 5,368.67 The number of listeners now stood at 4,213, up from the initial figure of 2,598 - even so, the figure was relatively lower than the planned target of 10,000 in

6384-547: Was briefly broken in the early-2000s by SPH MediaWorks . In 2004, amid struggles at its two channels, SPH sold the MediaWorks subsidiary to MediaCorp in exchange for stakes in its television and publishing businesses; only its Chinese-language Channel U would continue under MediaCorp. SPH divested its stake in MediaCorp in 2017 after Today ceased print publication. The history of radio broadcasting in Singapore began with

6468-525: Was carried out by the UK to its occupied territories, briefly having its offices at Caldecott Hill. The facilities were later used as a relay station for the BBC. After the war, the British came back into power and reclaimed the radio station, with the station managed by the interim government – British Military Administration (BMA). Two separate stations were introduced from 23 December 1945. The existing service

6552-605: Was damaged by a fire on the afternoon of 16 August 1965; this did not affect Radio Singapore's broadcasts. An FM service was announced in January 1967, set to start in June or July of that year, where the four existing stations would be relayed. The experimental FM service started testing in May 1967 and upgraded to a pilot service on 23 June, with FM being ideal for Singapore's size. The service went regular on 15 July, broadcasting over five frequencies: 94.2 (Malay), 95.8 and 96.8 (Chinese), 96.8 (Tamil) and 92.4 (English). Test broadcasts of

6636-615: Was due to requests from individual communities, who demanded more programmes for them. The Chinese output gained its own station on 1 January 1951, the Green Network . Radio Malaya left the Cathay building on 4 November 1951 at closedown. The two networks increased their schedule again in January 1952. On the basis of the Radio Malaya broadcasters that moved to Kuala Lumpur in 1958, Radio Singapura took over on 4 January 1959 as

6720-540: Was established in Singapore. Radio news and information, as well as local entertainment, were aired on its stations in English and later Mandarin Chinese and Malay . In June 1947, the BBC initiated a one-year takeover plan of the BFEBS. The plan was culminated on 8 August 1948. Changes to programming led to the Blue Network adding some Chinese content on from 1 January 1949. Both networks increased their airtime. This

6804-516: Was granted the status of having the radio monopoly. The British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation ( BMBC ) was created on 12 April 1935 with a nominal capital of $ 500,000, formed on 21 July 1935 and awarded a broadcasting license by the British crown on 1 June 1936 as a radio network. The station was initially scheduled to start broadcasting in 1935, but was subsequently delayed to 1936 due to initial government uncertainties. The station broadcast from

6888-455: Was increased from 29 to 42. Shortly after Singapore reached self-government status on 3 June 1959, there were plans to obtain television transmission rights. This manifested the founding of Television Singapura on 4 April 1961. Television Singapura aired test broadcasts on channel 5 from 21 January to 15 February 1963, ahead of its first official pilot broadcast on the evening of 15 February 1963. Minister for Culture S. Rajaratnam became

6972-578: Was launched as the first professional shortwave broadcasting station in Singapore. Owned by the Radio Service Company of Malaya, it was a shortwave radio station that delivered static-free broadcasts. Radio ZHI acquired a loyal following in Singapore and abroad. Despite its success, the station closed at the end of December 1936 when its license expired because the British Malaya Broadcasting Corporation

7056-636: Was renamed Blue Network , carrying programming in English and Malay. The second service, the Red Network , carried content in Tamil, Hindustani and Chinese dialects. The Blue Network was carried on the 41,61,225 metre band and the Red Network, on the 41,61,300 metre band. On 1 April 1946, Radio Malaya Singapore and the Federation of Malaya (RMSFOM; or Radio Malaya), a short- and mediumwave service,

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