News flows in Singapore [Elektronische Ressource] : culture and communication ; from Third World to first: the development of disseminating news towards a more just and more efficient information order / von Carl Alexander Haentzschel

Cah

Sujets

• Soziologie

Informations

• Publié par: humboldt-universitat_zu_berlin
• Publié le: 01 janvier 2007
• Nombre de lectures: 27
• Langue: English
• Poids de l'ouvrage: 1 Mo

Extrait

Culture and Communication

News Flows in Singapore

“From Third World to First”: The Development of Disseminating News
Towards a “More Just and More Efficient Information Order”





Dissertation

zur Erlangung des akademischen Grades

doctor philosophiae
(Dr. phil.)





eingereicht an

der Philosophischen Fakultaet III
der Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin

von

Carl Alexander Haentzschel
geboren am 26. August 1975 in Mainz
wohnhaft in Carl-Herz-Ufer 23, 10961 Berlin
Matrikelnummer 138905


Praesident der Humboldt-Universitaet zu Berlin
Prof. Dr. Christoph Markschies

Dekan der Philosophischen Fakultaet III
Prof. Dr. Thomas Macho


Gutachter: 1. Prof. Dr. Thomas Macho
2. Prof. Dr. Hans J. Kleinsteuber


Datum der muendlichen Pruefung: 22.08.2007

Druckversion Culture and Communication

News Flows in Singapore

“From Third World to First”: The Development of Disseminating News
Towards a “More Just and More Efficient Information Order”



Content


Page
1. Introduction
1.1 Subject of this dissertation 9
1.1.1 Restraints of the subject 13
1.1.2 Relevance of the thesis 14
1.2 Structure and methods 15
1.2.1 Availability of data 16
1.2.2 Selection of sources 17

2. Definitions
2.1 Definitions of culture-related terms 19
2.2 Definitions of communication-related terms 22
2.3 Definitions of media-related terms 24

3. Retrospection
3.1 Origins of the discussions about news flows 27
3.1.1 The discussions in the 1970s and 1980s 30
3.1.2 The role of UNESCO in the discussions 34
3.2 Main parts of the report 38
3.2.1 Recommendations of the commission 42
3.3 Perceptions of the report 47
3.3.1 The perspective from the South 51

4. Circumstances
4.1 Early development of the press in Asia 57
4.1.1 The “Golden Age” of newspaper publishing 63
4.1.2 The role of the press in the colonial era 67
th4.2 Developments in the early 20 century 70
4.2.1 World War II and the Japanese oppression 72
4.3 The press in the struggle for independence 78
4.4 The press in the nation-building process 83

5. Developments
5.1 Dominance of the People’s Action Party 88
5.1.1 Laws restricting the media and journalists 95
5.1.2 Concepts of responsible journalism 98
5.2 Overall economic growth 107
5.2.1 Investments in media-related industries 116
5.2.2 Purchasing power and advertising 119
5.3 Expansion of the existing systems 124
5.3.1 Introduction of new technologies 136
5.3.2 Standardization and cooperation 151
1
Page
6. Cases
6.1 Pressure on the local press: The Nanyang Siang Pau case 160
6.1.1 The Eastern Sun and Singapore Herald cases 163
6.1.2 Effects of the arrests and closedowns of the two newspapers 167
6.2 Control over the local press: Merger of the Chinese-language press 168
6.2.1 Merger of the Chinese-language press with the English-language press 170
6.2.2 Effects of the mega-merger into the Singapore Press Holdings 172
6.3 Trouble with the foreign press: The Time and Asian Wall Street Journal cases 172
6.3.1 The Asiaweek and Far Eastern Economic Review cases 177
6.3.2 Effects of the circulation restrictions and charges against journalists 180

7. Impact
7.1 The local print media 183
7.2 Local electronic media 189
7.3 Foreign print and electronic media 193
7.4 The local sources 198
7.5 Foreign news wires 202
7.6 Transmission of news 207
7.7 Regulations binding the media and journalists 209
7.8 The role of journalists and self-censorship 211
7.9 Intimidation in an atmosphere of fear 214

8. Conclusion
8.1 Why the idea of a “New World Information Order” is unrealistic and outdated
but still useful to devise a new vision 219
8.2 How the mass media have developed in Singapore 222
8.2.1 How news are disseminated into, within and out of Singapore 225
8.3 Which aspects of the “New World Information Order” are still relevant
regarding Singapore 231

9. Annex
9.1 Documentation of the interviews (in chronogical order) 234
9.1.1 Questionnaire used as guideline during the interviews 235
9.2 Transcripts of a conversation with John A. Lent 242
9.3 Transcript of a conversation with Francis T. Seow 250
9.4 News Flow in Southeast Asia (poster) 255
9.5 Should Singapore rejoin UNESCO? (article) 256
th9.6 14 AMIC Annual Conference (report) 261
9.7 Bibliography (in alphabetical order) 263
9.8 Eidesstattliche Versicherung 296

2
Tables


No. Title Page

1 Simplified schema of news flows within a region 10
2 Simplified schema of news flows between regions 10
3 Some facts about Singapore 13
4 Sources of stories published on 28-30 March 1983 in four ASEAN newspapers 32
5 Sources of stories published on 24-25 June 1983 in four ASEAN newspapers 32
6 Location of obstacles hindering the flows of news 32
7 The six most relevant obstacles to a balanced flow of news 33
8 Distribution of mass media per 1 000 people in the “First” and “Third World” 35
9 Distribution of mass media per 1 000 people in Southeast Asia 35
10 Milestones in the history of UNESCO 37
11 Selection of recommendations for developing countries 46
12 Highlights of the Cold War 47
13 Selection of the first books printed in Singapore 61
14 Selection of the first modern newspapers in Asia 62
15 Milestones in the early history of international news transmission 66
16 World War II in Asia 74
17 Major events in Singapore from 1819 until 1965 83
18 History of the Straits Times from the beginning until the early 1970s 87
19 Number of seats won by the PAP in the parliamentary elections 89
20 Number of votes won by the PAP in the parliamentary elections 90
21 Selection of 15 positions held by relatives of Lee Kuan Yew 92
22 Selection of 15 positions in the media held by former government officials 94
23 “Code of Conduct” of the “Singapore National Union of Journalists” 99
24 The five core values in Malaysia and Singapore 101
25 Code of ethics in Indonesia, Malaysia and Singapore 102
26 The Singapore economy in 1965 (at current market prices) 107
27 Singapore’s three most important trading partners in 1965 108
28 Singapore’s three most important commodities in 1965 108
29 Exchange rate of the Singapore dollar to US dollar 110
30 Qualifications of economically active persons in 1970 and 1980 111
31 Gross domestic product (GDP total) at current market prices 112
32 Per capita gross domestic product (GDP per capita) at current market prices 113
33 Annual growth of the overall gross domestic product at 1995 market prices 113
34 Growth of the population, women in the labor force and unemployment rate 114
35 Self-evaluation of the quality of life in Singapore in 1990 114
36 Quality of life in Singapore in 1990 114
37 Singapore’s three most important trading partners in 2000 115
38 Singapore’s three most important commodities in 2000 115
39 The Singapore economy in 2000 (at current market prices) 116
40 Number of visitors and turnover between 1970 and 2000 in Singapore 116
41 Electronic firms in Singapore between 1965 and 1974 117
42 Multinational electronic companies operating in Singapore in the 1980s 118
43 Newspaper circulation in Singapore from 1965 until 2005 121
44 Advertising expenditure by medium in 1990 122
45 Advertising expenditures by product category in 1990 122
46 Top ten advertising companies in Singapore in 1990 122
47 Top ten spenders on advertising in Singapore in 1990 123
48 Singapore’s ranking in the United Nations Human Development Index in 1998 126
49 Exhibitions and visitors of the four largest museums in Singapore in 2000 128
50 Development of the postal service in Singapore 128
3
51 Development of telecommunications in Singapore 130
52 Telecommunications in Singapore between 1965 and 2000 131
53 The development of broadcasting in Singapore 134
54 Radio and television licenses in Singapore between 1965 until 2005 136
55 Selection of satellites positioned in the Pacific Hemisphere 138
56 The development of satellite communication in Singapore 139
57 Satellite access in Singapore 141
58 The development of computer and the Internet in Singapore 146
59 Dial-Up Internet subscribers in Singapore per 1 000 residents 147
60 Profile of PC-users in Singapore in 1999 148
61 Profile of Internet users in Singapore in 1999 148
62 Computer ownership and Internet access by ethnicity in 2001 148
63 Tim