This series is now into its fourth instalment and I’ve yet to receive any negative feedback, apart from the well-intentioned advice to rein in the punches. This worries me. I can’t believe everyone would agree with everything I’ve countered in this column, and I certainly can’t believe everyone would agree with everything that has been… Read More »
Are journalists here really up to the mark? Well, acting education minister Tharman Shanmugaratnam seems to think so. “Our newspapers are not just responsible but informative too. They have objectivity and are clear that they play a responsible role in society,” he said at the launch of the Straits Times Media Club. Tharman added that… Read More »
Since the last piece, I have been told, discreetly, by various people that I should ease off the pedal a bit lest some men in white/blue (or any colour in between) decides to nip the “problem” in the bud. Such was the irrational fear amongst the general population that you often see people survey the… Read More »
Every day, in our “esteemed” government-sanctioned national daily, you will read about many so-called news reports that serve as thinly disguised propaganda. In this series of short takes on articles that have appeared in the Straits Times, we will give you a rundown (literally) of news reports that are superficial and sometimes way off the… Read More »
There are more precise definitions of propaganda around, but I think the above just about sums up the purpose of it. So how can information be managed to your advantage?Take the recent case of the Iranian twins. Before the operation, the “event” was hyped until epic proportions. You could hear news about it almost every… Read More »