Gerald Giam cites survey showing 57% of S’poreans think media is concerned with supporting an ideology and not informing the public

Singapore — Workers’ Party MP Gerald Giam points out that, despite trusting news organisations, many Singaporeans also feel that the news is skewed towards politics rather than actual news.

Minister for Information and Communications S Iswaran delivered a major ministerial statement on “Restructuring in the Local News Media” in Parliament on Monday (May 10). The minister cited the 2021 Edelman Trust Barometer which reported the Singaporeans’ trust in local media at 62 per cent, above the global average of 51 per cent, and well above that in the United States (45 per cent), and the UK and France (37 per cent).

Following his statement, MPs were given the opportunity to ask for clarifications.

Mr Giam, one of the five Workers’ Party MPs for Aljunied GRC, wrote on Facebook: “Unfortunately, the debate ended before several MPs and I could pose our questions (despite me raising my hand from the start).”

Mr Giam pointed out the same Edelman Trust Barometer 2021 survey also found that 57 per cent of those polled in Singapore think that “most news organisations are more concerned with supporting an ideology or political position than with informing the public”.

The survey also showed that 57 per cent of Singaporeans believe “journalists and reporters could be purposely trying to mislead people by saying things they know are false or gross exaggerations” while 49 per cent feel that the media is not doing well at being objective and non-partisan.

Mr Giam asks if this has impacted the readership of local media in recent years. He also asks if the Government considered the possibility that granting more editorial independence to local media companies, including SPH Media, will help them attract more readers, subscriptions and revenue, and make them more sustainable on their own.

Denise Teh is an intern at The Independent SG. /TISG