Hello errrbody! welcome back to my blog hehehe today I have something personal that I wanna share about the media ownership. Yes I know yall are thinking that it’s gonna be a lengthy post but bear with me ok? And a disclaimer, these are my personal opinions and not trying to condemn anyone especially the government as I don’t want to be in trouble HAHAHA okay let’s start!
Thoughts of Media in Singapore
What we see in the media is not controlled by us, at least in Singapore. This is because the government is the only one that has the ultimate power to allow what type of media that can be broadcasted in mainstream media. The public pretty much has no say in what type of media to broadcast, however most of the news can be retrieved from social media. As an avid social media user in this day and age, it is very important to be able to express our thoughts freely. Being active audience, we can make a choice and not be influenced in what the media is conveying.
Using social media enables users to interact and respond instantly. This also gives the users the opportunity to have an opinion and they have the freedom to speak up about pressing issues without fear. When the government is controlling the media, the audience were afraid to express their views, especially of those who opposed the views of the government as oppressors can be slapped with a fine or be thrown in jail, jeopardising a clean record. One example would be the opposition leader, Chee Soon Juan.
Personal experience
A personal experience of mine with private media is listening to podcasts on Spotify. One podcast in particular is produced locally by a team of 3 men, titled OKLETSGO. They were ex-radio DJs of various Malay radio stations in Singapore. Most of their podcasts are in Malay, with a newly added and highly requested segment of their podcast in English once a week. It will take typically around 3 hours for them to cover a whole topic, which will be split into 3 different parts. They are the No. 1 podcast on Spotify and they discussed about anything and everything. Invited speakers who are local will be able to come forward and share their interesting stories during a particular time in their lives. They have interviewed people from various backgrounds, from a social escort, to ex-convicts to a transsexual sex worker.
One of the stories that have been very interesting that I can still recall would be when the guest speaker was a drug dealer and was dealing in India and that he had been caught and sentenced to 10 years imprisonment in India. He then shared how he got into dealing in the first place, how prison life is like in a foreign country and the challenges he faced throughout the 10 years.
There has been hardly any occasion where the mainstream media will interview someone who has a tainted record or history, so as to not tarnish the company reputation and also to not let the public know there are such people in the community. The stories that I have heard through the podcast has given me a great insight on what people have gone through and has taught me many valuable life lessons as well.
The hosts were very engaging with the guests as well, making jokes in between and it was engaging for me as well as I find myself laughing along their jokes and sometimes understand what the guests were feeling when they are telling their life stories. I find that I was able to connect while only just listening as some of the topics discussed are considered taboo in mainstream media.
To end off, having a sense of connectivity and engagement through media is very important as it enables users to be able to speak and feel what they have been going through and the type of media will affect the outcome. Having the government controlling the media will restrict the audience by doing so. It does matter who controls the media as it controls the information the audience should receive and interpret. In my opinion, private media is better as the audience will be able to get any information that they need to know and having the chance to express freely can reduce any unnecessary tension between the public and government.
Aisah's Blog 
Sup Aisah! I had a great time working with you for our group presentation! I really enjoyed reading about your personal experience. I’m personally not a podcasts person but reading about your experience and why you enjoy OKLETSGO’s podcast was really interesting. I agree with you that mainstream media tends to not report on, as you say, people who have a tainted record/history. I’m glad these people have other outlets to share their personal experiences and open people’s eyes to new perspectives!
Also, remember to post the link to this post on the BCM Google doc sheet! This has been a great read and I look forward to your future posts!
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Relax Aisha, your examples stated were not as controversial as mine. Foremost, the examples given are personal and relevant. Second, the arguments stated were similar to my group presentation for private media. Rather than looking at things with filter, we should broaden our perspective to understand people from all walks of lives. Private media can be an alternative to reduce all types of discrimination and bring about unity. With private media, people are given a chance to express themselves without government control. It will be great if you can bring in the ideas from your previous posts. Well done!
Cheers
Chessa
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