International Encyclopedia of Communication Online

Extract

Singapore, an island nation at the southern tip of mainland Southeast Asia, has a population of about 3.6 million made up of 77 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malays, 7 percent Indians, and 2 percent classified as others. A former British colony, the republic adopts the Westminster parliamentary system, and the government has been controlled by the People's Action Party (PAP) since 1959. The three corporations that provide for the various media in the country are largely owned by the government's investment arm, Temasek.Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) dominates the print media, publishing 14 → Newspapers and 80 periodicals. It also operates two → Radio stations and → Internet portal services. SPH offers management and ordinary shares, with one management share equaling 200 ordinary shares. Transference of management shares must be approved by the government. MediaCorp dominates the broadcast media, operating five terrestrial TV channels, an outdoor digital TV channel, a TV production company, the channel News Asia providing round-the-clock satellite TV news (→ Television), and 14 radio stations. It also publishes a free-circulation newspaper and 13 periodicals. At the end of 2004, MediaCorp and SPH merged to become MediaCorp TV Holdings, which is now owned 80 percent by the former and 20 percent by the latter. The third corporation, StarHub, is the sole provider of cable TV and a major ... log in or subscribe to read full text