Cultural Orientations in Television: The Singapore Experience

Abstract The starting point of the study is the observation that, as in most other countries, so in Singapore, there exist a number of assumptions in the minds of politicians, broadcasters and the general public about what television does or can do to society. On the one hand, there is the strong suspicion that television is corroding the good traditional value systems, a suspicion which is less than counterbalanced by the hope, on the other hand, that television may be used to spread useful information and to support desirable developments. Television in Singapore, in particular, is supposed and intended to play a specific role in the multi-ethnic, multi-cultural, and multi-lingual context of a newly formed nation. It is the object of the study to identify the social value structures underlying the different television programmes and to find out how they relate to the different cultural traditions of Singapore's population and to the concept of a modern Singaporean identity. A thorough analysis was made of all programmes telecast by the Singapore Broadcasting Corporation, and this article reports on f'indings from the analysis of news and drama programmes.