• About Us
    • Fact Checking Policy
    • Ownership & funding information
    • Volunteer
  • Subscribe
  • Letter submission
    • Submissions Policy
  • Contact Us
The Online Citizen Asia
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Letters
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Singapore
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
    • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Politics
    • Civil Society
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
No Result
View All Result
The Online Citizen Asia
No Result
View All Result

Feature: New blogs on the block – The Independent and We the Citizens of Singapore

by Terry Xu
01/08/2013
in Current Affairs
Reading Time: 8 mins read
0

By Ng Yi Shu

More community blogs have sprung up in recent times. Two new additions to the socio-political blog community, We the Citizens of Singapore (WCS), launched on 14th of July 2013, and The Independent, which conducted a soft launch of their Facebook page on May and is officially launching on National Day, have sprung up in spite of new regulations mandated by the MDA in June.

Changes to the Broadcasting Act laid out last month has required news sites that qualify under two criteria (having a total of 8 articles relevant to Singapore to be posted over 2 months, and having a total of 50,000 unique visitors from Singapore over 2 months) to be gazetted under the licensing scheme, which has required news sites to post a performance bond of $50,000. While Parliament has not required other news sites such as The Online Citizen (amongst others) to be licensed, a fear within the online community has risen over the ambiguity of the new licensing framework – though clarification has arisen that has assured the community (at least, in word) that personal blogs will not be affected.

The Independent also came under public spotlight for allegedly seeking foreign funding and hence running counter to the rules as laid out in the Broadcasting Act. The Independent has since clarified otherwise, but was nevertheless required to register under the class licensing scheme.

Kumaran Pillai, former chief editor of TOC and current chief editor of The Independent, said, “The plan to setup The Independent was in the works even before MDA made the announcement about the new internet regulations. The government has also said that it doesn’t want to control discussions on the Internet and we take their word for it.”

Roy Ngerng, writer at The Heart Truths and founder of WCS, also told TOC that the new regulations did not factor into their considerations, though he objected to the regulations itself. “The presence of these regulations can be stifling, as there are no clear demarcations on what the regulations want to delineate,” Roy wrote in an email reply to TOC.

Varying inspirations and audiences

The reasons and factors that inspired these two men to start their own community blogs varied. The Independent wants to offer “our journalists a career choice where they can report without fear or favour on news and current affairs in Singapore”, while WCS wants to offer a place for “Singaporeans to reclaim their voice.”

There has been a huge difference between what both blogs intend to offer as well. With big guns such as PN Balji (former editor-in-chief of TODAY) on the slate when it launches, The Independent is seemingly intending to take a stricter, more journalistic approach to its editorial policies and its articles much like Breakfast Network (also established by former journalist Bertha Henson). In its philosophy outlined on its site, The Independent states that “the editorial direction for (the Independent) can be summed up in two words: responsible and robust.”

WCS however has intended for the direct opposite – a community-based approach like sites such as Temasek Review Emeritus and UK newspaper Guardian’s Comment Is Free website. It hopes “to be able to put up contributions from Singaporeans which are more balanced in their perspectives.” In their Commentary Guidelines posted on the site, WCS stated that they would not allow “commentaries which would inflame individuals or are meant to sow discord… commentaries which take personal potshots at individuals… (and) commentaries which are discriminatory or offensive.”

Says Roy Ngerng: “What we really hope to do is to create a culture of discussion where everyone would be able to come in with a mind-set to listen to one another… which enables the discussion to be taken further. We hope to create an environment where Singaporeans are able to add on to one another’s perspectives, and to create solutions that would cater to as wide a population as possible.”

“What I’ve learnt so far about Singapore at this juncture is this – there are Singaporeans who have different political stances and alignments at this point, and we have forgotten to listen to one another, which is unfortunate,” says Roy. “This is unhealthy because such negative attacks on one another would prevent the conversation from being taken a step further. The fact of the matter is that everyone in Singapore has good suggestions about how to bring our country forward. We simply need to learn to distil the information from the conversations that we have, so that we can put them together for a representative solution that is formulated by the people… There is no right and wrong here and the people would need to vote for what they believe would serve their interests best.”

Is the community going towards more diversity, or more of the same?

Would these two differing inspirations and audiences mean that Singaporeans would enjoy more diversity? Says NUS undergraduate Teo Jun Jie, “The set ups could be encouraging in the sense that they provide attractive and convenient platforms, and perhaps will even motivate netizens to think thoroughly about various issues and work towards penning them down and sharing their views with the wider Internet community… for a more active and participatory “netizenry”.”

“Diversity is hard to come by in Singapore – we need more voices – a plurality in ways to look at a problem, ways to decide what a problem is and a plurality in solutions,” opined NTU sociology student and social activist Lim Jialiang. “More voices is always good – especially in alternative media which enjoys lower levels of censorship.”

An openness to community collaboration

Both sites are open to collaboration between bloggers and community blogs in areas involving the exchange of knowledge and expertise between blogs. Says Roy: “The different blogs and websites in Singapore serve many different roles and functions. They also attract very different readers with various interests and reading styles (and hence) develop their own niche markets to cater to the different opinion groups… collaboration between blogs and websites would serve to further enhance and deepen the knowledge exchange among not only the readers, but the blog owners as well.”

It remains to be seen if other sites (including this site) would be open to collaboration between members of the community. No one scheme of collaboration has been established between community blogs. The Free My Internet coalition, which brought bloggers together in protest of the new MDA regulations, remains the largest show of solidarity in the Internet community to date. “#FreeMyInternet has played a pivotal role in bringing the bloggers together,” said Kumaran Pillai.

“The licensing framework introduced by the MDA, had actually acted as the necessary impetus which propelled the formation of the #FreeMyInternet movement forward,” added Roy Ngerng.

Responsibility in alternative media – definitions differ

Perceptions differ however on how new (and old outlets) can remain credible and responsible on the Internet. “Maintaining and putting up quality posts is a good first step to build up such community blogs,” said Teo Jun Jie. “There is no value in having a wide variety of views… when most of them are unreliable. Helping to create or set the benchmark for an active, participatory and responsible “netizenry” could perhaps be one of the goal such community blogs aim to attain.”

Jialiang however begged to differ. Echoing public opinion laid out by socio-political blogger Alex Au, he said, “We should move away from the idea that the Internet is a place for citizen journalism and journalism.”

“It’s just how the landscape has changed… if we look at history, places (such as coffee shops) that have been communal are no longer communal,” he adds. “Where are the conversations now? They have migrated to the Internet. Whether they (the new community blogs) fulfil their promise as what they call themselves to be remains to be seen.”

Clearly, Singapore’s blogosphere has grown a lot more diverse. Oddly, it would seem that the intent to further regulate online media has only strengthen its resolve, most notably in the blossoming of new sites interested in social political news, commentary and discussion. While their format and approach varies, their common purpose seems clear, and echoes with established sites like TOC, TRE and Publichouse – keeping the Singapore reading public informed about social and political issues, so that they can make their own decisions.

For just US$7.50 a month, sign up as a subscriber on The Online Citizen Asia (and enjoy ads-free experience on our site) to support our mission to transform TOC into an alternative mainstream press.

Related Posts

2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille
AFP

2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille

03/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled
AFP

India’s Adani denies rise due to Modi as shares fall again

03/02/2023
TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn
AFP

TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn

03/02/2023
India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm
AFP

India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm

03/02/2023
A man can be sentenced to death by a testimony of another, but CPIB finds it hard to prosecute with mountain of evidence and self-confession?
Opinion

A man can be sentenced to death by a testimony of another, but CPIB finds it hard to prosecute with mountain of evidence and self-confession?

03/02/2023
AFP

Myanmar junta imposes tough new measures on resistance strongholds

03/02/2023
Subscribe
Connect withD
Login
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
Notify of
Connect withD
I allow to create an account
When you login first time using a Social Login button, we collect your account public profile information shared by Social Login provider, based on your privacy settings. We also get your email address to automatically create an account for you in our website. Once your account is created, you'll be logged-in to this account.
DisagreeAgree
0 Comments
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Latest posts

2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille

2024 Olympic torch relay to start in Marseille

03/02/2023
India’s Adani shares plunge again after stock sale cancelled

India’s Adani denies rise due to Modi as shares fall again

03/02/2023
TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn

TotalEnergies says Adani exposure ‘limited’ at US$3.1 bn

03/02/2023
India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm

India’s finance minister says markets ‘well regulated’ after Adani storm

03/02/2023
A man can be sentenced to death by a testimony of another, but CPIB finds it hard to prosecute with mountain of evidence and self-confession?

A man can be sentenced to death by a testimony of another, but CPIB finds it hard to prosecute with mountain of evidence and self-confession?

03/02/2023

Myanmar junta imposes tough new measures on resistance strongholds

03/02/2023
Malaysia High Court dismissed DPM Zahid’s application to get passport returned permanently

Malaysia High Court dismissed DPM Zahid’s application to get passport returned permanently

03/02/2023
Why is Gautam Adani’s Indian empire in turmoil?

Adani turmoil a key test for Modi’s India Inc

03/02/2023

Trending posts

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

Former Singaporean shares change of life in Australia with annual pay of S$80,000 as a plumber

by Yee Loon
30/01/2023
25

...

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

Earning only S$400 a month, delivery-rider turned hawker threw in the towel after two years of running a rojak stall

by Yee Loon
26/01/2023
24

...

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

They have done a fine job of confusing us about the jobs situation

by Augustine Low
01/02/2023
36

...

Two Indian nationals paid about S$330 and S$730 respectively for forged certificates submitted in their S-Pass application

MOM found issuing EPs meant for foreign PMETs to PRC waitress and general worker

by Correspondent
26/01/2023
41

...

Singapore warns slower economic growth in 2023

Less than 1 in 10 jobs created in first three quarters of 2022 went to Singaporeans?

by Leong Szehian
28/01/2023
69

...

Excessively charging for an essential need, and calling it affordable because people still can pay for it?

by Terry Xu
31/01/2023
39

...

August 2013
M T W T F S S
 1234
567891011
12131415161718
19202122232425
262728293031  
« Jul   Sep »

The Online Citizen is a regional online publication based in Taiwan and formerly Singapore’s longest-running independent online media platform.

Navigation

  • Editorial
  • Commentaries
  • Opinion
  • Politics
  • Community

Support

  • Contact Us
  • Letter submission
  • Membership subscription

Follow Us

  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • YouTube
  • Instagram
  • Fact Checking Policy
  • Privacy Policy

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

No Result
View All Result
  • Opinion
    • Editorial
    • Commentaries
    • Comments
  • Current Affairs
    • Malaysia
    • Indonesia
    • China
    • ASEAN
    • Asia
    • International
  • Finance
    • Economics
    • Labour
    • Property
    • Business
  • Community
    • Civil Society
    • Arts & Culture
    • Consumer Watch
    • NGO
  • Politics
    • Parliament
    • Transport
    • Education
    • Environment
    • Health
    • Housing
  • Law & Order
    • Legislation
    • Court Cases
  • Lifestyle
    • Travel
  • Subscribers login

© 2022 - 2023 The Online Citizen Asia

wpDiscuz