6/25/2011

Alternative and main media reporting

The ST splashed on its front page today on the findings of a poll on party affiliation of presidential candidates. It reported that 50% of the respondents were of the view that ‘party affiliation not key in presidential race’. About 1/3 or 18 of the people polled thought that party affiliation could be an advantage and 12 people or 20% thought that this would work against the candidate. This, in my mental computation, says that about 80% of the people would not mind a candidate that is affiliated to the PAP. Tony should win hands down with this kind of feedback.

I did a straw poll and found that 100% of all polled was sceptical about a party candidate as a president. They all have the same reservation about how impartial and objective a president can be when he is too close or familiar with a political party. They described this kind of relationship with strong and unrefined words which clearly placed where their sympathy lies.

Ah, I think my poll is biased as the people polled somehow are less objective and will vote without thinking. So, to have a fair and representative survey it is important to select the respondents carefully and not going after the people that would tell you what you want to hear.

Somehow, the alternative and main media seem to be reading different things and painting different pictures from different groups of people. So, how different would the internet reporters invited to Tony Tan’s press conference be from the main stream reporters in their coverage of the event? Interestingly, the number one alternative media, Temasek Review Emeritus, was not invited while TOC, the Online Citizen, was invited. Is this an indicator that TOC has a better standing in the eyes of the establishment and deserved to be invited to the press conference?

Whatever, the act of being invited to a high profile political event speaks well for the alternative media. It is gaining recognition as a place where worthy alternative news and views are sought after. I am sure TRE will also be invited in times to come when people are more comfortable or accommodating to alternative reporting and opinions.

5 comments:

Anonymous said...

Does presidential election candidate need to invite anyone when filling application form? Whatever for?
Even if the candidate emerged victorious, there is no need to boast around, it will be officially announced.
And there will be campaigns by the candidates and without fail, the media will 'sell' them(candidates) to the public.
Making a din before any election campaign only invites disdains as we can see in Cyberspace. Singaporeans are already very pissed off with too much wayang(acting/pretension).

Anonymous said...

The irony is that the rulers believe the wayang is effective, while the real reaction on the ground is clearly indicating the opposite effect.

But whatever, the MSM can continue to report the make believe world, while the alternative media sees a different picture.

The make believe world can only last if the oldies are still around to make a difference, but as we go down the road, the MSM is not going to be that influential on the younger generation and older net savy citizens.

Let the MSM just enjoy their last throes while it lasts.

Anonymous said...

When the young gets older, perhaps the realisation will come to them that there are a lot of challenges and unknowns out there and their worldviews may change in tandem with the realism they will face.

notanotherspinstory said...

TRE was not invited because the editors are underground, not because TOC is more credible.

What is the point of covering Tony Tan's press conference anyway? It's a well-choreographed spin story.

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