Sophisticated Global Media Centre With A Hint Of Asian Values
When describing Singapore, the adjective world class is never far away. A world class port, infrastructure, finance hub, economy and airport – Singapore is the shiny island city-state that has been punching above its weight for decades now.
Strategically positioned at the Southern tip of the Malay Peninsula in Southeast Asia, Singapore has a reputation for transparent, disciplined business environment where the rule of law, access to capital markets and global finance has attracted leading multinationals to establish their regional headquarters.
Today brands like Apple, Airbus, Citibank, GE, Google (Alphabet), IBM, and Meta operate out of Singapore while international media like Bloomberg, Reuters, CNBC Asia, and BBC Asia have made the island nation their Asia hub.
Singapore is not only a highly regulated media environment where censorship is still very much alive but one that is based on clearly defined rules around maintaining social civility and political stability. The government reserves the right to rebut or correct reporting and stories through the Protection from Online Falsehoods and Manipulation Act (POFMA) enacted in 2019. This gives the government significant leverage or the right to order publishers/producers to publish “corrections” to content that is considered seditious, erroneous or undermining of public trust and harmony.
Government media censors under the auspices of the Infocomm Media Development Authority (IMDA) regulate and monitor all sources including social media, independent and alternative websites as well as instant messaging such as WhatsApp, YouTube, X, TikTok, and Instagram.
As a mature, sophisticated business landscape, the business and general reporting in Singapore is one that informs on global issues and educates on national agendas that are critical to nation building. While editorial integrity is allegedly a core tenet in Singapore, the two mainstay media houses function as the government’s national communications channels/platforms.
Despite the rise of Singapore as a key media and publishing hub in Asia, the local media scene is dominated by two large government backed organisations – SPH Media Trust and Mediacorp. Both organisations publish and broadcast across television, radio, online, social media as well as print media (SPH).
Of the two, Mediacorp owns and runs widely subscribed free-to-air and online radio and television channels. The English language, 24-hour news network Channel News Asia has the largest share of the television viewership (33%) in the country with a network of reporting resources from around the Asia Pacific region.
The English language entertainment Channel 5 claims about 25% of the viewership with Chinese-language Channel 8 at 23% of the national market. Mediacorp also broadcasts Malay and Tamil television channels as well as several radio stations in English, Chinese, Malay, and Tamil.
Singapore Press Holdings which recently became a Trust and now operates as SPH Media Trust (SMT) has a major share of the print and online publishing media including the nation’s flagship English language daily The Straits Times. The Business Times is the de-facto business English language daily which is widely read in the region.
The Chinese language Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao are the counterparts catering to the Chinese majority population.
As the government backed media houses, SPH Media Trust and Mediacorp tend to be reticent and err on the side of caution in their reporting on political issues, government policies, and national agendas.
Singapore is a hyper connected nation with internet penetration recorded at 95.8% in 2025, and smartphone or devices ownership at 97%. This has triggered a surge in digital news content producers, sites, and sources. Operating wholly online and on social media, this category of content producers operates in a “grey area” which the government’s censors monitor very stringently.
Adding another layer of intricacy is the advent of social media and nano influencers. Enjoying a high profile prior to and during the pandemic, the influence of the influencers1 is waning with Singaporean consumers afforded a wider variety of content creative stories from the region as well as North Asia. As such, nano influencers are limited in their efficacy.
The Singapore government support for fair and objective reporting, as defined by IMDA, ensures that the country’s media (all content producers) align with societal values and legal framework including guidelines on decency, racial and religious harmony, and preventing fake news. This has been a deterrent to creativity in publishing and depth of coverage from truly independent publishers.
Any organisation engaging the media, needs to recognise the core tenets that guide content publishing2 even on business social media platforms. By focusing on educating their core audiences and aligning with national agendas, communications and marketing campaigns become significantly more effective.
Understanding the landscape, aligning narratives along Singapore’s national agendas as well as key trends in target sectors, will define the success and launch of any media relations programme. To that end being able to craft the business to business or government message is the “secret sauce”. Working with an experienced, connected public relations consultant is the game changer.
To support and regulate the media market, IMDA today, provides financial grants, training and workshops to encourage local content production as well as talent development. However, the Singapore media scene lacks true freedom of speech or transparency, and while being disciplined, it is limited in creativity and variety.
The established business media in Singapore, however are sophisticated, mature, and globally competitive in their news coverage and stories.
Similarly, the rich business and dynamic vertical sectors has spawned several long-standing trade publications and media. These are again respected and supported Singapore based regional media covering the finance, business, technical, technology, supply chain, healthcare sectors, establishing them as key resources for senior business leaders in Asia.
The Singapore trade and business media scene, while catering to a small digitally savvy, connected population, is aligned to global media markets and trends. The discipline and the censorship are a way of life for most Singaporeans, which results in a tight, limited, highly fastidious and particular content and media environment. Journalists consider alignment with national agendas and campaigns before human rights, “scoops” or sensational news – often verifying news sources meticulously or rigidly prior to publishing.
Over the last 40 years, we have seen the development and indeed the burgeoning and shrinking of the media scene in Singapore. With senior colleagues in the media retiring and with new younger talent entering the fray, the focus in media relations has shifted to be in line with the world’s mature media markets where the narratives or stories that aligned with the business trends win the day and the subsequent “15 minutes of fame”.
Today the onus is on communications professionals like us to create the stories that interest and excite our colleagues and therefore our readers.
Chat with us to find out how we can help your organisation achieve the thought leadership success through media relations.
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