Wednesday, October 1, 2014

Significant Damage To Readers' Trust

Leading Japanese daily, the Asahi Shimbun, has been forced into a series of embarrassing admissions over errors it published on the country’s Fukushima nuclear disaster and the use of sex slaves by Japanese troops during the Second World War. Asahi's president, Tadakazu Kimura, said that an internal investigation had found the Fukushima article to be incorrect. “We have caused significant damage to the trust our readers place in us,” he was quoted by the Guardian as saying. The revelations are set to send shock-waves, with dismissal of staff and reprimands promised by executive editor Nobuyuki Sugiura in the aftermath of the scandal. But Singapore is not Japan.

It was the Straits Times who first quoted Ang Mo Kio GRC MP Intan Azura Mokhtar as saying Yang Yin “is one of several [grassroots] leaders in Ang Mo Kio GRC helping foreigners integrate into society.” She quixotically added that Yang Yin “doesn’t hold a position” in the grassroots organisation. To make sense out of nonsense, the holder of a string of university degrees explained that she had described him as such because she considers all grassroots volunteers as “grassroots leaders.”

Then the paper quoted the People's Association as having confirmed that he had been a member of the neighbourhood committee since July 5 last year but resigned on Sept 8 this year. More confusing, on its volition, it chivalrously apologised for an error in reporting. Whether the error is about Yang Yin having held a position, having sent his resignation, or Intan's inability to discern volunteers from leaders, we are none the wiser.

It was the prime minister who first cast negative aspersions when he told student at a forum, "Do you (really) believe everything you read in the Straits Times?" But the perm sec who was made CEO of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) need not worry about his day job, so long as he remembers the old man's birthday. Chan was once described as "a Rafflesian who has crossed many boundaries" - Principal Private Secretary for LKY, Deputy Secretary at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications & IT and the Ministry of Transport - all of which had nothing to do with journalism.

14 comments:

  1. "Do you (really) believe everything you read in the straits times"?. While, it is ranked 154th lah.

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  2. when you are in the inner circle, you can be a donkey yet hold office that has nothing to do with beying, 4 legs. Just like a former chief justice... banking is the same as criminal, family, company and land laws. Uniquely singapura..

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  3. Believe it(Straits time) or not, iis not the Issue.
    The Issue is it's trustworthiness.

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  4. There once was a US academic in NUS who described the Singapore system as " once oz of loyalty is better than one pound of clever work"

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    Replies
    1. meritocracy is measured by the degree of sycophancy;
      not clever work.

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  5. There is this truism, that history is written by the winners or victors. Who has been the winner in this red dot for the last 50 years? Can you trust what is written by the state owned media?

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    Replies
    1. The truth is out there, underneath the glossy veneer. What we got from the state organ is but a coat of whitewash.

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  6. This 17 minute video of Hong Lim Park protest gives the most complete picture yet of what happened ... it really was a storm in a tea cup created PIGS.

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ozAaFra5ycw

    Gives you 2 minutes of clear footage of what Teo Ser Luck was doing or not doing.

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    Replies
    1. Reminds me of a lost mutt that answers to the name of LUCKY.

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  7. "Local politics is a matter for Singaporeans to decide". Yet PRs who can't vote can get involved in PAP politics ?

    What kind of logic is that ? Maybe LKY's PM son can enlighten us instead of acting blur ?

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  8. " all of which had nothing to do with journalism." - it does have to do with propaganda.

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  9. i find the msm 'reporting' of services related 'news' to be mostly ridiculous and glory-seeking . goes something like this: "[insert essential service] responded to / received a request for 'assistance' [insert date, time]. The [insert incident] occurred/happened in/at/along/around [venue] and the [service] responded within [insert impressive response time] with [list out ALL the resources used] and had the [incident] [insert verb] in [insert impressive completion time]. - credits : Minitrue

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  10. We don't call it the Shit Times for nothing. In fact my dogs insists on shitting only on the ST

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    Replies
    1. Can't agree more - it's great for soaking up pee and poo :p

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