NEWS BLACKOUT ON WORKERS' PARTY
Parliament of Singapore · 12 January 1988 · 6th Parliament
Official Report, 12 January 1988, Vol 50, Issue 4 · Open in the reader (summaries, search, filters)
The following question stood in the name of Mr Chiam See Tong-
Mr Chiam See Tong: To ask the Minister for Communications and Information whether he is aware that the television and radio have blacked out all news concerning the Workers' Party and, if so, what are the reasons for doing so.
Mr Speaker: I notice Mr Chiam is not here again.
Mr S. Chandra Das (Chong Boon): Question No. 3, Sir.
The Minister for Communications and Information (Dr Yeo Ning Hong): Mr Speaker, Sir, I see the Member for Potong Pasir has got into the habit of having his questions asked by a PAP MP.
Sir, I am not aware of any news blackout because there was none. Whether the news about the Workers' Party's quarrels, dissensions and resignations are included in the very limited air time available for TV and radio news are matters for the editors to decide.
Sir, the editors base their decisions on the judgment of what is newsworthy and of interest to their viewers and listeners. TV News enjoys one of the highest viewership of all programmes on SBC. This indicates the widespread support for the editor's balance of international, regional and local news items.
Source: Singapore Parliament Official Report (Hansard) for 12 January 1988. Republished on SGParliament.