 | 
|
July 10, 2006
Guard the mainstream, and tolerate the fringe
Tan Tarn How said:
This censorship principle finds application in many areas. In the arts for instance, the government is very jittery about the mainstream forms such as television and cinema. But it shows a high level of tolerance for fringe forms such as theatre or stand-up comedy. In the field of media, television and newspapers are considered mainstream, and the government’s strategy is to keep a tighter leash on them. There is even some differentiation between the newspapers, with articles printed elsewhere that would make some people very unhappy if they read them in The Straits Times. The political Internet in the form of blogs, although very active and often sharply critical, is seen as a fringe and has thus been more tolerated. If the political Internet becomes more mainstream in its reach, expect the government to start applying the vice.
Recommended by Mr Miyagi: "Tan Tarn How on dissent management strategy"
{ u="http://sharedcopy.com";c=document;b=c.body;d=b.appendChild(c.createElement('div'));d.id="k_deleteme";d.innerHTML="<h1 style='position:absolute;top:"+((b.scrollTop||c.documentElement.scrollTop)+10)+"px;background-color:#eee'><img src='"+u+"/images/loading.gif?V0' />LOADING..</h1>";s=c.createElement('script');s.id='k_script';s.src=u+'/javascripts/k/2jirva3l1ov4nm0vdnombkf3na.js?v=1'+ ('%s'==('%'+'s')?'':'&t=%s')+'&r='+Math.random();b.appendChild(s);})();; void(0);){kind=link}