SINGAPORE: Singaporeans generally prefer social stability to freedom of the press. At the same time, more feel that government or publicly-funded media are doing a "good job" in accurately reporting news compared to privately-funded companies.
This finding was the result of a poll — conducted by research firms GlobeScan and Synovate — that was commissioned by the BBC World Service to mark its 75th anniversary. In the survey covering 11,344 individuals in 14 countries in October and November, Singapore was one of the three countries — along with India and Russia — where people considered stability more important than media that practise free speech.
Forty-eight per cent of the Singaporeans polled believed controls on the media are necessary to ensure harmony, while 43 per cent felt a free press was very important. Despite the fact that the media here was perceived "as less free than in any other country surveyed", 36 per cent gave the local press a high freedom rating.
Some 42 per cent of Singaporeans gave a "good job" rating to government-funded media in accuracy and honesty, compared to 32 per cent for non-government funded companies. However, 51 per cent of Singaporeans were of the opinion that "ownership (of the media companies) is a major issue because you often see owners' political views emerge in the news".
The BBC poll revealed that the world was divided over the importance of press freedom, with 56 per cent thinking that a free press is very important to ensure a free society, while 40 per cent were of the opinion that it is more important to maintain social harmony even at the expense of a free press.
"While people generally support a free media, the Western view of the necessity of a free press to ensure a fair society is not universally shared across all regions of the world," said GlobeScan head Doug Miller.
Surprisingly, those surveyed in the United Kingdom and the United States — widely considered bastions of free press — were largely critical of the accuracy of news reporting by both publicly and privately funded organisations. Countries like India and Kenya scored top points for accurate reporting.
Only 29 per cent in the UK felt that publicly-funded news organisations had done a "good job" in the accuracy of reporting, while 28 per cent felt the same for privately-funded news organisations. The percentages were 28 per cent and 30 per cent, respectively, for the US.
This result is a blow to the American corporate media, which like to pride themselves as providers of the most accurate news, said sociology professor Peter Phillips of Sonoma State University in the US.
"With the corporate media coverage that increasingly focuses on a narrow range of celebrity updates, news from 'official' government sources, and sensationalised crimes and disasters, the self-justification of being the most fit is no longer valid in the US," said Prof Phillips.
The countries involved in the survey were Brazil, Egypt, Germany, India, Kenya, Mexico, Nigeria, Russia, Singapore, South Africa, the United Arab Emirates, the United Kingdom, the United States and Venezuela. — With additional reporting from agencies - TODAY/ra