MediaCorp's controversial television coverage of this year's general election has been given the gentlest of feedback by a government-appointed consultative panel, the Programme Advisory Committee for English Programmes (PACE). The Committee said MediaCorp had tried to be balanced, but noted that the broadcaster's refusal to report unconfirmed results on election night made it look bad. Full Story
Andrew Loh, one of the editors of The Online Citizen until just after May's General Election, has launched a new socio-political website, Public House. It is not yet clear how, if at all, Public House plans to distinguish itself from the more established TOC. But given Loh's experience in running an alternative group blog, it's safe to say that Public House is one work in progress that's worth watching. Full Story
An analysis by a public relations consultancy suggests that the Tan Cheng Bock campaign has been the most digitally savvy. However, Tan Jee Say's message appears to have the strongest appeal among Singapore's more critical netizens. Full Story
Prime Minister Lee Hsien Loong has called for online spaces where Singaporeans and the government can engage in more balanced, open and rational debate on issues. He did not say how such spaces could form, or whether the government intended to create or facilitate such sites. The most effective solution would be bottom-up projects, created independently by established bloggers with street-cred. Could Singapore’s socio-political bloggers, for so long seen as a thorn in the government’s side, be the answer to the PM’s prayers? Full Story
The law on contempt of court has been clarified by the Court of Appeal in the recent Alan Shadrake case, according to the July 2011 issue of Inter Se, a publication of the Singapore Academy of Law. One issue that the court discussed is what test to apply when deciding whether there has been contempt. Full Story
The Open Government Partnership admits countries that meet minimum benchmarks of openness in four areas, including access to information and citizen engagement. Singapore is not deemed to qualify. Full Story
Citizen journalism in Singapore appears to have made a major breakthrough, with the Tony Tan Campaign for President inviting some of the country’s most influential political bloggers to its press conference announcing his candidature this morning. Full Story