With the General Elections looming, a workshop for bloggers warned them to beware the law of defamation. Experts advised them to conscientiously check their facts. If caught up in an emotional situation, they should not post what they write in the heat of the moment but let the post sit a day or two, or seek advice before posting the entry. Full Story
Journalist and citizen media guru Dan Gillmor will be speaking about his new book, Mediactive, at NTU on Monday 28 March. “My goal with this project is to help turn passive media consumers into active users — as participants at every step of the process starting with what we read," he says. All are welcome. Full Story
The workshop will educate bloggers about the legal and political parameters of blogging the General Elections in Singapore. Participants will produce a set of guidelines that will be posted online for other bloggers. It is designed for students, writers and editors who are not professional journalist who are not fully aware of the legal and political parameters of blogging before and during the General Elections. Full Story
The heft of the government’s ‘light touch’ has descended upon local sociopolitical website The Online Citizen, just as it passed the four-year mark of its inception. The government wants to subject TOC to the Political Donations Act. TOC's website has an online donation facility displayed under every article. Although TOC would not have to report the identity of donors for donations under $10,000, readers nervous about TOC's promises of confidentiality may now be deterred from donating. Full Story
The Censorship Review Committee has added its voice to calls that Singapore stop its practice of banning a symbolic list of pornographic and extremist websites. While any change in the policy would not directly affect journalistic sites – since no such sites are blocked – the move could be seen as an important adjustment in censorship principles, away from what the committee called the overly protective "quarantine" approach to harmful media content, towards "vaccination with education, information and the exercise of parental responsibility". Full Story
A recent forum for freelancers from various media industries discussed the idea of setting up an organisation to represent them. Freelancers face common challenges such as strengthening their legal rights and the need for training and accreditation. The dialogue was convened by the Institute of Policy Studies at the request of the Media Development Authority. Full Story
The controversial handcuffing of a press photographer who was shooting the recent floods was not intended to censor the media, the Government has said. “In this particular case, the issue was not about the photographer taking pictures of the flood, but about public safety,” Second Minister for Home Affairs K. Shanmugam told Parliament on 16 August. The perceived heavy-handedness of the Police had sparked disquiet in the press. “Looking at this incident with the benefit of hindsight, I think both parties could have handled the situation better,” the minister acknowledged. Full Story