Cherian George is an Associate Professor at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information, Nanyang Technological University. He is also an Adjunct Senior Research Fellow of the Institute of Policy Studies at the Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, National University of Singapore, and a Research Associate of Murdoch University’s Asia Research Centre.
His main area of research is at the intersection of media and politics, including government-press relations, censorship and alternative media. He is the author of two books, Singapore: The Air-Conditioned Nation (Landmark, 2000) and Contentious Journalism and the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia and Singapore (Singapore University Press and University of Washington Press, 2006). His journal articles include “Consolidating Authoritarian Rule: Calibrated Coercion in Singapore” in The Pacific Review and “Media in Malaysia: Zone of Contention” in Democratization, both published in 2007.
Before joining academia, he was a journalist at The Straits Times, where he wrote mainly on politics and media and served as the art and photo editor for three years. Early in his career, he twice won the company's Feature of the Year Award. He continues to practise professional journalism as the publisher of What’s Up, an independent monthly current affairs newspaper for children, which was honoured for editorial excellence by the Society of Publishers in Asia in 2006.
Dr George takes an active interest in media policy and media reform. He is a member of the Internet and Media Advisory Committee under the Ministry of Information, Communication and the Arts, and “Bloggers 13”, a group lobbying for greater internet freedom. He runs an online portal dedicated to Singapore journalism issues, journalism.sg. His other civil society contributions include serving as a founding member of The Roundtable in the 1990s. He is a member of the selection committee of the Goh Chok Tong Mendaki Youth Promise Awards.
He received his Ph.D. in Communication from Stanford University. He has a Masters from Columbia University’s School of Journalism and a B.A. in Social and Political Sciences from Cambridge University. He is an old boy of St Andrew’s Junior and Secondary Schools, and Hwa Chong Junior College.
He is married to a fellow journalist.
ACADEMIC PUBLICATIONS
Books
- George, C. (Editor) (2008). Free Markets, Free Media? Reflections on the political economy of the press in Asia. Singapore: Asian Media Information and Communication Centre.
- George, C. (2006). Contentious Journalism and the Internet: Towards Democratic Discourse in Malaysia and Singapore. Singapore University Press and University of Washington Press.
- George, C. (2000). Singapore: The Air-conditioned Nation. Essays on the Politics of Comfort and Control, 1990-2000. Singapore: Landmark Books.
Journal Articles
- George, C. and R. Raman (2008). “When big media meet ‘we’ media in Singapore.” Australian Journalism Review 30 (2): 61-73.
- George, C. (2008). “Debate: Values-driven journalism.” Journalism Studies 9 (1): 128-131.
- George, C. (2007). “Media in Malaysia: Zone of Contention.” Democratization 14 (5): 893-910.
- George, C. (2007). “Consolidating Authoritarian Rule: Calibrated Coercion in Singapore.” The Pacific Review 20 (2): 127-145.
- George, C. (2007). “Credibility Deficits: Why Some News Media don’t Pay the Price.” Journalism Studies 8 (6): 898-908.
- George, C. (2005). “The Internet's Political Impact and the Penetration/Participation Paradox in Malaysia and Singapore.” Media Culture & Society 27 (6): 903-920.
- George, C. (2005). “Calibrated coercion and the maintenance of hegemony in Singapore.” Asia Research Institute Working Papers Series 48.
- George, C. (2003). “The Internet's Political Impact and the Penetration/Participation Paradox in Malaysia and Singapore.” Asia Research Institute Working Papers Series 14.
- George, C. (2003). “The Internet and the Narrow-Tailoring Dilemma for ‘Asian’ Democracies.” Communication Review 6 (3): 247-268.
- Tay, S.S.C. & C. George (1996). “Asian Media and Elections: Frameworks in Human Rights and Media Systems.” Asian Journal of Communication 6 (2): 9-29.
Book Chapters
- George, C. (2010). “Control-Shift: The Internet and Political Change in Singapore”, in Chong, T. (ed.) Management of Success: Singapore Reassessed. Singapore: Institute of Southeast Asian Studies.
- George, C. (2009). “Networked Autocracy: Consolidating Singapore’s Political System”, in M. C. Anthony (ed.) Political Change, Democratic Transitions and Security in Southeast Asia. London and New York: Routledge.
- George, C. (2009). “No News Here: Media In Subordination”, pp. 444-450 in B. Welsh, J. Chin, A. Mahizhnan & T. H. Tan (eds.) Impressions of the Goh Chok Tong Years in Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press.
- George, C. (2008). “History Spiked: Hegemony and the Denial of Media Diversity”, pp. 269-285 in M. Barr & C. Trocki (eds.) Paths Not Taken: Political Pluralism in Post-War Singapore. Singapore: NUS Press.
- George, C. (2008). “Framing the Fight Against Terror: Order versus Liberty in Singapore and Malaysia”, pp. 139-155 in K. Sen & T. Lee (eds.) Political Regimes and the Media in Asia. London & New York: Routledge.
- George, C. (2007). “Singapore’s Emerging Informal Public Sphere”, pp. 93-104 in T. Tan (ed.) Singapore Perspectives 2007. Singapore: World Scientific Publishing Co.
- George, C. (2006). “Asian Journalisms: Neglected Alternatives”, pp. 79-92 in X. Hao & S.K. Datta-Ray (eds.) Issues and Challenges in Asian Journalism. Singapore: Times Academic Press.
- George, C. (2002). “Singapore: Media at the Mainstream and the Margins”, pp. 173-200 in Russell Heng (ed.), Media Fortunes, Changing Times: ASEAN States in Transition. Singapore: Institute of South East Asian Studies.
- George, C. and H. Pillay (2000). “Media and Civil Society”, pp. 198-202 in G. Koh & G. L. Ooi (eds.) State-Society Relations in Singapore. Singapore: Oxford University Press.