Blackwell Reference Online

Extract

Singapore, an island nation at the southern tip of mainland Southeast Asia, has a population of about 3.6 million made up of 77 percent Chinese, 14 percent Malays, 7 percent Indians, and 2 percent classified as others. The non-citizen population makes up another 1.2 million. A former British colony, the republic adopts the Westminster parliamentary system, and the government has been controlled by the People's Action Party (PAP) since 1959. The three corporations that provide for the various media in the country are largely owned by the government's investment arm, Temasek. Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) dominates the print media , publishing 17 → newspapers and more than 100 magazines in the country and the region. It also operates two → radio stations and → Internet portal services. SPH offers management and ordinary shares, with one management share equaling 200 ordinary shares. Transference of management shares must be approved by the government. MediaCorp dominates the broadcast media, operating six terrestrial TV channels, an outdoor digital TV channel, a TV production company, Channel News Asia, which provides round-the-clock satellite TV news (→ Television ), and 14 radio stations (13 FM and a digital audio broadcast). It also publishes a free-circulation newspaper and 13 periodicals. At the end of 2004, MediaCorp and SPH merged to become MediaCorp TV Holdings, which ... log in or subscribe to read full text