Communication policy and planning in Singapore

This study of communication policy and planning the 1st of its kind in Singapore is an attempt to explore and analyze the following areas: communication systems; communication policy; national level policy planning; institutional level communication planning; and project level communication planning. Following an introductory chapter the chapters of this report sketch the sociodemographic characteristics of Singapore society and the history politics government and economy; describe the component systems of the communication network in Singapore today; present an analysis of the use of major types of mass media by the population broken down by demographic characteristics such as ethnicity age and sex; examine the guiding communication policies on which the present communication systems are built and operated; focuse on the structure of general policymaking and planning at the national level in Singapore; consider communication planning at the institutional level using Radio Television Singapore (RTS) as a case study; discuss project level planning; and make some generalizations on communication policy and planning in Singapore. As a compact urban society Singapore is characterized by a set of well-developed communication systems. Audience analysis has revealed that the population of Singapore is highly exposed to the mass media as is typical in a highly urbanized society. The Singapore government gives high priority to the development of telecommunications since these are considered the basic infrastructure for economic and social development in a country that depends so much on international communication. The political leaders of Singapore perceive communication media as powerful instruments to be properly controlled or guided to play a positive role in social development. Some constraints and censorship are regarded as necessary because Singapore is vulnerable to external influences whether intended or unintended. At the level of national communication planning; infrastructure planning is done by the ministries and departments that are involved with communication elements. In communication operation planning each relevant division or department is responsible for the operation of the communication elements under its charge. The case study of RadioTelevision Singapore shows how the programs are planned and arranged to maintain a balance between development oriented and nondevelopment oriented contents. At the project planning level a case study of family planning communication in Singapore is presented to illustrate how different communication channels are used to promote the norms and practices of family planning.