Angst over media merger
I am really, really saddened. Yes, MediaWorks and Mediacorp are merging their TV and free newspaper operations. And it's a pseudo merger, that is really an acquisition in substance. Of Mediaworks by Mediacorp.
The business people will talk about making practical senses in curbing losses and economies of scale. Market in Singapore is too small to support 2 media giants, and there is only so much advertising dollars that can go around. Plus, with competition, advertising fees have gone lower, hence both sides lose out while retailers gain.
For Liwei-the-girl-in-the-street, practical business senses simply don't strike a chord. I feel strong pity, most of it for myself, for in the short 1.5 months since I came back from Singapore, I've grown really attached to the Mediawork's U brand.
As an ardent fan of Channel U and UFM programmes, I truly enjoyed and basked in the wide array of programmes the media liberalisation 4 years ago brought about. The U-brand of TV and radio channels provided an alternative take on news, social and current affairs, something Liwei-the-girl-in-the-street has never thought possible because I grew up knowing only one choice. (Define choice!)
On TV, the 10 o'clock chinese news anchor Zhang Hai Jie's fluent, sharp and point-on in her delivery of news, and her Inside Out (Saturday 10.30pm) is brazen and direct - exactly how current affair programmes should be. What Say You (Tuesday 8.30pm) , hosted by Huang Wen Hong, sees guests holding in-depth, emotional discussions on social issues ranging from maid abuses to indecent exposure in public to the pains of teaching profession in Singapore. And, take the Olympics special reports made on both channels' 10 o'clock news. Zheng Wan Fei and her partner delivered the Olympics daily reports with passion, guts and grit that truly affected and were empathized with by the sportsman and sportsfan in all of us. The Channel 8 Olympic reports were made by a pretty bimbo, a weather girl really, who didn't engage the least bit.
Which TV station brought in the all-time-favourite Hong Kong soap opera Zhen Qing? And the Korean soap Autumn in my Heart, which started the still-going-strong craze here for Korean dramas? Not to mention, all our favourite Taiwanese Jacky Wu variety shows. Would we, who don't have cable TV at home, have possibly gotten the fare without the competition between these 2 free channels? The objective and frank opinion is that Singapore-made drama and variety shows can't be compared to those made in Hong Kong and Korea, but on Channel 8, local drama, and the not-funny Jack Neo's Comedy Night, was predominantly the only thing we watched. Only until Channel U came along and imported all the delicious asian fare, did Channel 8 start to offer some more of these to compete.
Look at the ex-Mediacorp artistes who crossed over to Mediaworks. Lina Ng, Kym Ng, Quan Yi Feng, Bryan Wong and Guo Liang were given opportunities to host, act and do a wide variety of shows, because the station is too small for them to specialize in either or. And did they entertain! Journalists with SPH's publishing arm, people like Cai Shen Jiang and Zhao Wan Yi, were roped in to do radio, and they impressed with their depths and talent, when they might not otherwise have the chance to.
Have you also heard the morning shows on UFM? Wen Hong invites a public personality on air every morning at 8.30am, and they discuss a wide variety of just about any topic. Hai Jie and Yan Qing cast a critical eye our society, Yi Feng the Ah Lian whines mirthfully about her singaporean life, and Mei Qi (an ex-DJ with Mediacorp's FM95.8) shares expertise and practical advice on how to survive in the workplace. The DJ and his guests interact with listeners, and I saw a wider perspective on our society and heard and got to think about a variety of opinions, some vastly different from my own. I don't always agree, but these things definitely stretched me.
I sometimes think that if a news journalist approaches me in the street and asks for my opinion, I may still give the typical Singaporean curt, "No comments."
*wave embarrassingly and quickly walk away*
Or, I may not. Now, I may actually have a clever insight to share!
I have always been a radio fan since those Rediffusion days. And pre-UFM, there were only 3 mandarin radio stations to choose from. (Oh no, no English radio for me, where the DJs speak in slick hollywood watsup-babe tongues.) FM93.3 is too teeny-booperish "I want to dedicate this song to my hubby in 5566. He is having his concert tomorrow and I want to tell him all the best and I love him forever, or until the next better looking singer-who-can't-sing comes along." FM95.8 is full of chinese-accented DJs who speak s l o w l y, and all the call-ins are from middle-age aunties whom I can't associate with. FM97.2 DJs try too hard to be sensual, and the station wants to be everything - music, current affairs, informational without a focus. And no, I don't want to listen to Dongfang Billy's lemon juice cancer cure everyday.
UFM has its focus on many things too, but I thought they have done rather well managing the variety. The brazen, upbeat presentation of current affairs is refreshing compared to Mediacorp's style of politically-correct - say the "right" thing or be very sorry you spoke. The entertainment news too. DJ Li Na takes terribly sarcastic (and funny) potshots at show-biz stars, so listener Liwei feels less suspicious that some news bytes are sponsored by recording companies. I must tell you about Ke Ning's Sunday Eleven (Sunday, 11pm). She introduces budding local song writers and alternative music genres to listeners - that is why listeners knew of Huang Yi Da even before he became this big today. UFM's really like an underground radio station. Presentation is raw, and content is niche and fitting to the taste of listeners who wanted more depth and breadth. Look at me, I had no qualms about switching from my only choice (note the oxymoron) FM93.3. And UFM was the radio I tuned to, over the internet, when I missed being at home in Singapore.
I'm feeling sad for those who have crossed over to SPH's MediaWorks, media workers as well as fans, for wanting to offer and get something different. An alternative. Imagine, would Kym Ng and Huang Wen Hong still shine and be free to do their own programming, now that they are back to being one of the more than 20 presenters in a big station, no less "traitors"? And I'm especially sad also for Streat's team, because the paper they've worked hard for is going to be folded.
My tears were swimming when I read the news of the merger in today's Straits Times, for as a fan, I felt terribly let down. No more raw, experimental, creative programmes and reporting. The true sad fact is, there is no room for creativity and raw-goodness with everything in our society so P&L-focused.
Slick equals to MediaCorp. Or MacDonald's, Starbucks and the American expatriate sitting in Boat Quay wrapping his arm around a SPG. Give me The Next Big Thing anytime, for Channel 5's Singapore Idol is really a turn-off with ad-breaks that go on for at least as long as the programme content itself. But to survive, to chase the advertising dollar that is really the only source of revenue for these media companies, they've got to be slicker than slick Not what I like, but no one ever really cared about the individual preferences. What is important are the masses, and I am a miserable fan today because my individuality happened to not make up the mass.
I'm probably fretting too early. My favorite TV and radio station may not go off like that. I'll probably still be able to tune in to FM100.3, and the tv channel tuned to Channel U's frequency in the future. But I'm afraid, under the new management (the old one, really), things will never be the same again.
Just compare the objective, cover-all-grounds programmes and reporting of SPH, versus the bias, we-shall-not-report-anything-about-the-other-station-unless-it's-an-MDA-fine style of MediaCorp, and you'll know why I am the pessimist that I am now. I know I have been utterly biased and emotional in my 1400-word argument, and I haven't given credit to MediaCorp where it's due. (Especially since it WAS the training ground of alot of the talented media workers I mentioned.) But well, you see, I SIMPLY HATE THAT ATTITUDE OF MEDIACORP, I've got to pay it back to them with my personal audience on my blog. (Sis, I know you hate that f-up attitude too.)
SPH's MediaWorks may have lost the media battle in a short 4 years, but it certainly has won the hearts of my family. And now, we know what it has been like when we had a choice, not what if.
In total angst, really.
The business people will talk about making practical senses in curbing losses and economies of scale. Market in Singapore is too small to support 2 media giants, and there is only so much advertising dollars that can go around. Plus, with competition, advertising fees have gone lower, hence both sides lose out while retailers gain.
For Liwei-the-girl-in-the-street, practical business senses simply don't strike a chord. I feel strong pity, most of it for myself, for in the short 1.5 months since I came back from Singapore, I've grown really attached to the Mediawork's U brand.
As an ardent fan of Channel U and UFM programmes, I truly enjoyed and basked in the wide array of programmes the media liberalisation 4 years ago brought about. The U-brand of TV and radio channels provided an alternative take on news, social and current affairs, something Liwei-the-girl-in-the-street has never thought possible because I grew up knowing only one choice. (Define choice!)
On TV, the 10 o'clock chinese news anchor Zhang Hai Jie's fluent, sharp and point-on in her delivery of news, and her Inside Out (Saturday 10.30pm) is brazen and direct - exactly how current affair programmes should be. What Say You (Tuesday 8.30pm) , hosted by Huang Wen Hong, sees guests holding in-depth, emotional discussions on social issues ranging from maid abuses to indecent exposure in public to the pains of teaching profession in Singapore. And, take the Olympics special reports made on both channels' 10 o'clock news. Zheng Wan Fei and her partner delivered the Olympics daily reports with passion, guts and grit that truly affected and were empathized with by the sportsman and sportsfan in all of us. The Channel 8 Olympic reports were made by a pretty bimbo, a weather girl really, who didn't engage the least bit.
Which TV station brought in the all-time-favourite Hong Kong soap opera Zhen Qing? And the Korean soap Autumn in my Heart, which started the still-going-strong craze here for Korean dramas? Not to mention, all our favourite Taiwanese Jacky Wu variety shows. Would we, who don't have cable TV at home, have possibly gotten the fare without the competition between these 2 free channels? The objective and frank opinion is that Singapore-made drama and variety shows can't be compared to those made in Hong Kong and Korea, but on Channel 8, local drama, and the not-funny Jack Neo's Comedy Night, was predominantly the only thing we watched. Only until Channel U came along and imported all the delicious asian fare, did Channel 8 start to offer some more of these to compete.
Look at the ex-Mediacorp artistes who crossed over to Mediaworks. Lina Ng, Kym Ng, Quan Yi Feng, Bryan Wong and Guo Liang were given opportunities to host, act and do a wide variety of shows, because the station is too small for them to specialize in either or. And did they entertain! Journalists with SPH's publishing arm, people like Cai Shen Jiang and Zhao Wan Yi, were roped in to do radio, and they impressed with their depths and talent, when they might not otherwise have the chance to.
Have you also heard the morning shows on UFM? Wen Hong invites a public personality on air every morning at 8.30am, and they discuss a wide variety of just about any topic. Hai Jie and Yan Qing cast a critical eye our society, Yi Feng the Ah Lian whines mirthfully about her singaporean life, and Mei Qi (an ex-DJ with Mediacorp's FM95.8) shares expertise and practical advice on how to survive in the workplace. The DJ and his guests interact with listeners, and I saw a wider perspective on our society and heard and got to think about a variety of opinions, some vastly different from my own. I don't always agree, but these things definitely stretched me.
I sometimes think that if a news journalist approaches me in the street and asks for my opinion, I may still give the typical Singaporean curt, "No comments."
*wave embarrassingly and quickly walk away*
Or, I may not. Now, I may actually have a clever insight to share!
I have always been a radio fan since those Rediffusion days. And pre-UFM, there were only 3 mandarin radio stations to choose from. (Oh no, no English radio for me, where the DJs speak in slick hollywood watsup-babe tongues.) FM93.3 is too teeny-booperish "I want to dedicate this song to my hubby in 5566. He is having his concert tomorrow and I want to tell him all the best and I love him forever, or until the next better looking singer-who-can't-sing comes along." FM95.8 is full of chinese-accented DJs who speak s l o w l y, and all the call-ins are from middle-age aunties whom I can't associate with. FM97.2 DJs try too hard to be sensual, and the station wants to be everything - music, current affairs, informational without a focus. And no, I don't want to listen to Dongfang Billy's lemon juice cancer cure everyday.
UFM has its focus on many things too, but I thought they have done rather well managing the variety. The brazen, upbeat presentation of current affairs is refreshing compared to Mediacorp's style of politically-correct - say the "right" thing or be very sorry you spoke. The entertainment news too. DJ Li Na takes terribly sarcastic (and funny) potshots at show-biz stars, so listener Liwei feels less suspicious that some news bytes are sponsored by recording companies. I must tell you about Ke Ning's Sunday Eleven (Sunday, 11pm). She introduces budding local song writers and alternative music genres to listeners - that is why listeners knew of Huang Yi Da even before he became this big today. UFM's really like an underground radio station. Presentation is raw, and content is niche and fitting to the taste of listeners who wanted more depth and breadth. Look at me, I had no qualms about switching from my only choice (note the oxymoron) FM93.3. And UFM was the radio I tuned to, over the internet, when I missed being at home in Singapore.
I'm feeling sad for those who have crossed over to SPH's MediaWorks, media workers as well as fans, for wanting to offer and get something different. An alternative. Imagine, would Kym Ng and Huang Wen Hong still shine and be free to do their own programming, now that they are back to being one of the more than 20 presenters in a big station, no less "traitors"? And I'm especially sad also for Streat's team, because the paper they've worked hard for is going to be folded.
My tears were swimming when I read the news of the merger in today's Straits Times, for as a fan, I felt terribly let down. No more raw, experimental, creative programmes and reporting. The true sad fact is, there is no room for creativity and raw-goodness with everything in our society so P&L-focused.
Slick equals to MediaCorp. Or MacDonald's, Starbucks and the American expatriate sitting in Boat Quay wrapping his arm around a SPG. Give me The Next Big Thing anytime, for Channel 5's Singapore Idol is really a turn-off with ad-breaks that go on for at least as long as the programme content itself. But to survive, to chase the advertising dollar that is really the only source of revenue for these media companies, they've got to be slicker than slick Not what I like, but no one ever really cared about the individual preferences. What is important are the masses, and I am a miserable fan today because my individuality happened to not make up the mass.
I'm probably fretting too early. My favorite TV and radio station may not go off like that. I'll probably still be able to tune in to FM100.3, and the tv channel tuned to Channel U's frequency in the future. But I'm afraid, under the new management (the old one, really), things will never be the same again.
Just compare the objective, cover-all-grounds programmes and reporting of SPH, versus the bias, we-shall-not-report-anything-about-the-other-station-unless-it's-an-MDA-fine style of MediaCorp, and you'll know why I am the pessimist that I am now. I know I have been utterly biased and emotional in my 1400-word argument, and I haven't given credit to MediaCorp where it's due. (Especially since it WAS the training ground of alot of the talented media workers I mentioned.) But well, you see, I SIMPLY HATE THAT ATTITUDE OF MEDIACORP, I've got to pay it back to them with my personal audience on my blog. (Sis, I know you hate that f-up attitude too.)
SPH's MediaWorks may have lost the media battle in a short 4 years, but it certainly has won the hearts of my family. And now, we know what it has been like when we had a choice, not what if.
In total angst, really.
posted by kite @ 9/18/2004 11:07:00 pm
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