Let me put this out: in the Singapore context, does ignoring the MSM do the country a favour? The MSM, is, by an large, a government spin machine and we all know that. The detainee escape fiasco (confluence of happenstance) and lack of leadership accountability is being pushed aside by calls from a person whom I was proud to acknowledge as my PM, the current Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong. Chok Tong has said that we should move on, with more pressing issues facing the nation. The lack lustre defence of DPM KS Wong by PM HL Lee last week, should not just be swept under the proverbial carpet. Failure of leadership, of accountability, or Doing The Right Thing cannot be forgotten. It might be forgiven, but not forgotten.
I will assume that KS Wong will not stand down and so be it. I cannot but lend my voice and vote to see him out of office. Yes, we have bigger and more challenging things to focus on. I shall continue to ignore MSM – until someone tells me that they have gained credibility.
by not reading msm, I can save $24 per month, $288 per annum.That is for sure, they lose one customer.
Well, you are right partially. I can certainly save the money and just read the MSM when someone refers me to it. Far better and more focused.
Knowing what MSM writes
I would not totally ignore the MSM. I will read whatever crappy things that they write to bend the minds of those who not well versed in the spinning effort of the MSM. I will tell these people of the true nature of the spins and offer counter-agruments to reverse the effects of the spinning on these people.
We should read, we counter the spins and spread the truth to those who need the truth. There are many who do not know the truth of our MSM.
Re: Knowing what MSM writes
It is true that many do not know of the games the MSM plays. I think there is enough of a growing awareness in the general population of how the MSM has failed all of us and the nation that it is a matter of time before the MSM keels over – yeah right :-).
The truth is, the television channels also have a big influence on the older folks, especially older less-educated ladies. This is probably the only source of information for most of them. Older men will have more contacts to influence their thinking, eg the coffee-shop talks with friends, and thus they will be less likely to take everything they read in the papers or see on TV as the truth. The way I see it, it will take at least 3 or 4 more elections before these older folks pass on and then we have the more educated people who do not rely entirely on the MSM for information. Then perhaps we can see some light ahead.
We should not let the older folks live in that cocoon that helps to reinforce the status quo. We should go out there and help them to look at the alternative information being made available. I am sure if we can have one or two of these folks clued in, they will in turn help their cohorts to see the light.
Already Done So For 15 Years.
I have already ignored the MSM for the past 15 years, since the Internet was introduced. There is no need to purchase or read local msm. You can get news freely from foreign papers. Anyway local msm news are mostly at least one day late and they also copy from AFP or AP, not original.
Re: Already Done So For 15 Years.
Excellent. I started actively ignoring the MSM after I returned from Banda Aceh. I was totally disappointed in how they rah-rahed Singapore’s efforts in the Tsunami assistance and totally ignored to mention the amazing work done by the Malaysians as well. I was on the ground. I know what they did to help.