Ideology in The Straits Times Newsroom

Abstract

Objectivity is a universal norm in journalism and is a way to seek and to present the truth of what happens in society to the public. It is seen to be one of the highest forms of values in journalism, especially in liberal democracies. This thesis explores the norm of objectivity in The Straits Times newsroom. The Singapore state often distances the Singaporean news media from the Western news media, despite The Straits Times resembling, on the surface, a lot of credible newspapers around the world. This leads to tensions in organisational and cultural practices in the newsroom. In resolving these tensions, objectivity, although bearing superficial resemblance to the practices in Western news media, ultimately functions differently in The Straits Times. By examining the history of the newspaper and the content of its newspaper reports, this thesis looks at the particular nature of objectivity as a norm in The Straits Times. It will explore The Straits Times reporting of the 2015 and 2017 train breakdowns in Singapore to see how objectivity plays out. Because journalists in Singapore over-rely on official sources and do not engage in investigative reporting, the norm of objectivity is seen to be different in The Straits Times compared to ‘the West’.