THE IDEOLOGICAL ORIENTATION OF THE STRAITS TIMES

Abstract

Much has been said about the Singapore press -- its pro-government stance, its role in nation-building, its perceived credibility problem. This thesis examines the relation between government and press ideology by comparing political and journalistic discourse. The assumption is that an analysis of ideology requires an analysis of how language is used to maintain structures of power. As there is a general acceptance that the Singapore press has to be pro-establishment, the emphasis is on examining how that ideological orientation is manifested textually and linguistically in the leading daily, 'The Straits Times. Two other issues are explored: one, whether the change in leadership of the ruling People's Action Party has resulted in a shift in ideological orientation; two, whether ideological orientation varies across different types of journalistic discourse. These questions are addressed using textual analysis (or critical discourse analysis) of three types of text ministerial speeches, editorials and news articles. The findings suggest that the change in leadership has not resulted in a shift in ideological orientation, both in political and journalistic discourse, and that news articles appear to be more biased towards the ruling party than editorials. This thesis argues that government and press ideology are mutually reflective and reinforcing, both in their similar operative assumptions and similar use of linguistic features.