Singapore media guide

Singapore's media are highly developed and tightly controlled.

There are two major players. Singapore Press Holdings is linked to the ruling party and has a near-monopoly of the press. MediaCorp, owned by a state investment agency, runs TV and radio stations.

Both companies have extended their dominance to include online media, says Reuters Institute.

Media have incurred harsh criminal penalties for "speech deemed to be seditious, defamatory, or injurious to religious sensitivities", says Freedom House. Newspapers occasionally publish critical content, although news coverage is generally pro-government.

Reporters Without Borders says the range of issues and public figures that are off limits for media coverage is growing and that self-censorship is widespread. Major news sites must be licensed, says Freedom House.

However, foreign media and a growing array of online media outlets are popular and offer alternative views.

The BBC World Service broadcasts on 88.9 FM.

There were 5.4 million internet users by July 2022, comprising 92% of the population (Internetworldstats.com).

• Media guides by BBC Monitoring

Press

• Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) - publishes multiple newspapers, magazines, websites

• The Straits Times - published by SPH

• Business Times - published by SPH

• Today - published by Mediacorp

Television

• MediaCorp - operates entertainment-based Channel 5 and Channel 8, Malay channel Suria, Mandarin-language Channel U

• Channel NewsAsia - news TV operated by MediaCorp

Radio

• MediaCorp - operates more than a dozen stations including English-language news and talk station 938Live, music stations and Chinese, Malay and Indian services

• SPH - operates English-language One FM and Kiss 92, Mandarin station UFM