“Cheong genuinely believed that being pro-government was nothing to be ashamed of. I read his book as a reminder to new ministers and new editors that the relationship was a special and delicate one needing mutual respect. That is why he gave some examples of the difficult negotiations and the give-and-take with the government. He feared that it was becoming a more one-way subservient relationship.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“Because, Jack, you volunteered to be taken down into eternal torment in place of her. This is the absolute minimum (unless I'm mistaken) that any female requires from her man.”
Source: Quicksilver
“Peter’s management style was very different from that of his predecessors. He was a listener, always ready to hear out his journalists when they approached him. He ran an open and transparent newsroom and believed in the principle that government and media should not be one. There should be a line, no matter how thin, between the two. He believed the PAP was good for Singapore, but not that all its actions were correct.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“In a private setting, Leslie and Minister for Information and the Arts George Yeo engaged in a debate over the issue, with George Yeo finally declaring that the government would defend its Members of Parliament even if they were wrong.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“These editors didn’t face a kinder, gentler government. But they grew up in journalism with a stronger sense that the press was not part of the establishment. My generation benefited from having supervisors who had that instinct.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“Leaving while you are at the top of your game puts your life in your own hands rather than your employer’s, he explains.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“There are many others, too, who have tried to make a difference. But what I also notice is that, unfortunately, these people who tried to make a difference didn’t last in the jobs.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“I think one structural explanation could be that precisely because the internet has emerged as a platform on which the government gets attacked every day, the government is guarding its control of mainstream media even more jealously.”
Source: Reluctant Editor: The Singapore Media as Seen through the Eyes of a Veteran Newspaper Journalist
“What I still don’t get is, if the mainstream media continues to be behind the curve, who is the biggest loser? The biggest loser is the government, because the eyeballs will move away from mainstream media.”
“Apa awak yang biji benih pada masa buruk anda, akan dituai pada masa yang baik anda”