Issue 10 : Tamil Media
PAGE 60
Tamil Media
Issue 10 : Tamil Culture and Media
Author : Ms Harini V
Vasantham |
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Mediacorp |
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OLI 96.8 |
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SPH
Tamil Murasu
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BACKGROUND :
• Local Tamil media , like other mass media in Singapore fall under two organisations , namely MediaCorp and Singapore Press Holdings ( SPH ).
• Vasantham and Oli belong to Mediacorp and Tamil Murasu to SPH . “ The three media platforms are under close government supervision and follow its directives closely .” ( Arun Mahizhnan , 2016 )
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Tamil Murasu
• Launched in 1935 and has been , for most of the time , the only Tamil Newspaper in Singapore .
• Founded and run for a long time by G Sarangapany , a distinguished Tamil journalist and community leader .
In the past :
• As a staunch follower of the Reform Movement of Tamil Nadu , Sarangapany used TM as a communication tool to rid the Tamil community of caste based discriminations so as to unite all Tamil people regardless of class or creed .
• TM was both a reflection and an influencer of the community and was seen as a representative of the Tamil community .
• However , after his passing , TM lost its guiding spirit and its special status as a community voice .
Today :
• TM serves the local and migrant Tamil communities as a source of information and entertainment .
• However , it is no longer the mobilizing tool it once was . Its representation of the local Tamil community has also diminished .
• It certainly reflects government policies and views to the Tamil community .
• However , a space is allocated for Tamil fiction and poetry which benefits a small segment of the Tamil population .
• There are also special editions for school children ( Ilayar and Manavar Murasu ) .
• TM has been criticized for making itself largely a newspaper for foreign workers with the main focus on Tamil Nadu politics and events . However , the economics of running this newspaper is highly dependent on that segment of the readership . ( Arun Mahizhnan , 2016 )
Revival of TM :
• In the next few years , TM was virtually in its death bed when it was rescued by SPH by both government and commercial considerations . ( Arun Mahizhnan , 2016 )
• SPH has turned TM into a commercially viable operation supported by a new flood of immigrant Tamils who were keen to read a Tamil newspaper . ( Arun Mahizhnan , 2016 )
“ Before the 1980s , Tamil radio in Singapore had achieved a name for itself in Tamil broadcasting around the world . It had brilliant broadcasters like ESJ Chandran and P Krishnan , the likes of whom have not been seen since . In television , the last decade has seen major improvements in drama production , acting and script writing . E . g . “ Annamalai ”. As with radio , Tamil television too has decreased its classical music and dance and literary programming . A pity .” - Arun Mahizhnan , 2016
Beginning :
Vasantham & OLI 96.8
• Since 1920s , broadcasting in Singapore has been in the hands of Government ’ s Public Service Broadcasting ( PSB ).
• In 1980 , a corporation – Singapore Broadcasting Corporation ( SBC ) – was established . While it was run as a corporation , it was very much under the control of the government .
The dramatic change :
• “ Broadcasting as a whole went through a dramatic change in 1980 when it transformed from being a public service broadcaster to a commercial broadcaster .( Arun Mahizhnan , 2016 )
Present day ( See overleaf ):