Deepening WP awareness, next step
In the two pilot surveys undertaken seperately by the North and Northeastern Area Committees, the broad tabulation showed a very high level awareness of the Workers' Party. For me this shows there is scope now to move to the next stage, to deepen the awareness of WP. A more textured and layered awareness of the WP is the next logical step. It also means that the two pilot surveys can now be broadened for wider implementation. The second pilot survey was administered today near the Kovan MRT station.
[Picture - Slyvia Lim, James Gomez and Glenda Han]
WP Communication Survey
I recently helped oversee a pilot survey to gauge the effectiveness of the Workers' Party communications as well as its visibility on the ground. The survey is a tool to sharpen WP's communications after getting some feedback from the ground. After the initial kinks in the questionnaire are ironed out, a larger-scale survey will be undertaken by both the NEAC and NAC teams.
S'pore elections & Bloggers
Blogs are likely to be a focus for the authorities in the run up to the next Singapore general elections. Online forums have traditionally been the sites where alternative reports on elections and election rallies have been posted. However, with the arrival of blogs, they hold the potential to be the next site where such reporting might take place.
However, given the anonymous nature of blogs and the general fear among online users. It is unlikely blogs as a whole might contribute in this area. Instead, like in 2001, the amendments to the Parliamentary Elections Act, will actually keep alternative election reportage low.
For a longer discussion see
Election Watch: Politcs & the S'pore Bloggers at
www.jamesgomeznews.com
Financial packages & elections
Election connected financial hand outs are likely to take a different form this coming elections. In the past we saw the announcement of the New Singapore Shares as well as the Economic Restructing Shares. This time, we are looking probably at a larger payout specially directed at the lower income group.
Two ideas have been touted. One a special bonus for the low income group and two, a financial endownment to aid low income group to own flats. It remains to be seen in what form and when these finanicial aid packages will be announced.
Aid packages should be made available to low income groups based on need. Such needs assessment should be made regularyly. However their disbursement should not be linked or connected to the timing of elections.
Do you know how the media reports on the opposition?
For example, in the Straits Times, there are different levels of editing which consists of four layers or steps: the journalist, followed by the political editor, then the editor, and finally the editor-in-chief. This process determines how reports on opposition party or its members eventually turn out. For instance, how many column space, which section of the page the news appears and whether a photo accompanies the article.
There are both specific instructions and general instructions to journalists on how to treat opposition party news. ‘Instructions’ are ‘managed’ through the editors. A general guideline is that the more important the opposition party, the more coverage is given of that party. Someone in the editorial team thus makes a value judgment.
However, the lines of questioning are as a rule more probing to the opposition, and the opposition are often asked to ‘prove their point’. Journalists have different values. Their disposition towards their opposition news source determines how probing they want to be. Some times journalists are accused of glamorizing an opposition party official, if they report an opposition party member in a positive way.
There has been a conscious attempt to carry opposition party news in the mainstream local media because the local media does not want their regular readers to go outside the mainstream to look for news in websites, forums and blogs. The audience for news is becoming more sophisticated, and the local media does not want to lose its readers.
Nevertheless, there is only sporadic contact between the local media and opposition parties, with a handful of journalists cultivating contact with the opposition. The level and quality of contacts depends on the availability or existence of the contact person in an opposition party.
