Singapore press representation of the Vietnam war from 1965-1973

• Main Author: Gurunathan, Ushaa Devi
• Other Authors: Koh Keng We
• Format: Final Year Project
• Language: English
• Published: 2016
• Subjects: DRNTU::Humanities
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/10356/66252
• Institution: Nanyang Technological University

This thesis attempts to understand the state-press relationship in Singapore by contextualising it through the case study of The Straits Times representation of the Vietnam War from 1965 to 1973. The study will mainly cover two scholarship that is relatively new, the US-Singapore relationship during the Vietnam War and the state-press relationship during the formative period of Singapore independence. While the scholarship on the press-state relationship is extensive, it, however, lacks contextualisation in which fails to appreciate the implications of press-state relationship towards news reporting. This is especially significant since newspapers were the primary information source that Singaporeans relied on for their news. The study will first trace the transition that the press went through from colonial to independence period and its implication for the journalism practice in Singapore. Also, US-Singapore relationship would be discussed as its security and economic advantages for Singapore caused massive significance on the reporting of the Vietnam War. By reanalysing current arguments about The Straits Times news reports about the Vietnam War, a deeper look into its publication would reveal that while journalists did follow state restrictions, they valued credibility as well and hence found ways of subverting state control.