Dear people in the media,

You DO realise what is happening to you right? You are being sidelined by the biggest newsmaker in Singapore, the G, which also happens to be supporting your operation with State funds. You’ve never had much of a say in media-G relations, but god knows your predecessors tried. And we were lucky that politicians at the time know the value of a credible media, even as they try to hem us in in other ways. They know that they need to get out there and answer questions. They were quick to hold press conferences (as opposed to the briefing which is a kind of gag order which the media doesn’t seem to know how to negotiate). They were okay about taking questions at the sidelines.

Now they ignore you entirely, in the hope that no answers mean no story. They tell you to look at their FB pages which you do so dutifully because you’re afraid to miss any pearls of wisdom. They go on TikTok and have their own mock interviews on YouTube done by their ministry minions. They hold “doorstop’’ interviews so as to look casual but we all know it’s only because they have something to say - not because you have something to ask.

Now it looks like you’ve lost the fight and are completely resigned to playing the role of publicist. Not only that, you seem to have forgotten basic journalistic principles and I mean stuff like grammar and housestyle and getting the 5Ws1H. You’ve descended to repeating press releases which are themselves badly written. I was very concerned with the deterioration of journalistic standards, the ability to write a story with a strong angle, clearly and concisely. I wondered if journalists forgot that the news is “out there’’, the need to build a network of contacts and how reporting is the basis of all your writing. I sure hope you don’t believe your own propaganda about how wonderful you are at your work. I will say you are clearly deluded if you think so.

But now I can’t blame you if you lose heart in the news-gathering process (as well as the freedom to decide how to put the news across) and decide to quiet quit, or just plain quit.

For Singapore, the plethora of laws and the demise of some alternative media only serve to make sure that one voice remains as the purveyor of truth and collective opinion. A voice that isn't "moderated'' by anyone. Increasingly, journalists don’t think it’s their place to ask certain questions or to bother officials, in case they are being tagged as “unfriendly’’. And there are no other types of journalists to irritate the G into responding (They moved abroad or lost heart).

I find it ironic that despite being a public trust, you’re not looking to get the public on your side. I thought any deterioration of professional standards could be reversed at least slightly since the public trust is not so closely tied to the fortunes of the parent company and its board. But the opacity of your operations and governance process only serves to confirm that it is business-as-usual…and thanks for the money.

The 4G leaders aren't on your side. They want only their messages heard loud and (un)clear. I bet that they see the media as a hindrance if it goes about doing the job they are supposed to do. Now I think they see the media as a wonderful mechanism to convey any message or narrative that they see fit. That’s why they hold closed door dialogues etc and continue to trot out that old chestnut about how having reporters will stop people from being frank - as though it’s something to be encouraged. And they think they are doing everyone a favour by giving a briefing on what happened later. Or they summarise the “findings’’ in a report or they tell you how many pieces of “feedbacks’’ they have. And you duly repeat that there has been extensive public consultation and intensive reviews. You have no part to play in building a community of civic-minded citizens unafraid to speak up. In fact, you have to be an MP to get questions answered.

As for the 4G leaders’ constant exhortations about the need to build trust, I ask that they look at how the media plays a role in building trust. The G can cite its track record, mouth platitudes about honesty and good governance. Remember that we only know the G from what we READ everyday, and that most people do hope that the media plays the role of asking questions that they themselves might have. The more “cut-and-paste’’ there is, the faster the erosion of the credibility of the media. And when the media can’t even spell right or is sloppy about the details, then they aren’t even good enough to be a teaching tool for language.

I ask that the journalists hold the line, and put professional principles into practice. You do NOT always have to do what the G says. You should tell readers about the obstacles you face in getting information. You should list the questions you want answered. You should behave like a public trust, not a public agency. And that is actually IN the G's interest too.