Internationalisation of Singapore television : Singaporean regional and global perspectives and contexts

In this study l investigate the Singaporean characteristics of broadcast media internationalisation. I ask the question "e; Does Internationalisation lead to homogenisation and commercialisation of the television culture in Singapore or does it give way to more diversity, thus stimulating cultural differentiation?"e; . I articulate the constraints and/or tensions of supranational regulation, foreign policy, regional and intraregional alliances upon communication and the cultural and social effects as they impact on and respond to production, programming, scheduling and output in Singapore. I explain how Singaporean Television media culture takes part in the processes of globalisation, and how it challenges existing cultures and creates new and alternative symbolic and cultural communities, within the context of regional communication. In this thesis 1 conclude that whilst Singapore definitely does not have equity in information, wealth or resource flows it is attempting to liberalise. To do so, the government recognises that serious inadequacies and imbalances must be addressed and that the path to greater political and economic growth is through an actively informed public. Despite regulatory restrictions on data flow and technical and service ownership, Singapore is encouraging regional alliances, depoliticising cultural differences and concentrating on economic imperatives to build mutual knowledge and understanding, multilateral agreements, collective ownership, mutual exchange and cooperative dissemination.

Supergirl scorned : lessons about young femininity in an Australian television satire

In this paper I explore the popular Australian television character of Ja’mie King – a teenage private school girl created and performed by male comedian Chris Lilley. I conceptualise Lilley’s satire as a public pedagogy of young femininity. My reading of his satire responds to recent feminist scholarship around young femininities and ‘girl power’, which explores representations of young femininity in popular culture in Western nations. Drawing primarily on the 2005 television mockumentary We can be heroes, I explore how King can be read in terms of exaggerated ‘girl power’ subjectivity. I examine the relationships, fashioned through the character of King, between ‘sexuality’ and global citizenship activity. I consider the extent to which King’s character teaches that young women can ‘have it all’. I explore the extent to which her character teaches that they can be ‘beautiful’ and ‘brainy’, ‘self-determined’ and ‘sexy’ at the same time.

Globalisation, television and developmental agenda

Theorising the impact of foreign and private television in India since 1991, does not neatly fit into the old debates about one way flow of news and information as reflected in the demand for the New World Information and Communication Order in the 1970s and early 1980s. In the 1990s, Indian society was invaded from the skies by a number of satellite television signals. However, did this advent of satellite television, vis à vis foreign and private television channels, lead to one way flow of information and entertainment programs from the Western world? Or, did it lead to rapid growth of Indian television industry, resulting in exponential increase in quality and quantity of television programs available to audience?

This paper argues that the de facto de-regulation of the television media since 1991 has led to an enviable growth in local production of programs for more than 450 channels, estimated to be worth Rs30 billion (AS$1 billion), thereby providing an increased level of opportunity for articulation of Indian local stories and culture. This way, the Indian television industry seems to have come full circle – where television, which was launched in the country as a means of development and education but became complacent and the government’s mouth-piece, finally in the past decade-and-a-half has grown sufficiently to potentially provide an outlet for diverse local expressions thereby revitalising democracy in India.

An analysis of potential barriers and enablers to regulating the television marketing of unhealthy foods to children at the state government level in Australia

Background In Australia there have been many calls for government action to halt the effects of unhealthy food marketing on children's health, yet implementation has not occurred. The attitudes of those involved in the policy-making process towards regulatory intervention governing unhealthy food marketing are not well understood. The objective of this research was to understand the perceptions of senior representatives from Australian state and territory governments, statutory authorities and non-government organisations regarding the feasibility of state-level government regulation of television marketing of unhealthy food to children in Australia.

Method Data from in-depth semi-structured interviews with senior representatives from state and territory government departments, statutory authorities and non-government organisations (n=22) were analysed to determine participants' views about regulation of television marketing of unhealthy food to children at the state government level. Data were analysed using content and thematic analyses.

Results Regulation of television marketing of unhealthy food to children was supported as a strategy for obesity prevention. Barriers to implementing regulation at the state level were: the perception that regulation of television advertising is a Commonwealth, not state/territory, responsibility; the power of the food industry and; the need for clear evidence that demonstrates the effectiveness of regulation. Evidence of community support for regulation was also cited as an important factor in determining feasibility.

Conclusions The regulation of unhealthy food marketing to children is perceived to be a feasible strategy for obesity prevention however barriers to implementation at the state level exist. Those involved in state-level policy making generally indicated a preference for Commonwealth-led regulation. This research suggests that implementation of regulation of the television marketing of unhealthy food to children should ideally occur under the direction of the Commonwealth government. However, given that regulation is technically feasible at the state level, in the absence of Commonwealth action, states/territories could act independently. The relevance of our findings is likely to extend beyond Australia as unhealthy food marketing to children is a global issue.

Towards global benchmarking of food environments and policies to reduce obesity and diet-related non-communicable diseases : design and methods for nation-wide surveys

Introduction: 

Global celebrity: introduction

Companion to Celebrity presents a multi-disciplinary collection of original essays that explore myriad issues relating to the origins, evolution, and current trends in the field of celebrity studies.