Public Service Broadcast Review panel's ideas to improve programmes
The Public Service Broadcast (PSB) Review Panel has completed its review to enhance the delivery of PSB programmes and submitted its recommendations to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).
SINGAPORE : The Public Service Broadcast (PSB) Review Panel has completed its review to enhance the delivery of PSB programmes and submitted its recommendations to the Ministry of Information, Communications and the Arts (MICA).
PSB programmes, which promote social objectives and national harmony, are typically less commercially viable.
MICA is currently studying the panel's recommendations and expects it to be completed by June this year.
The panel's recommendations to enhance the provision of PSB content were discussed by Senior Minister of State for Information, Communications and the Arts, Grace Fu, during the Committee of Supply Budget debate for MICA on Friday.
The recommendations focus on two key areas - enhancing the quality and appeal of PSB content, and extending the reach of PSB content beyond traditional free-to-air (FTA) TV channels.
The eight-member panel was set up in October 2010 to review the delivery of PSB programmes and recommend ways to maximise the reach and impact of PSB in Singapore. The panel is chaired by Ms Fu.
Since 1994, the Media Development Authority (MDA) has supported the provision of PSB through the collection of radio and TV licence fees.
The fees were abolished on 1 January 2011 and PSB is now funded directly by the government.
The review panel said that on the whole, funded PSB content has been delivered in a cost-efficient way and currently enjoys good reach among audiences.
For instance, the total reach of funded locally-produced PSB programmes was about 4.5 million viewers, close to 95 per cent of those aged four years and above.
In addition, based on the PSB Public Perception Survey - commissioned as part of the panel's review to ascertain public views on PSB standards - respondents gave a mean score of 3.8 out of five points when rating how well PSB programmes were deemed to display the desired outcomes of "quality, informative value and engagement".
In terms of rating the effectiveness of PSB objectives and messages for sampled programmes, respondents gave scores ranging from 3.5 to 4.05 out of five points.
And in terms of the public's overall satisfaction with the standard of PSB, six in 10 respondents indicated that they were highly satisfied, and eight in 10 respondents indicated that they were satisfied.
The panel also noted that survey findings show nine in 10 respondents were either satisfied with the current output or wanted to see more PSB content.
The panel observed that while past PSB performance has been satisfactory, the standards of content must continually be raised to retain viewership.
That is because of a multitude of alternative viewing choices available to the public.
David Ong, MP for Jurong GRC, said: "In television, our main free-to-air channels are fighting for viewership with hundreds of competing channels and soon the digital-only television. But with a multitude of entertaining channels today, more will be needed to be done to make PSB relevant and achieve its goals."
Ms Fu said: "With media convergence driven by the Internet, the TV set in the living room is losing its lustre, especially among our young. The Internet has opened up a new and exciting world of information and entertainment. With so many alternatives, the challenge is for our PSB programmes to remain competitive and appealing."
So the panel has recommended several strategic measures to raise the quality and appeal of PSB programming and to widen the reach of these programmes beyond traditional FTA channels.
Among them - adequate resources be channelled to enhance key components of the production process, such as story-planning, scripting and research, and to ensure sufficient time for filming and post-production.
The panel further recommended the development of programme pilots, in line with industry best practices, which could be audience-tested to explore the viability of new ideas and turn promising concepts into full PSB programmes.
The panel believes that such pilots would help to enhance audience engagement.
The development of creative talent, particularly story-planners and scriptwriters, is critical to producing high-quality PSB content.
The panel has recommended that MDA identify public- and private-sector partners to nurture local talents through sustained training, attachment and talent-matching plans.
The panel also believes there should be more synergy between institutes of higher learning, MDA and other public agencies to ensure a better match between the curricula of media courses and industry needs.
The panel has recommended that PSB content be extended to non-FTA platforms to reach out to more audiences and leverage on the popularity of new media.
Such new platforms include local online multimedia sites like MediaCorp's xinmsn and Singapore Press Holdings' RazorTV, and nationwide pay-TV platforms such as StarHub TV and SingTel's mio TV.
Speaking in Parliament, Ms Fu noted that the panel also recognises that the media landscape and Singaporeans' consumption habits have changed.
Hence, it has recommended that PSB content be carried beyond free-to-air TV channels and on other platforms like the Internet.
In this regard, Ms Fu commended MediaCorp for having started to put its PSB programmes online since March 2010.
She said: "The first challenge is keeping PSB programmes attractive amidst the increasingly intense competition for viewers. The second is the declining reach of our free-to-air TV channels.
"Countries around the world are facing the same problems. However, we are particularly vulnerable. Our technologically-savvy population is well hooked up to the Internet and we are the heaviest Internet users in Southeast Asia, averaging 25 hours online per week.
"It is therefore not surprising that fewer Singaporeans are watching free-to-air TV channels. Daily reach has declined significantly between 2005 and 2011, from 92 per cent to 75 per cent. Conversely, the percentage of our population who access the Internet has shot up, with daily reach rising from 43 per cent to 62 per cent."
During the debate, MP for Tampines GRC, Irene Ng, asked how MICA could help to reinforce the sense of national identity and cohesion, and if PSB programmes could profile Singapore's early pioneers and founding leaders.
She said: "Some stories should be packaged into one- or two-minute clips and and aired on radio and TV at prime time in the popular channels and loaded on YouTube on the social media.
"In this way, the sharing of experiences is amplified and multiplied and a deeper reflection of what they stand for and what we have in common can become more of a habit in our daily lives.
"Indeed we should be bolder in using radio and TV in communicating such stories of our defining moments in our history and give them more freedom and funding to do so.
"It need not be all documentaries or talk shows. It can be short dramatic films, great script, great acting, great visuals that evoke memories and a greater appreciation of our history, allow some experimentation for dialects for some artistic licence."
Ms Fu acknowledged this, saying that last year, Channel NewsAsia's documentary, "A Few Good Men", did just that, as it featured stories of Singapore's nation-builders, former Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew, Emeritus Senior Minister Goh Chok Tong, and former president S R Nathan.
