Towards a cluster effect: Coverage of the Arts in Singapore’s print media

DOI: 10.5176/2301-3710_JMComm14.19

Authors: Bradley C. FREEMAN, Ph.D., Andrew DUFFY, Ph.D. and Xiaoge XU, Ph.D.

Abstract:

The present study examined print media coverage of the arts in Singapore to uncover the role of the island state’s newspapers in the development and documentation of Singapore’s unique cultural arts scene. Sampling two constructed weeks for each of ten years, 1999-2008, a content analysis methodology is used to examine the coverage in Straits Times and Lianhe Zoaboa. The study benefits from groundwork laid by Janssen’s 1999 study examining arts coverage in Dutch newspapers, in which not only quantity of content was reported, but also hierarchical attention paid to various art forms over many decades of coverage. But what about a country whose art scene is still developing? And where the government is making these determinations in accordance with hierarchical indicators of art in other countries? The present study joins the discussion of arts reporting by looking at the case of Singapore.

Keywords: Singapore, arts, arts coverage, newspaper coverage, content analysis