[{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org\/","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-tv-presenters-say-there-is-no-racism-in-mediacorps-hiring-processes\/#NewsArticle","mainEntityOfPage":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-tv-presenters-say-there-is-no-racism-in-mediacorps-hiring-processes\/","headline":"Former TV presenters say there is no racism in Mediacorp\u2019s hiring processes","name":"Former TV presenters say there is no racism in Mediacorp\u2019s hiring processes","description":"Viewers “didn’t like watching darker-skinned presenters”.\u00a0\u00a0 The controversial remark was allegedly made by editor-in-chief of Mediacorp Walter Fernandez in 2018 and brought to light by former BBC journalist Sharanjit Leyl in BBC World Service radio series From Our Own Correspondent in early August (2021). But do they? The 48-year-old Ms Leyl, who left BBC News […]","datePublished":"2021-08-20","dateModified":"2022-04-16","author":{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Atalia%20Chua\/#Person","name":"Atalia Chua","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/author\/Atalia%20Chua\/","identifier":339,"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a83f1814f9ae936340d5c9530df0dcd78295c85ee63b72b84945716f843d62d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/a83f1814f9ae936340d5c9530df0dcd78295c85ee63b72b84945716f843d62d2?s=96&d=mm&r=g","height":96,"width":96}},"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"TheHomeGround Asia","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/photo_2021-07-22-222533.jpeg","width":640,"height":640}},"image":{"@type":"ImageObject","@id":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/feature-image-ex-presenters-edit.jpg","url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/wp-content\/uploads\/feature-image-ex-presenters-edit.jpg","height":626,"width":1280},"url":"https:\/\/thehomeground.asia\/destinations\/singapore\/former-tv-presenters-say-there-is-no-racism-in-mediacorps-hiring-processes\/","about":["Community","Local","Race","Singapore"],"wordCount":1774,"articleBody":"Viewers “didn’t like watching darker-skinned presenters”.\u00a0\u00a0The controversial remark was allegedly made by editor-in-chief of Mediacorp Walter Fernandez in 2018 and brought to light by former BBC journalist Sharanjit Leyl in BBC World Service radio series From Our Own Correspondent in early August (2021).But do they?The 48-year-old Ms Leyl, who left BBC News in June, was speaking in a segment on racial harmony in Singapore when she said that she struggled to get hired at the local news broadcaster some 20 years ago.\u00a0But this was not the case, according to former Nominated Member of Parliament (NMP) Viswa Sadasivan.\u00a0Experiences of hiring and role appointments as TV presenters\u00a0Mr Viswa, who anchored current affairs programmes such as Feedback and Talking Point in the early 1980s and late 1990s, says his shows saw great popularity.\u00a0Viswa Sadasivan, ex-presenter at Mediacorp who anchored current affairs programmes, said his shows saw great popularity. (Photo source: BBC)\u201cViewership ratings were particularly high for these programmes. You could say that current affairs presenters such as Kenneth Liang and myself became household names,\u201d he says. Mr Viswa, who is currently the chief executive officer (CEO) of Strategic Moves, a strategic and crisis communications firm, says other \u201cethnic Indian news readers, such as Myrna Thomas and Shobi Pereira, shared popularity with other news readers like Diana Koh, Veronica Leng and later, Nicolette Rappa, who is Eurasian\u201d. \u201cI don\u2019t believe skin tone, race or religion had any bearing on viewership ratings,\u201d Mr Viswa adds.\u00a0Former Mediacorp reporter Ramesh Subbaraman, agrees. He says he enjoyed his time at Channel NewsAsia (CNA).\u00a0 \u201cI have no regrets in the work [I had] done in [my] 30 years as a TV journalist\u201d.\u00a0Ramesh Subbaraman (right) taking a picture with Senior Parliamentary Secretary of the Ministry of Transport, Baey Yam Keng (middle). (Photo source: Baey Yam Keng\/Facebook)\u201cI was given many opportunities to travel with our leaders. I had many special interviews with local and foreign dignitaries. I was sent to cover disasters both at home and abroad [such as] the tsunami aftermath in Meulaboh,\u201d he says.\u00a0Mr Ramesh adds: \u201cI covered elections both in Singapore and Malaysia and I continue to keep my pulse on local and international happenings [today]. I have worked side by side with many minority colleagues. They have all done well in CNA and continue to do well in whatever fields they are [in] now after leaving CNA.\u201d\u00a0In his 30 years, he adds, he had \u201cnever felt aggrieved\u201d. \u201cI was satisfied with the opportunities given to me and I cherish them even today as an ex-journalist,\u201d Mr Ramesh says, asking: \u201cWhere does colour and skin tone come into play at all?\u201d\u201cI find it rather strange for Ms Leyl to bring up this matter now after she has left the BBC as its Southeast Asia correspondent,\u201d Mr Ramesh says.\u00a0He feels that she, \u201casserting that she did not land a job at Mediacorp, or whatever the organisation was then called when she went for the interview, has to be justified with concrete evidence, [and] not just shooting bullets out of the blue\u201d.\u00a0Mr Ramesh adds that there are better and healthier ways to voice grievances.\u00a0There are various avenues of recourse for disgruntled employees in Singapore. (Photo source: HR Daily Advisor)\u201cIf Mediacorp is not an equal opportunities company, there are many avenues of recourse for its disgruntled employees. There is the SUBE union which the staff can take up its complaints with,\u201d he says.\u00a0Mr Ramesh notes that the union movement has now expanded to allow Professionals, Managers, Executives and Technicians (PMETs) to also be represented. \u201cSo the union speaking up [on the staff\u2019s behalf] is no issue. There is also the Tripartite Alliance for Fair & Progressive Employment Practices (TAFEP) for unhappy employees to approach too,\u201d he adds.\u00a0Mr Viswa was equally surprised.\u00a0\u201cI know both of them (Ms Leyl and Mr Fernandez). Sharanjit is not exactly dark skinned, and from what I know of Walter, he does not have a racist orientation or inclined to discriminate based on skin tone,\u201d he says. Yet, Mr Viswa believes they are both speaking the truth.\u00a0\u201cIt is possible that Walter candidly shared the view that there is an audience preference for presenters and newscasters with a lighter skin tone. It need not be an opinion he agrees with, but an observation he shared. Context is important,\u201d he says.Question of racism, colourism and tokenism practices in the broadcast industry\u00a0In a multiracial population, there will always be minority groups; and in the pursuit for equality and diversity, practices of tokenism and racism may occur.\u00a0Singapore can do better in English news by having more non-Chinese news readers (Photo source: Will Hodgman\/Twitter)According to Mr Viswa\u2019s observations, he says \u201cthere may have been some of this in the 1990s and early 2000s, but not today\u201d.\u00a0\u201cMy personal observation is that there was a dearth of non-ethnic Chinese news readers and drama artists in mainstream TV in the late 1990s and early 2000s,\u201d he adds.\u00a0As such, Mr Viswa says that there are \u201cmore substantive roles being assigned to Malay and Indian artistes in popular local English drama series such as Tanglin and Kin\u201d. However, he says that Singapore \u201ccan do better in English news, [for example having] more non-Chinese news readers\u201d.\u00a0While Mr Ramesh feels there is a lack of representation, it is not due to tokenism, racism or colourism. \u201cMy regret is some very capable minorities are not coming forward to take up role appointments,\u201d he says.\u00a0Imposter syndrome and inferiority complexes can stop people from stepping up to the job. (Photo source: University of Toronto Magazine)Mr Ramesh says it could possibly be due to \u201cinferiority complexes in some people\u201d. He believes that \u201cthey under-estimate their own capabilities [and] that is the challenge – [helping] these capable people from the minority groups [to overcome] their fears and rising to shine\u201d.\u00a0Changes in the media presenters\u2019 sceneThese veteran presenters have seen the media scene evolve since the 1980s. When posed the question on further changes, they hope to see, Mr Viswa puts things in perspective and says audience segmentation is a leading factor in decisions made at Mediacorp.\u00a0\u201cI appreciate the need for the national broadcaster to be sensitive to the tastes and needs of its audience which is predominantly ethnic Chinese (75%). This has a strong bearing on viewership and therefore advertising revenue,\u201d he says.\u00a0That is because the importance of \u201ccommercial considerations\u201d is crucial and \u201ccannot be ignored, especially in today\u2019s competitive environment\u201d.\u00a0Having said that, Mr Viswa reminds that the national and only broadcast station that is \u201cwholly owned by Temasek Holdings and significantly funded by the government through IMDA, has a responsibility that goes beyond playing to the gallery, so to speak\u201d.Mediacorp has the responsibility to ensure a better racial mix of news and current affairs presenters. (Photo source: NewscastStudio)\u201cMediacorp does have the responsibility to reflect aspirations enshrined in the national pledge – \u2018regardless of race, language or religion\u2019. It also has the responsibility of influencing attitudes so that they are more aligned with the ideals of a multiracial, multicultural Singapore,\u201d he says, standing firm on the need for Mediacorp to do better in \u201censuring a better racial mix of news and current affairs presenters and entertainment artistes\u201d.\u00a0For Mr Ramesh, the content of the news broadcasts is the crux that needs to be improved.\u00a0\u201cI would like to see more analyses of issues, value-add and research thrown into the presentations on the site. These days you find less of that. It is more churning out what the minister or official has said or what the news release carries,\u201d he says.\u00a0The need for \u201cbackground information presented or research done on what had happened before about a similar incident and how that was handled\u201d is essential, and is something that Mr Ramesh thinks is lacking.\u00a0Multiracial fabric of society unweaving now or always hung by a threadStill, did Ms Leyl speak up at a time where the multiracial fabric of Singapore\u2019s society is unravelling now or reignite the issue that racial harmony has always hung by a thread here?Singapore’s multiracial fabric should continue to remain strong. (Photo source: YP SG)Mr Ramesh does not feel so. \u201cSingapore’s multiracial fabric continues to remain strong. A few incidents here and there won’t shake it,\u201d he says.\u00a0But this may not always last and cannot be taken for granted. Therefore, \u201cwhat needs to be done is constant education of how important this pillar is for Singapore’s survival – a point made by founding Prime Minister Lee Kuan Yew\u201d.\u00a0\u201cIt makes no sense to throw stones at one another,\u201d Mr Ramesh adds.\u00a0Mr Viswa agrees. He does not feel there has been a particular unravelling of racial harmony. \u201cFrankly, I have not seen a spike in racism or discrimination against members of the ethnic minority communities. Yes, I have seen a clear increase in calling out of racism or discrimination. However, I am not persuaded that all of these claims or allegations are valid,\u201d Mr Viswa says.\u00a0On the contrary, he fears the noise arising from the ground on racism will paradoxically exacerbate racial tension.Viewing every incident as racism can create a racial climate that is toxic and unforgiving. (Photo source: Campus Magazine)\u201cWhat I am seeing is a surge in racialisation where there\u2019s an increasing instinct to look at incidents or experiences through a narrow racial lens. My concern is that if we are too liberal in calling out racism or discrimination, it could very well become self-fulfilling,\u201d he says.\u00a0What Singaporeans are trying to achieve is unrealistic and too idealistic, Mr Viswa adds. That is because \u201cthere\u2019s no society that can legitimately claim to have zero racism \u2013 not even the more homogenous societies\u201d.\u00a0\u201cHaving grown up in Singapore in the 1960s, I can say with conviction that we have come far and done well in keeping extreme racism or discriminatory practices under control. We now need to allow for greater honest discourse on the subject, but without the need for mudslinging, vitriol or practising \u201ccancel culture\u201d, he says.\u00a0This has worried Mr Viswa because he finds the current racial climate \u201ctoxic, unforgiving and dangerous\u201d.\u00a0\u201cIf it does not abate, the outcome will be one where there are no winners,\u201d he says.\u201cWe have come this far, together, because we have embraced tolerance and acceptance, and a give-and-take culture. We need to continue with this, going forward,\u201d Mr Viswa sums.\u00a0Join the conversations on TheHomeGround Asia’s Facebook and Instagram, and get the latest updates via Telegram. 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