This is why I think our little Disneyland where all seems green and pretty, is stuck in the mud.
CHANNEL 5 FINED $15K BY MDA
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THE Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore has fined MediaCorp TV
Channel 5 $15,000, the authority said in a statement on its website
yesterday.
On Jan 13 at 7.30am, the station had aired an episode of an acquired home
and decor series, “Find and Design”. The episode featured a gay couple
wanting to transform their game room into a new nursery for their adopted
baby.
The authority said the episode had contained scenes of the couple with
their baby.
It also featured “the presenter’s congratulations and acknowledgement of
them as a family unit in a way which normalises their gay lifestyle and
unconventional family setup”.
This was in breach of the Free-to-Air TV Programme Code, which disallows
programmes that promote, justify or glamourise gay lifestyles.
The MDA said it consulted the Programme Advisory Committee for English
Programmes, which felt that the programme was “inappropriate” for its
Sunday morning timeslot as this was “within family viewing hours”.
Taking such considerations into account – and the fact that this was a
second breach by MediaCorp TV – the MDA decided on the fine.
Mr Kenneth Liang, executive vice president of TV programming and
production, said: “We accept the reasons for the fine. Our relationship
with MDA is a dynamic one, just as regulations are not static as well.
They change with the changing values of society.
“If we have overstepped the boundary this time, at least we now know where
the OB marker is.”
Last year, the broadcaster was fined $5,000 for airing a kissing scene
between two lesbians in an episode of drama series “Without a Trace”.
Earlier this month, the MDA fined StarHub Cable Vision $10,000 for airing
a commercial that showed two lesbians kissing.
I never knew, that 7am, on a Sunday, was considered “within family viewing hours”. I’m quite sure that even if there are kids watching TV at that time, they would be glued on to cartoons from KidsCentral, Nick, Disney, MTV even. But surely not a lifestyle furnishing show?
News like this, freaking pisses me off.
♥
[I want to have the guts to live life, on the edge, whatever that means.]