Singapore – Chinese free-to-air TV has been praised for supporting the local media industry through the outsourcing of programmes which, in turn, have given TV viewers more choices and a greater range of interesting programmes to choose from. Meanwhile, pay TV operators have been urged to step up public education efforts to generate greater awareness of their parental lock mechanisms that protect children from mature content as well as consider introducing more Chinese children’s programmes. These were among the key recommendations and observations of the Advisory Committee for Chinese Programmes (ACCESS), which last week released its biennial report for the period July 2008 to June 2010. The 18-member ACCESS committee, led by associate professor Lee Cheuk Yin from the National University of Singapore and comprising members of the public, advises the Media Development Authority (MDA) on the range and quality of Chinese programmes, as well as provides feedback on content guidelines so that programmes shown on the Chinese channels continue to reflect community and societal values. Summing up ACCESS’ recommendations, associate professor Lee said, “On the whole, Chinese radio and TV broadcasters, including free-to-air and pay TV, have done a good job of educating, informing and entertaining viewers. Thanks to their efforts, viewers today can enjoy a rich and engaging tapestry of different content genres for both the young and old. However, there is still room for improvement. Broadcasters should continue to provide more elderly and children’s programmes, capitalize on new media to reach out to more viewers, and improve public education efforts to help viewers make informed choices.” Said Dr Christopher Chia, chief executive officer of the Media Development Authority, “MDA’s Programme Advisory Committees such as ACCESS play an important role in highlighting community views when considering the kind of content that we, as a community, want to watch and find acceptable. MDA is pleased with the open and fruitful dialogues ACCESS had with the programmers from the Chinese channels over the past two years, which has resulted in the revamp of Channel 8’s long-running, morning talk show Good Morning, Singapore. We hope to see more of such industry-community partnerships in the future.”