April 24, 2008
Singapore TV channel fined for airing show featuring gay couple
David Foucher READ TIME: 1 MIN.
SINGAPORE -- The Media Development Authority (MDA) on Thursday fined MediaCorp TV Channel 5 S$15,000 for airing a show that depicted a gay couple and their baby in a way that 'promotes a gay lifestyle', MDA said in a statement on its website.
The station aired an episode of a home and decor series called Find and Design that featured a gay couple wanting to transform their game room into a new nursery for their adopted baby.
MDA said the episode contained scenes of the gay couple with their baby and the presenter's congratulations and acknowledgment of them as a family unit 'in a way which normalises their gay lifestyle and unconventional family setup'.
The episode was in breach of rules on free-to-air television programming, which disallows content that promotes, justifies or glamourises gay lifestyles, the statement said.
Earlier this month, MDA fined StarHub Cable Vision S$10,000, for airing a commercial that showed two lesbians kissing.
David Foucher is the CEO of the EDGE Media Network and Pride Labs LLC, is a member of the National Lesbian & Gay Journalist Association, and is accredited with the Online Society of Film Critics. David lives with his daughter in Dedham MA.
