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I watched the news - I know it's unusual and I remember the reasons why I don't watch whenever I do happen to catch it...
The final report on Channel 4 (extended, serious, non-tabloid TV news). The report was about Singapore relaxing some its famously strict laws (eg chewing used to be banned) but what the reporter did was incredibly sloppy - eliding other south east asian stereotypes with a Singapore one.

By showing a woman in a headscarf and talking about the strict laws, the report implied that Singapore is a Muslim country and that the strictness of the law is a kind of Shariah. They didn't say this but they implied it by juxtaposing images and in the choice of words. Singapore is not and never has been a Muslim state and when Singaporean officals talk of "Asian values" they do not mean "Muslim values". It was misleading without being actually incorrect.

And this journalist is meant to be their "Asia Corrrespondant" - someone who is meant ot understand and translate what is going on in the region. Maybe he forgot where he was - you know reporting from somewhere (anywhere) in Asia or maybe he thought he was doing a generic piece about the whole continent so it was ok just to shove all values under the same banner...?

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