Mothership’s press accreditation has been suspended after it broke an embargo related to Finance Minister Lawrence Wong’s Budget 2022 speech on Feb. 18.
The Ministry of Communications and Information has informed Mothership about the suspension. Mothership has until March 4 to appeal.
The embargoed information pertained to the news of the GST hike being delayed until 2023 and the infographic was published before Wong announced it in his speech.
In a statement, Mothership’s Managing Editor Martino Tan apologised for the mistake — “particularly to the public servants who have been working so hard to ensure the timely and accurate communication of government information.” The errant Facebook post was identified in under two minutes and the post was deleted.
“The breaking of the embargo was a genuine mistake made by prematurely publishing an infographic on Mothership’s Facebook page,” said Tan.
“We take our role of providing timely and accurate news in the digital space seriously,” he added.
“We are therefore committed and resolved to draw the right lessons from this incident, strengthen our editorial processes, and rebuild trust with our stakeholders.”
The suspension of Mothership’s press accreditation means that its reporters will not be able to attend briefings and press conferences by government agencies.
Here is Tan’s statement in full:
“The breaking of the embargo was a genuine mistake made by prematurely publishing an infographic on Mothership's Facebook page. We identified the mistake in under two minutes and immediately deleted the post.
While further investigations ensue, the staff involved have been issued a two week suspension.
We take our role of providing timely and accurate news in the digital space seriously. We are therefore committed and resolved to draw the right lessons from this incident, strengthen our editorial processes, and rebuild trust with our stakeholders.
We are also cooperating fully with the authorities in their investigations into the matter.
We sincerely apologise for the egregious mistake, particularly to the public servants who have been working so hard to ensure the timely and accurate communication of government information.”
https://mothership.sg/2022/02/mothership-press-accreditation/
Mothership’s press accreditation suspended again for breaking embargo on increase in water prices
SINGAPORE: The press accreditation of local media outlet Mothership has been suspended for the second time in less than two years, after it broke an embargo earlier this week on the rise in water prices in Singapore. In its reply on Friday (Sep 29) to CNA's queries, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) did not indicate the length of the suspension.
CNA has asked MCI for its response on this matter.
On Tuesday, Mothership broke the embargo – which had been set for Wednesday – by publishing an article on its website and via a post on its Facebook page, detailing how water prices will rise over the next two years.
MCI then suspended Mothership’s press accreditation.
This means that Mothership will not be able to attend briefings and press conferences held by government agencies while the suspension is in effect.
None of its employees were present at a press conference helmed by Deputy Prime Minister Lawrence Wong on Thursday morning about the government’s latest support measures to help Singaporeans cope with rising prices.
Mothership has until Oct 11 to make any representations on the matter and the suspension, said MCI.
PREVIOUS SUSPENSION
Mothership’s press accreditation was first suspended for six months in February last year, after it broke an embargo on the details of the Goods and Services Tax (GST) increases during Budget 2022.
It had published an infographic on its Facebook page with information on the staggered GST increases prior to the government’s announcement.
At the time, managing editor Martino Tan said they would “use this period before the reinstatement to strengthen our internal processes and implement the necessary remedial actions”.
MOTHERSHIP'S RESPONSE TO LATEST SUSPENSION
On Friday, Mothership issued a statement "unreservedly" apologising to "Singaporeans, our stakeholders — especially PUB and MCI — and our industry colleagues" and for "causing such unnecessary trouble at a time when there are more pressing priorities to focus on". When alerted to the breach, the embargoed material was removed.
"This is our second breach of embargo in 2 years, in spite of our commitment and efforts to prevent such a situation from occurring again. While this may have been an error on the part of an individual colleague, as Managing Editor I assume personal responsibility for not adequately ensuring and enforcing the standards that we had set for ourselves," said Mr Tan.
"We are particularly devastated by this and are deeply disappointed with ourselves. Our spirits have hit rock bottom, but my colleagues and I vow to get to the core of these lapses and resolve these operating issues once and for all."
The media outlet said that its investigation found that it was a member of Mothership's editorial team who had prematurely published the article, an act it said was "a serious breach as the information impacts every person in Singapore".
This employee had "failed to observe our editorial protocols, also breaching the additional safeguards that were put in place last year".
Mothership said the person in question has been suspended from duty while it concludes its probe and responds to regulators.
https://www.channelnewsasia.com/singapore/mothership-suspended-press-accreditation-break-embargo-water-prices-3808076
Mothership's press accreditation suspended until Aug 18 following MCI review
SINGAPORE — Reporters from Mothership will not be allowed to attend briefings and press conferences by government agencies for six months until Aug 18, the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) said on Friday (March 25).
The decision comes after the online news outlet prematurely published details from the Budget speech by Finance Minister Lawrence Wong on Feb 18. Mothership later appealed against MCI's suspension of its press accreditation as a result of the error.
"Given the seriousness of the breach, which involved information that is highly market sensitive and prejudicial to national interest, MCI has reviewed the appeal and decided to suspend Mothership’s press accreditation for a total of six months, from Feb 18, to Aug 18," said MCI in response to TODAY's queries.
TODAY has also asked the ministry how it decided on the duration of the suspension.
Press accreditation cards are issued by MCI as a way for government agencies to determine the credibility of the media.
Accredited media will receive government press releases earlier than those who are not, and invites to official events such as press conferences. They also receive favourable consideration for interview requests, according to MCI's website.
On Feb 18, Mothership had published an infographic of the staggered Goods and Services Tax (GST) increases on its Facebook page before Mr Wong announced them in his Budget speech.
To facilitate coverage of the speech, the Government had shared details on the GST announcements with selected media ahead of the announcement under embargo.
The ministry said at the time that it suspended Mothership's press accreditation with immediate effect. MCI informed Mothership to submit an appeal by March 4.
On Thursday, Mothership's managing editor Martino Tan said that the news outlet accepts the temporary suspension of its press accreditation "given the nature of the egregious breach on Budget Day".
Mr Tan added that Mothership will use the suspension period to strengthen its internal processes and implement remedial actions.
"This incident, while regrettable, is an important reminder to us of the standards required of a professional and credible media operation.
"Press accreditation is a serious and heavy responsibility, and our team will work hard to earn the right to this responsibility again come August," said Mr Tan.
In an earlier statement on Feb 20, Mr Tan had said that the breaking of the embargo "was a genuine mistake" and was identified in under two minutes, and deleted immediately.
The staff members involved were also suspended for two weeks, Mr Tan had said.
https://www.todayonline.com/singapore/mothershi-press-accreditation-suspended-mci-1854681
慈母舰中标,
准证被停掉,
因为抢先报,
消费税上调。
政腐很不爽,
谁让你乱报,
你他妈的船,
先拿你开刀。
Mothership's press accreditation suspended with immediate effect for breaking Budget embargo
SINGAPORE - The press accreditation for local media outlet Mothership has been suspended after it broke an embargo on the Budget on Friday (Feb 18).
Responding to queries from The Straits Times, a spokesman for the Ministry of Communications and Information said that mothership.sg's press accreditation has been suspended because it broke an embargo on Budget information shared with selected media slightly ahead of the announcements.
It has until March 4 to appeal.
ST understands that Mothership had released an infographic with details of the planned GST hike before Finance Minister Lawrence Wong announced this in Parliament.
The suspension means that mothership.sg's representatives will not be able to attend briefings and press conferences by government agencies. It is not clear how long the suspension will last.
More at https://www.straitstimes.com/singapore/politics/motherships-press-accreditation-suspended-with-immediate-effect-for-breaking-budget-embargo
In the end their press credentials will be fully reinstated, and you know why? Because Georgie boy is on board.
Ownself suspend ownself = wayangus maximus
Shit finally hits the fan for Mothershit! Definitely can sleep well tonight!