I am sitting amidst Christmas decorations in one of the restaurants in MediaCorp in December 2019 with Michael, the head of the organization's compliance department. This was meant to be a casual conversation over lunch in order for me to catch up on any changes in the industry that has occurred over the past few years. As we go through our salads, pastas and multiple coffees, Michael spends the bulk of our meal detailing the steps that he takes whenever there are complaints over MediaCorp's programmes.

Reflecting on what he feels is an increasingly aware and sensitive audience over the years, he grumbled, ‘It's so easy to write in, you know? Just tweet or put it on Facebook. You don't have to call even, you know? Just write something online, somebody picks it up, that's it, it goes viral […] They may not be complaining to you. They just write […] what their opinion is about something and then IMDA will see it and then they will start to investigate […] You have to answer to the bosses, you have to answer to your management […] and also sometimes it goes as high as our chairman, you know? Sometimes […] people will write their complaint letter and then they will CC the Prime Minister's Office!’

It is apparent to me in my field visits between 2018 and 2020 that the issue of viewer complaints has become much more pronounced, at least in the rhetoric of my informants. Despite repeatedly hearing about these incidents from various producers, I often still find myself surprised by them. During my lunch with Michael, he mentioned a variety of different complainants ranging from individual viewer members who threaten to file police reports; to schools’ legal teams; to religious associations and animal welfare organizations.