Following the move, MediaWorks launched the Everyone's Talking show on Channel U in which local artistes conveyed health information on Sars in dialect and translated questions in dialects into Mandarin. "Everybody's Talking stems from the severity of the current (Sars) situation and the needs of the community to be duly informed and educated," said Paul Chan, MediaWorks' senior vice-president, programming and promotion.
At MediaCorp, Channel 8 used dialects in its primetime programme, the SingTel Connection, to spread the Sars prevention message. Its current affairs forum programme, Air Your View, also has dialect-speaking callers airing their questions.
Approval for programming in dialects came from the Media Development Authority (MDA) as a way to disseminate health information, especially to the dialect-speaking elderly. The MDA first proposed relaxing the ban earlier this year, noting that dialects could communicate distinctive cultural traits, but met with opposition from another ministry, which feared it would undermine the Mandarin campaign. However, the move does not mean dialects will become prevalent in Chinese programming. "Unless absolutely needed to, as in the case of Everyone's Talking, Mandarin will continue to be the primary language on Channel U," Chan said.
