Food articles are supposed to add clarity. Instead, many now prioritise outrage, punchy headlines, and simplified narratives that spark anger but explain very little.
In this episode of Also Consider This, we examine recent food and hawker-related coverage and ask what we lose when articles are written to provoke reaction rather than provide depth. We discuss how shallow framing fuels public anger, why hawkers and F&B operators often bear the cost of these narratives, and how conversations about food prices and closures become distorted along the way.
This is not a defence of bad food, nor an attack on criticism. It is a critique of how food stories are framed, and why anger-driven coverage ultimately prevents more honest discussions about sustainability, costs, quality, and choice in the food ecosystem.
If you care about food culture, media responsibility, and having better conversations beyond headlines, this episode is for you.
🎙️ Hosted by Alastair & Guo Feng
🎧 Also Consider This — the podcast where we value nuance, perspective, and knowledge… so we can all be Also Clever Thinkers.
⏱ Chapters00:02:13 — ST Life Article on “Disappearing Singaporean Diner”00:04:11 — STOMP Yong Tau Foo Article Summary00:07:55 — Consider This: What Drives Media Profitability?00:10:28 — Our Beef With the STOMP YTF Article (Too Headline-Heavy)00:12:46 — Doxxing the STOMP Writer Is Not Right00:13:56 — We Understand the Anger00:14:53 — The “Secret War” in Hawker Culture: Cheap vs Quality00:21:04 — There Is Space for Different Hawker Price Points00:23:26 — If It’s Too Expensive for You, Just Move On00:24:26 — The Market Is the Market: Consumers Vote With Their Wallets00:29:18 — Parting Shot 1: Journalists Need to Dive Deeper00:30:35 — Parting Shot 2: SPH Has Not Done Proper Investigative Journalism for Years00:32:02 — Are Newspapers Crap Because of Short Attention Spans?00:33:18 — Today I Learnt: Was Nike Fined by the NBA for Air Jordans?00:35:47 — Today I Learnt: Creatine Is Also a Brain Supplement