Singapore has, at least, four distinct media audiences: those who read and view in English only, Chinese only, Malay only, and various combinations of these with different emphasis on English, Chinese, Malay or Tamil. (Kuo, Holaday, Peck, 1993) Are the media cultivating different or diverging perceptions of the world among these audiences? If so, what implication might this have for the development of a common perspective and shared values? Is there a difference in the capacity of the media to affect perceptions of those whose reading and viewing is concentrated in one as opposed to two or more languages? Answers to these questions may have important implications for the use of media in fostering national unity and interethnic solidarity in countries like Singapore. On a theoretical level, such a study should contribute to understanding the ‘role of cultural diversity in cultivation research’ (Tamborini and Choi, 1990).Despite considerable public discussion and concern about these issues, few systematic studies have been carried out to assess changes in perception, perspective and values held by Singaporeans, and the role of mass media in this process. The recent ‘unbundling’ of Singapore television, splitting up TV viewers by language, rekindled concerns about the impact of TV on Singaporeans’ sense of belonging to one multi-racial society (Kuo, 95).This paper reports some initial findings of a three-year study of media and social reality in Singapore which seeks definitive evidence as to whether or not the media are cultivating divergent perceptions and values, particularly with respect to family, other ethnic groups, and affinity to foreign entities such as China and the West. Focusing on the majority Chinese population, the question is posed as to whether segments of this population, defined by language of education and preferred language of television, show different cultivation effects, and indeed, whether they share the same cultural base.