OCTOBER 29 — Like many Singaporeans I have a troubled relationship with The Straits Times (ST).
The nation’s flagship newspaper has been in print since 1845 and has borne witness to the various trials, triumphs and tribulations of our country from the merger with Malaysia to independence and our rise to global financial centre.
While the length of its service is impressive, many commentators over the years have taken issue with the paper’s proximity to the government.
However, whatever its flaws, the copy of ST that lands in my home and the majority of English-speaking homes in Singapore is the most comprehensive source of domestic news available.
From the property listings to reviews, the coverage of local personalities and the telling letters in the forum pages... I can’t say I haven’t learned a lot from ST.
Which is why I was sad to hear that Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), the newspaper’s holding company, will be laying off or retiring over 200 employees or almost 10 per cent of its staff on account of financial pressure.
It is sad news for anyone interested in the newspaper business because SPH is an efficiently-run machine, with considerable resources compared to just about every other newspaper group in the world.
SPH has a range of cash-rich shareholders including OCBC and Singtel. In its own right, SPH owns various pieces of real estate and other assets while flagships like ST benefit from a near absence of competition in a highly regulated market.
Singaporeans, therefore, buy the paper by default and advertisers don’t have many other options, so the paper enjoys a near monopoly plus strong linkages to the government and private sector.
But even with such enormous advantages, SPH isn’t making enough money? That really might mean the end of print newspapers is nigh.
It is sad news even if you aren’t the kind of dinosaur who clutches a printed paper on the toilet because — wherever you get your news — most of the actual reporting is done by old school journalists, so laid-off journalists just means less news for all of us.
ST editor-in-chief Warren Fernandez tried to put some gloss on the general gloom by saying that the paper wasn’t fading but refocusing on its strengths.
He said the paper would “grow its reach beyond Singapore, tapping the demand for objective reporting and analysis on the major social and political changes unfolding all around Asia.”
There have indeed been announcements the paper will begin hiring more journalists to cover the region.
Does this effectively mean the paper is going to be firing Singaporeans and hiring more people overseas? Beyond economic nationalism, this is bad because firstly it means fewer Singaporeans are going to benefit from the newsroom training and experience so there will be fewer capable reporters nationally.
And is investing, what the company has admitted to be, increasingly scarce resources overseas as opposed to at home really the right strategy?
Of course, I see the appeal of a local voice or South-east Asian voice covering a region still dominated by BBC, CNN or Reuters. But in terms of a Singapore platform to cover the region, don’t we have Channel News Asia which was created to be exactly that regional voice?
Again, there might be a business case: ST is filling the space as Western wires and newspapers struggle and cut back on staff and costs.
The South China Morning Post (SCMP) does seem to be making a move in this direction but unlike the entirely privately owned SCMP, ST also serves as a national newspaper. It has long been a nation-building tool and our paper of record so is more regional coverage really in the interest of Singapore’s people?
I would argue that while regional coverage can’t be neglected, the home front is key.
As far as ST is concerned, we read it to know more about our home: the 94 cats that were saved, new parking regulations, the salacious neighbour dispute, our President’s residential concerns, the doctor who climbed Mount Everest or the must-try hawker at Ang Mo Kio.
Its fundamental strength isn’t its breadth but its depth; 150 years of local knowledge.
This is where it delivers the most value for readers and if anything, even in the face of financial difficulties shouldn’t we look to expand local coverage?
Using apps, freelancers, students where needed... what is important is to get into the heartlands, the subcultures, the stats, the businesses, the dining and nightlife which are essential content for local readers and help build a national narrative. To be hyperlocal.
Ultimately it pays to play to your strengths and I am not convinced ST is its strongest competing in the world of global newswires and given the hard time printed papers are going through, a misstep at this stage would leave ST in dire straits.
And Singapore’s narrative would be the poorer for it.
