Singapore's 'Straits Times' celebrates 150 years
Singapore's 'Straits Times' celebrates 150 years
By Lenah Susianty
SINGAPORE (JP): No one would think that a newspaper published by an Armenian merchant to carry commercial news on cargo ships to the port of Singapore 150 years ago could survive and become one of the oldest and richest newspapers in the world.
The Straits Times, with a current print run of 370,000 copies a day, is not only Singapore's leading daily but also a living witness to Singaporean history since 1845.
Outliving the English newspapers Singapore Chronicle, Singapore Free Press and the Singapore Journal of Commerce, the newspaper was handled by British managers and served British interests from 1850 to the day the country gained independence.
"Only later, after the country's Independence in 1957, did we become a public company and the newspaper began to reflect more and more the interests of Singaporeans. Now it's 100 percent a local newspaper, the management is local, so are the key journalists," Cheong Yip Seng, editor in chief of the paper, told The Jakarta Post recently.
However, like Singapore, the newspaper is very cosmopolitan and has always had foreign staff members. They now comprise about 15 to 17 percent of the editorial staff.
"We have here people who come from Australia, India, America, England, Malaysia and even South Africa," Cheong said, adding that it would be difficult for the paper if there were no foreign journalists.
"There is a big shortage of journalists in Singapore. Not only don't we have the skill because the journalism school did not start until recently, but also, like in other fields, Singapore lacks human resources," Cheong explained.
The book Facts and Pictures 1994 reports that the unemployment rate in the country only reached 1.9 percent in 1993. The Singapore government also urges its citizens to have larger families by offering incentives to meet the demand for more human resources because of its rapid economic growth, which was 8.5 percent last year.
To solve the personnel shortage, The Straits Times has set up two offshore bureaus, one in Sydney that employs 12 people as sub-editors, and one in Manila which produces artwork for the newspaper.
Today, 220 people, including photographers, correspondents, artists and journalists, produce the 100 page daily which sells for 60 Singapore cents.
To limit its reliance on news agencies, the newspaper, of which a few thousand copies are sold in Brunei, Hong Kong, China, South Korea, Japan, Taiwan and Indonesia, also has bureaus in Hong Kong, Tokyo, Manila, Jakarta and Bangkok. It is planning to open a bureau in China.
"Our priority is to emphasize news in Asia and economics. With the growing economic situation in this eastern part of the world, the demand for information is increasing as well. But we cannot depend on news agencies because they interpret stories in accordance with the need of their markets, not of our market," Cheong, who has been working for the daily since 1963, said.
Straits Times group
The prosperous newspaper has given birth to subsidiaries and now operates under the conglomerate Singapore Press Holdings Limited. Last year the daily's 2.8 percent increase in trading profit contributed to the group's 28.7 percent increase in trading profit, for an improvement of S$77.4 million compared to S$270.1 million in 1993.
The group, which has subsidiaries and joint ventures from Oman to New Zealand, deals in commercial printing, book distribution, music cassette production, film production, film distribution as well as property and real estate. It recorded a total profit, before tax, of S$403.1 million, an increase of S$94.4 million or 30.6 percent over 1993.
The group currently publishes seven newspaper including the Business times, Berita Harian (in Malay) and The New Paper, three Chinese newspapers including Lianhe Zaopao, and several magazines including Her World, Citta Bella and Home and Decor.
It is also a share holder in a Thai company which publishes Business Day, and other regional papers such as The Borneo Bulletin, The Asia Magazine, New Straits Times, The Bangkok Post and The Asian Wall Street Journal.
Training
What is the secret of the paper's successful 150 years?
"We make sure that our staff are professional so they can provide information which is valuable and give thoughtful views to our readers," Cheong revealed.
Since human resources are the most important part of all newspapers, The Straits Times continually invests money in training and education to raise its staff's professionalism and ability.
In-house training, seminars as well as sending staff abroad to improve their knowledge or to experience new techniques and new social and cultural ambiences, are organized regularly.
"From top managers to the lowest ones, everybody is given the opportunity to improve themselves," Cheong explained, "Senior journalists, for example, are provided with management training so they know how to guide and motivate their juniors. For others, there is training to improve their interviewing skills, picture selecting skills, layout skills, and other things."
"To have quality staff is very crucial, therefore we must constantly invest money in training."
Success secret number two is to make sure that editors are also conscious of the bottom line and of the business aspect of a newspaper.
"Editors should not only care about editorials, they should be aware of the business side as well," Cheong told the Post.
Another survival secret, which is tightly related to the multiracial aspect of Singapore, is being especially careful when carrying such sensitive issues as race and religion.
As an English newspaper, The Straits Times is widely read by people from all linguistic groups. To give a touch to Singapore's multiracial society, it also carries bilingual pages; in English and Chinese five days a week; as well as in English and Tamil (Indian) and English and Malay once a week.
Responsible freedom
The Singaporean media is often seen as the Singapore government's partner in development, as an institution to change Singapore: to save water, to be courteous and to stop smoking.
"Well, we have democracy and freedom. We can for instance cover the election debates of the parliament," Cheong said, "But, freedom of the press depends on your newspaper's policy. How much freedom you want, how much you want to exercise it. In our case, we exercise our freedom responsibly because freedom and responsibility is interrelated.
"We don't wish for freedom only for the sake of freedom. But at the same time we must be sure that we have enough freedom so our readers will have enough information to judge what is best for themselves and for the country," he added.
The advent of the information superhighway has led to more freedom, "But again, the question is not how much we have the freedom, but how responsible we use the freedom," Cheong insisted.
"And, if people say that we are on the side of the government, yes, we are on the side of the government. It's a right thing to do because this government is clean, honest and efficient. They deserve our support. But, if the government becomes corrupt and inefficient, it doesn't deserve the support anymore," said Cheong, who is also editor in chief of other English and Malay newspapers of the Straits Times group.
To mark its anniversary, the paper will hold various sports events and exhibitions. It has also organized the Singapore run of the world renowned Phantom of the Opera. A book on the history of The Straits Times will be launched on July 15. On the same day, Singapore Prime Minister Goh Chok Tong will attend an anniversary dinner and give a speech on the future challenges faced by the Singaporean media. The celebrations will last the whole year.
"To survive another 150 years and to continue to be a good newspaper for the whole family," are Cheong's aspirations for the paper. "I want The Straits Times to be a newspaper where people look for reliable and valuable information and thoughtful views. A newspaper that provides information that makes life different."