Singapore—Former journalist Bertha Henson commented pointedly on a story in The Straits Times (ST) on Tuesday (May 11), writing that people have stopped reading ST because “it wants to give message rather than the news”.
The news item in question was about a statement from Minister for Communications and Information (MCI) S Iswaran in Parliament on Monday (May 10).
Mr Iswaran had said that the Government “does not intend nor expect” the impending restructuring of Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) media business to have an effect between the MCI and the newsrooms of SPH.
“The Government is mindful that our local news media must remain credible institutions that are trusted by Singaporeans, and that it remains the responsibility of the editors and journalists in SPH Media to report news and diverse opinions objectively, and from a Singaporean point of view,” said the minister.
In his speech, Mr Iswaran also announced that former Cabinet minister Khaw Boon Wan will spearhead SPH’s new media company.
SPH announced its plans to restructure its media business into a not-for-profit entity last Thursday (May 6), following calls from shareholders to spin off the media business plagued by declining advertising revenue.
The company, which posted hundreds of millions of dollars in profits annually till 2019, recorded its first loss in 2020 and expects the media business to continue to lose money.
Prof Henson, now an Associate Fellow at Tembusu College, National University of Singapore, took issue with the article.
“This is why people stop reading ST. Because it wants to give message rather than the news. I am terribly surprised that second and third par is about how relations will ‘stay the same’ – as though that is ideal. So high up in the story some more,” she wrote in a Facebook post on Tuesday (May 11).
She asked whether the piece had been written due to the fact that the news had already been posted online, adding, “I think one of the things the new entity should do is be clear about whether different editorial principles apply to offline and online platforms.”
Either that, “Or journalists should do better to marry news and message.”
Prof Henson, who worked as a journalist and editor for The Straits Times and other SPH publications, added her version of how the news could have been written.
“Try this: Former minister Khaw BW will chair the non-profit entity that has been proposed to handle the news media products of Singapore Press Holdings, disclosed Mr Iswaran in a speech making clear the G’s focus on keeping news media here professional and credible.”
/TISG
SPH to restructure media business into not-for-profit entity