By: Forever Vagabond
SPH reported today that it has promoted 3 of its senior executives. Two will be promoted to become its deputy CEOs and one to Editor-in-Chief (http://www.straitstimes.com/
The 2 new deputy CEOs are Patrick Daniel, currently editor-in-chief of the English, Malay and Tamil Media (EMTM) division, and Mr Anthony Tan, currently EVP of the Chinese Media Group (CMG). They will report to CEO Alan Chan.
Succeeding Mr Daniel as EMTM editor-in-chief will be Mr Warren Fernandez, who will also continue in his existing position as editor of ST.
“Our media business has withstood the onslaught of many waves of digital change and innovation,” Mr Daniel said. “But we have to speed up our transformation into a truly multimedia, multi-platform organisation that delivers value to our many customers.”
New EMTM editor-in-chief and ST editor, Warren Fernandez, wants “to build on our position of strength in the media industry” while new Dty CEO Anthony Tan said, “I am confident that I can harness the strengths of everyone and help SPH seize every opportunity to innovate, grow and excel.”
Elite members of the establishment
The 4, Alan Chan, Patrick Daniel, Anthony Tan and Warren Fernandez were all former elite members of the establishment. Some have also been seen working closely with the late founding PM Lee Kuan Yew.
Alan Chan was awarded the President Scholarship by the PAP government as well as the French Government Scholarship to study in France. After studying in France, he came back to work in the various Government Ministries. He was also the Principal Private Secretary of then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. He rose to the position of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Ministry of Transport before “retiring” from the civil service to join SPH in 2002. He was listed as one of “100 Inspiring Rafflesians”of RI, the school which Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong attended. He also contributed an essay titled “My Tryst With Chinese” for Lee Kuan Yew’s 2012 book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey, and was selected by INSEAD in 2009 as one of the “50 Alumni who changed the world”.
Patrick Daniel received an Overseas Merit Scholarship from the PAP government and graduated from Oxford in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Engineering Sciences and Economics. He later obtained a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 1984. After returning to Singapore, he joined the elite Singapore government’s Administrative Service. He was a director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry before joining SPH in 1986.
Anthony Tan graduated from NUS in 1997 with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Political Science. He also has a Management of Science (Management) degree from the Stanford Business School. Prior to joining SPH last year, he was the Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Health. He was also a “Special Assistant” to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew from 2011 to 2014. While in the civil service, he served in various organisations including the Ministries of Finance, Home Affairs, Manpower as well as the People’s Association.
Warren Fernandez was awarded scholarships by SPH. He graduated with First Class Honours from Oxford University and later a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He joined SPH in 1990 as a political reporter and rose to become News Editor. He later also served as Foreign Editor and Deputy Editor. He left to join Royal Dutch Shell in 2008 as a Global Manager for its Future Energy project, before returning to The Straits Times in February 2012 as its editor. He has written several books, including “Lee Kuan Yew: the Man and his Ideas”. He was also part of the editorial team that assisted Mr Lee Kuan Yew with his two part memoirs, “The Singapore Story”.
Wikileak: Editors groomed to ensure they are pro-PAP
According to a US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks several years ago (https://wikileaks.org/plusd/
Chua said that unless one of the editors is a “Trojan Horse,” someone that for years has successfully concealed any non pro-government leanings, none of them has the courage to publish any stories critical of the government. But Chua also admitted that he knew of no editors who had been fired or otherwise punished for printing articles critical of the government. That is because all of the them have been “vetted” to ensure their pro-government leanings, Chua said.
It also revealed that the lower-rung reporters are “eager to produce more investigative and critical reporting, but they are stifled by editors who have been groomed to tow the line”. The US embassy in Singapore observes that the younger reporters “seem to be complaining more, or at least more openly”.
“We suspect this reflects in part a generational shift; younger Singaporeans are accustomed to having more latitude, and it likely grates on reporters not to be able to say in print the kind of things people routinely say in cafes or online,” commented an embassy staff.
The 2 new deputy CEOs are Patrick Daniel, currently editor-in-chief of the English, Malay and Tamil Media (EMTM) division, and Mr Anthony Tan, currently EVP of the Chinese Media Group (CMG). They will report to CEO Alan Chan.Succeeding Mr Daniel as EMTM editor-in-chief will be Mr Warren Fernandez, who will also continue in his existing position as editor of ST.
“Our media business has withstood the onslaught of many waves of digital change and innovation,” Mr Daniel said. “But we have to speed up our transformation into a truly multimedia, multi-platform organisation that delivers value to our many customers.”
New EMTM editor-in-chief and ST editor, Warren Fernandez, wants “to build on our position of strength in the media industry” while new Dty CEO Anthony Tan said, “I am confident that I can harness the strengths of everyone and help SPH seize every opportunity to innovate, grow and excel.”
Elite members of the establishment
The 4, Alan Chan, Patrick Daniel, Anthony Tan and Warren Fernandez were all former elite members of the establishment. Some have also been seen working closely with the late founding PM Lee Kuan Yew.
Alan Chan was awarded the President Scholarship by the PAP government as well as the French Government Scholarship to study in France. After studying in France, he came back to work in the various Government Ministries. He was also the Principal Private Secretary of then Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew. He rose to the position of Permanent Secretary of the Ministry of Communications and Information, and the Ministry of Transport before “retiring” from the civil service to join SPH in 2002. He was listed as one of “100 Inspiring Rafflesians”of RI, the school which Lee Kuan Yew and Goh Chok Tong attended. He also contributed an essay titled “My Tryst With Chinese” for Lee Kuan Yew’s 2012 book, My Lifelong Challenge: Singapore’s Bilingual Journey, and was selected by INSEAD in 2009 as one of the “50 Alumni who changed the world”.
Patrick Daniel received an Overseas Merit Scholarship from the PAP government and graduated from Oxford in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Engineering Sciences and Economics. He later obtained a Masters in Public Administration from the Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University in 1984. After returning to Singapore, he joined the elite Singapore government’s Administrative Service. He was a director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry before joining SPH in 1986.
Anthony Tan graduated from NUS in 1997 with a Bachelor of Social Science (Honours) in Political Science. He also has a Management of Science (Management) degree from the Stanford Business School. Prior to joining SPH last year, he was the Deputy Secretary (Policy), Ministry of Health. He was also a “Special Assistant” to the late Mr Lee Kuan Yew from 2011 to 2014. While in the civil service, he served in various organisations including the Ministries of Finance, Home Affairs, Manpower as well as the People’s Association.
Warren Fernandez was awarded scholarships by SPH. He graduated with First Class Honours from Oxford University and later a Masters in Public Administration from Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government. He joined SPH in 1990 as a political reporter and rose to become News Editor. He later also served as Foreign Editor and Deputy Editor. He left to join Royal Dutch Shell in 2008 as a Global Manager for its Future Energy project, before returning to The Straits Times in February 2012 as its editor. He has written several books, including “Lee Kuan Yew: the Man and his Ideas”. He was also part of the editorial team that assisted Mr Lee Kuan Yew with his two part memoirs, “The Singapore Story”.
Wikileak: Editors groomed to ensure they are pro-PAP
According to a US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks several years ago (https://wikileaks.org/plusd/
Chua said that unless one of the editors is a “Trojan Horse,” someone that for years has successfully concealed any non pro-government leanings, none of them has the courage to publish any stories critical of the government. But Chua also admitted that he knew of no editors who had been fired or otherwise punished for printing articles critical of the government. That is because all of the them have been “vetted” to ensure their pro-government leanings, Chua said.
It also revealed that the lower-rung reporters are “eager to produce more investigative and critical reporting, but they are stifled by editors who have been groomed to tow the line”. The US embassy in Singapore observes that the younger reporters “seem to be complaining more, or at least more openly”.
“We suspect this reflects in part a generational shift; younger Singaporeans are accustomed to having more latitude, and it likely grates on reporters not to be able to say in print the kind of things people routinely say in cafes or online,” commented an embassy staff.
Incidentally, the Chairman of SPH is Lee Boon Yang, a former PAP Cabinet Minister.