The Independent Singapore (TISG) had a soft re-launch in November 2015. In the six-months period from November to April 2016, we have grown substantially. We are currently ranked in the 300s in Alexa analytics, far ahead of other online, alternative news sites here.
It was no easy feat. We made certain deliberate choices and rebranded by changing our tagline from ‘Responsible, Intelligent, Robust’ to ‘News That You (our readers) Need;. That set the direction for us in the last 6-months.
We are mindful that we operate in a highly competitive environment where multiple players are seeking the same funding pool to keep themselves in the game. It is with regret that we note 2 news websites have closed, and one has gone into a hiatus. Singaporeans will be that much poorer if they can only consume news from a limited pool of publications. With our relaunch, we hope to give Singaporeans the variety that they need in current affairs.
With the relaunch, we have appointed Mr Ravi Philemon to be the lead editor of the website. Mr Howard Lee contributes as the opinion editor in TISG. They have a couple of editorial assistants who are helping them in their day-to-day operations. Mr Kumaran Pillai is the publisher.
It is a small team, which is why we have to rely on the crowd for our news. However, this does not mean that we will publish everything that comes our way. We will try to ascertain that the story is accurate and reliable before publishing it. We will also carry clarifications by aggrieved parties and provide them the right of reply. Through this, we aim to maintain TISG as a reliable platform for News That You Need.
We of course hope to grow this team soon and sustainability is the key for that. That is one reason why we have partnered with The Opinion Collaborative Ltd to grow our events organisation arm. The Opinion Collaborative Ltd has proven themselves in events organisation, while we have the eyeballs to draw participants in to such relevant events. It is a win-win for both organisations.
As Howard Lee and Ravi Philemon are also directors of The Opinion Collaborative Ltd, there is already a certain synergy between both organisations. We have agreed to review the partnership between TISG and The Opinion Collaborative Ltd in 6-months time.
With the guidance of the directors in both organisations as well as the goodwill of our readers, we hope to grow both TISG and The Opinion Collaborative Ltd to scale new heights.
