Singapore Government will be funding the new SMT in its capacity-building efforts. They are funding it because they believe in the mission of being a trusted source, said SMT chairman. “If you give only one side of the story, you will never be a trusted source.”
Singapore’s local media landscape turned a page on Wednesday (Dec 1) with the formation of a new not-for-profit entity spun off from newspaper publisher and mainboard-listed company Singapore Press Holdings (SPH).
In a statement announcing its launch, the SPH Media Trust (SMT) stated its mission was “to be the trusted source of news on Singapore and Asia, to represent the communities that make up Singapore, and to connect them to the world”.
Said SMT chairman Khaw Boon Wan: “This marks a critical milestone as we refocus on our mission of producing quality journalism as a public good. This will also ensure the continued relevance and sustainability of SPH Media.
“We thank SPH for its stewardship of SPH Media over the years,” added Mr Khaw. “We look forward to working with everyone in the incoming team to strengthen SPH Media as a trusted multimedia organisation.”
All relevant media-related assets and 2,500 employees have been transferred to the SMT, including the News Centre and Print Centre leasehold properties, as well as related intellectual property and information technology assets.
This comes after SPH first expressed intent in May to transfer its media business – which includes The Straits Times – to a company limited by guarantee, to help secure funding from public and private sources.
The Singapore Government has said it is prepared to provide funding support to the new SMT in its capacity-building efforts as it pushes ahead decisively with digitalisation, he added.
Asked if this might affect the SMT’s editorial independence, Mr Daniel, a veteran journalist and former editor-in-chief of SPH’s English/Malay/Tamil Media Group, said: “It is not in the Government’s interest for us not to be independent and to be a media mouthpiece.
“They are funding it because they believe in the mission of being a trusted source,” he added. “If you give only one side of the story, you will never be a trusted source.”
Still, Mr Daniel acknowledged that public perception of government interference was an issue, and that the SMT would have to prove to its audience that it was trustworthy.
He also announced then that the SMT would be chaired by Mr Khaw, a former Cabinet minister as he highlighted in a ministerial statement how technological advances and the Internet had severely disrupted a traditional media model reliant on print advertising revenue.
In his interview this week, Mr Daniel said SPH’s media business had gone from raking in billion-dollar revenues to around $400 million in recent times.
SPH’s media business also recorded first-ever losses of around $40 million in each of the last two financial years, excluding grants under the Government’s Jobs Support Scheme in response to the Covid-19 pandemic.
“If nothing is done, and SPH continues business as usual, the revenues will continue to drop; the losses will continue and will grow for sure. And there will be continued pressure to cut costs, cut products, cut staff, retrench,” said Mr Daniel.
