The fundamental issue that needs to be addressed is therefore this. The long-term viability of SPH
Media in its present structure and subjected to market pressure. The media business is expected
to remain loss-making and to face severe financial challenges over the next few years
SPH proposes to restructure and transfer the ownership
of its media business to a company limited by guarantee. It will first form a new subsidiary,
transfer the media related businesses and properties to the subsidiary and capitalise
the subsidiary with 80 million dollars of cash and 30 million dollars worth of SPH shares and REITs
subsequently. If SPH shareholders give their approval this subsidiary will be transferred to
the CLG. The CLG will be separate from the listed company no longer run by the SPH management.
It will operate as a revenue seeking business subject to the usual commercial disciplines.
However, any operating surplus will be plowed back into the media business.
This concept of a CLG run with commercial discipline is not new for us. There are several examples
including our universities, the Esplanade and Gardens by the Bay.
SPH papers continue to be trusted and valued sources of news that are well read,
which is a tribute to the professionalism of our journalists. Under the current structure there
is a serious risk that SPH's media capabilities will be hollowed out.
Without sustained investment in capacity building and a digital pivot, its quality and circulation will fall
and this in turn will worsen financials and cause further disinvestment.
And the immediate pressure will inevitably be on our vernacular papers, some with relatively small circulations which
would have a profound detrimental impact on the multiracial fabric of our society.
Without a responsible and high quality local media the quality of our public debate and
discourse will be compromised and we will slowly but inexorably become less cohesive as a society.
Given what is at stake the government must take a long-term view and adopt measures to secure
the sustainability of our local media. About 70 percent of Singaporeans or 7 out of 10 trust
our local media and that is at a higher level than the trust they accord international media.
The SPH news organizations in aggregate have not just maintained but they have grown their
reach and readership. When you combine the digital and the physical. That would not be the case
if Singaporeans did not feel that they could trust the news organization.
Good quality content is still critical but it is not sufficient.
To succeed we must connect meaningfully with our subscribers and non-subscribers,
Listen to, understand their digital habits and customize our content to suit their lifestyle and convenience.
We will empower the newsrooms with skills and tools in graphics, video,
technology, design and data to make the everyday experience of reading the news more accessible,
compelling and engaging. We will also size the newsrooms adequately
so that they have the capacity to engage meaningfully with the audience.
We are working out the additional investments that will be needed for this effort.
Newspapers are consolidating searching for a new model.
Technology is disrupting the existing business models. People's habits are changing. They are
consuming news in new ways. Not big meals but little snacks. Especially through the internet
And The Straits Times is affected by these trends, but it's adapting and modernizing itself
for a new age. The Straits Times has to be of the new generation by the new generation
and for the new generation of readers. But I hope you will continue to maintain a balance and take
a long-term perspective of Singapore's interests and report the news for Singaporeans
through Singaporeans eyes. As a Singapore newspaper whose past,
present and future is intrinsically tied to our nation, your natural stance is to be pro Singapore
and I think that's the natural way for longevity for such a newspaper.
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