Wishes for ST beyond 180: Odes to its enduring role in the Singapore story
PM Lawrence Wong taking a wefie with Minister for Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund beneficiaries at ST's 180th anniversary gala dinner.
SINGAPORE - Many Singaporeans have grown up reading The Straits Times, and want it to continue featuring in their lives as the broadsheet has stayed relevant, trusted and close to the ground even after 180 years.
Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said this on July 11, adding that Singaporeans will always need credible news sources that can help them get a good understanding of the world and inform their decision-making.
The difficulty in today's media landscape is that people are inundated with multiple information sources but are unsure how much of it they can trust, and trust has therefore become a very rare commodity.
That is why the Government continues to support public service media such as ST to ensure Singaporeans have trusted news sources they can turn to, said Mrs Teo, though these media organisations must then stay relevant and engaging to their audiences.
Mrs Teo was among the guests at
ST's 180th anniversary gala dinner who shared personal anecdotes of having grown up reading the newspaper.
She recounted fond memories of rushing home after school to read the comics carried in its Life! section, and reading the paper cover to cover when she grew older. She also remembered the thrill, as a young Economic Development Board officer, of seeing a ministerial speech she had written get reported on.
'I grew up with The Straits Times, and I'd like to grow old with The Straits Times,' she said.
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At the gala dinner, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also shared how his consumption of ST had evolved.
As a boy, he paid little attention to the main stories or editorials and went straight for the comics and sports pages. Reading the newspapers became a daily ritual only after he became a working adult, and he would devote half an hour or more every morning to read ST from cover to cover.
'I would enjoy doing that, looking forward to doing it every morning,' said PM Wong.
PM Lawrence Wong with old and new copies of The Straits Times at ST's 180th anniversary gala dinner.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Leader of the Opposition and WP chief Pritam Singh related a similar experience. Growing up, he was not an avid book reader, but the Lions fan would regularly read the paper from back to front. The back is where the Sports section is.
'The big thing was that I read the newspaper more faithfully than I read any books,' said Mr Singh, who added that ST remains one of his many sources of news today.
PM Lawrence Wong and Leader of the Opposition and WP chief Pritam Singh at the gala dinner.
ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH
Diplomats and business leaders also had similar experiences to share.
Ambassador-at-Large Chan Heng Chee remembered how expensive and scarce books were when she was young, and her parents' ST subscription was the only printed word around the house.
Today, she consumes news from four outlets every morning, but the first one she picks up – before others such as the Financial Times and New York Times – is ST.
This is as ST keeps her the most informed about Singapore policies and happenings. 'In my work, when I try to represent Singapore, it's absolutely crucial.'
Ambassador of Japan to Singapore Hiroshi Ishikawa said ST has done a good job staying relevant so far, and that the broadsheet has become the most important source of news for him in the region, even surprising him with facts about Japan he did not know.
Asked how ST can continue to serve its readers well, Mr Singh said the news organisation has a big responsibility to tell the Singapore story in balanced and informative ways.
'Our population is very diverse, so there's a thirst for alternate perspectives, and ST should position itself to carry the views of critics, to carry the views of people who think differently,' he added. 'I think it is to ST's benefit if it can do that.'
There are readers who go to the ST in the first instance because 'there is an automatic premium on quality'. 'Recognise that if you play to your strengths, you'll be here for the long haul,' said Mr Singh.
SingTel Singapore chief executive officer Ng Tian Chong said ST has to keep up with how technology is evolving, and in this regard he was pleasantly surprised by the refreshed app and its new features.
'I find it more friendly, easier, faster to get to what I want to read, and easier to share articles as well,' he said.
Moving forward, ST could continue serving up innovations by curating news the way Netflix curates its shows and movie offerings for individual users, based on their viewing activity, he added.
Singapore Pools CEO Lam Chee Weng said ST has been the stalwart of trustworthy reporting, and is part of the DNA of its community, being something that Singaporeans look forward to every day when they wake up.
He expressed confidence that ST will find ways to stay relevant, to continue to provide insights, and to resonate with Singaporeans.
'It is a Singapore product, with Singapore quality, Singapore reliability,' he said. 'I'm looking forward to more of the Straits Times for years to come.'
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