Terence Lee
Critics have long prophesied the demise of the traditional media as the internet increased its reach worldwide. Bill Gates once predicted that within five years, all newspapers would be online, and traditional media would face “tremendous upheaval wrought by technology.”
Most major newspapers and news agencies have already begun harnessing internet technology to enhance its content. The New York Times, in a much-lauded move, ceased charging for its online content on 18 September 2007, also making available free-of-charge its extensive archive of past stories.
The Singapore media, however, had been rather muted in its response, until recently.
Internet Users: The Most Influential Consumer
Media companies are now aware of the fact that internet users are becoming the dominant consumer of media content. With the explosion of the internet and Web 2.0, the youth are fast disengaging themselves from traditional media, instead wrapping their lifestyle around the computer screen.
A typical internet-savvy youth spends less time watching television and reading a broadsheet, but more hours surfing the internet. He gets his news fix on a RSS reader, listens to podcasts rather than the local radio station, and spends his free time watching anime on YouTube and ‘poking’ his friends on Facebook.
In the U.S, print advertising revenues are declining at an alarming rate. According to Bizreport, U.S.A Today’s ad revenue fell 14% from February 2006 to February this year, while The New York Times registered a drop of 6%.
This was contrasted with online advertising, which grew 31% in revenue over the same period.
Even online classifieds like Craigslist are giving print classifieds a run for their money. CNNMoney.com documented how the website had cost newspapers in the San Francisco Bay area US$50 million – US$65 million in advertisement revenue. This was attributed to the low cost of putting up advertisements on Craigslist.
Resistance to Change
The Straits Times has been slow in adopting changes. The Online edition offers a paltry amount of stories for free, while the rest of the content is available via a subscription service.
While subscribing to the online edition of ST is cheaper than the print edition, most major newspapers worldwide now offer their online content for free. The Straits Times is taking a cautious approach towards internet technology, but at what cost?
The mass migration of news consumers to the internet is unstoppable. While The Straits Times is hoping to capitalise on the online market by charging its readers, this tactic actually hurts online advertisement revenue.
By limiting content online, it is driving visitors away – to better pastures. The typical consumer would rather read free content in blogs and other newspaper websites than pay a subscription rate.
The Straits Times’ content cannot compete with the sheer amount of better material journalism available online, and free-of-charge.
The New York Times, on the other hand, has realised that it can earn much more from online advertising than revenue from subscription charges. Free access leads to an exponential increase in visitors, which advertisers would pay lucrative sums to tap into.
Perhaps the start of SPH Search signals a paradigm shift within the ranks of SPH, which aims to roll out the service by next year. Specialising in highly localised search, SPH Search will include information compiled from all major SPH publications.
If it is as good as it sounds, then we are seeing what could be the start of a revolution in the way information is accessed in Singapore.
First-World Penetration, Third-World Content
While we may lampoon at how Singapore’s traditional media is primitive in terms of web presence as compared to other countries, we must acknowledge that even the blogging scene – and the alternative media in general – is lagging behind.
While Singapore is first-world in terms of internet penetration – we are among the most developed – our alternative media is unfortunately of third-world standard compared to Malaysia
Malaysiakini and Harakah are two good examples: both are online dailies that hire full-time professional journalists. If you compare Think Centre with these two sites, there is too much of a gap. There is no equivalent of an online news daily here in Singapore.
The lack of comparable content in local alternative media could be due to the lack of support by credible opposition parties. Harakah is started by the Islamic Party of Malaysia, which enjoys strong support from the Malaysian populace.
Local blogs are run by people who happen to be free on a Sunday night – they are not professional journalists.
The Online Media Vacuum
While opposition backing may give alternative media a much-needed shot in the arm, it is not the only option. Corporate investment and foundation funding are pursuable alternatives. Perhaps the local media can learn from Ohmynews, a citizen journalism news site that secured US$11 million in funding from Softbank Corp. to help start Ohmynews Japan.
Even though political goodwill may be lacking in Singapore, money still talks. The Straits Times is headed by a Board of Directors which is driven more by commercial gain than ideology. If financial backing can be secured, then an online news daily in Singapore could become a possibility.
Singapore is now experiencing an “Online Media Vacuum”, where the lack of easy online access to credible local journalism is driving readers to the next best alternatives – blogs and foreign newpapers. The internet is unfettered by geographical boundaries and expensive printing costs. The demand for local news exists online, not just locally, but from abroad. Online media companies can now take aim at the world – in a way that could never be done before.
With no media licensing currently governing the internet, and the low barrier-to-entry of starting an online media entity, the way is now open for media professionals to exploit the online frontier. This could pave the way for more media companies to create online content, ending the media duopoly facing Singapore today.
Online Media Professionals
Be it a professional journalist from The Straits Times or a prominent blogger, there is an urgent need for these people to fill the gap that is now left wide open, to become Online Media Professionals that will provide up-to-date, credible, and thought-provoking news content to internet-savvy readers in Singapore and beyond.
While print media will still have a strong demand for years to come, with magazines like Arena and Lexean (God bless them) providing compelling reads for consumers, online media will be a mainstay for the indefinite future.
Indeed, the advantages of the internet are numerous. It provides instant reporting and instant feedback – facilitating lively political discourse in what is known as the “public sphere”. It expands the market beyond geographical boundaries, allowing media companies to exploit greater economic possibilities.
The debate should not be about whether new media will hasten the demise of traditional media; that is a fallacy. The exponential rise in demand generated by the internet will allow both mainstream and alternative media to not just co-exist, but prosper.
Major media players in Singapore must know their role in working towards a more vibrant press culture. After all, it was Goh Chok Tong who said that journalists and editors must “know what works for Singapore and how to advance our society’s collective interests.”
– Terence Lee is a freshman at the Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information. He blogs at http://themadmadworld.blogspot.com.
November 2nd, 2007 at 4:23 pm
Good Afternoon Mr Lee,
May I first say, this is a very interesting article. As much as, I would like to buy into the idea MSM can actually make money in the internet. I have my reservations as the culture and even methodology of wealth creation differs considerably.
I dont have any statistics to verify what I have just said, but I do know for a fact, there are a few fringe groups who are successfully doing brisk business in the internet.
For example, I know for a fact, the leader of the brotherhood, Dr Darkness does a brisk trade in love novels which he retails in exchange for monopoly money that is not strictly considered legal tender. It's processed in a virtual bank, in a planet that doesn't really exist. Invested in commodities that dont exist. But I am sure somewhere along the value chain, it's transformed into hard currency or it's equivalent, but they have not been able to catch him all these years.
The reason why I am giving you this example is because the folks who are really savy in how to capitalize and even commoditize material in the net, may not want others to muscle in, so they keep a very low profile.
That of course leads any intelligent person to consider whether it is a good idea to rope these fellows in, if one is serious to capitalize on opportunities in this brave new world. MSM doing all alone with their Stat board hard hats will definitely be a real challenge.
Thanks
November 2nd, 2007 at 5:10 pm
"Local blogs are run by people who happen to be free on a Sunday night – they are not professional journalists"
Indeed. But imagine the power a bunch of bloggers have if they group together to do news reporting.
And isn't that what journalism.sg is doing now?
November 3rd, 2007 at 1:04 pm
Yes, bloggers may not be professional journalists. But, when the bloggers asked hard questions and laid out certain inconsistencies about policies and issues, the readers will also start to realise the same things too.
What the MSM did not (or cannot) go in-depth into the issues, bloggers will dissect them further to reveal what the MSM did not write and tell the public the truth of everything.
Come on, we all know that most of the MSM is about "nation building". And more people are not buying into it readily as our older generation would have.
These bloggers are on the ground, experiencing what they are writing. They do not need 20 minutes. MSM may gross over the things, bloggers will tear those things apart. The more MSM does "nation building", the more people will seek out online media for more "realistic reporting" and critical opinions.
November 4th, 2007 at 1:14 pm
I found this article while searching for "sph search" on Google as I was blogging on this topic.
Terence probably represents the 20s age group and I see that they do spend more time with the computer and internet.
As for my age group, the 40s, we read The Straits Times. And I will continue for the next 40 years as long as it has good quality contents.
However, the 20s group might abandon The Straits Times and get their news entirely from the internet or alternative media.
What SPH Can DO…
Continue the online subscription model and give away the printed newspaper for free! You know what I mean.
November 4th, 2007 at 8:40 pm
You can be 20,30, 40 or even a 100, it really doesnt matter.
Many of the ppl blogging these days are serious professionals. Lets not talk abt the Mr Brown type blogs most of them are saying roughly the same thing and the probably form 90% of the marketing mix.
As for the other 10%, they are regularly producing insightful and interesting reads, bc many of them are leveraging on their knowledge, this is where, I feel journalist are at a disadvantage – they cannot deliver the detail and breadth. They may purvey but that is all they can do.
In the long run, they will lose out bc why should anyone get it from a postman when, they can get it fresh from the oven?
November 5th, 2007 at 11:13 am
Good Day,
In the years to come when the pie gets smaller, the two extremities between newsprint and new media will become more acute.
I dont think newsprint will ever disappear completely, it will be like radio, there will always be a demand.
The problem, I believe is growth and sustaining advertising revenue.
There is an excellent article abt this whole area written by the leader of the Brotherhood, Darkness. I believe it was once posted on the site, "what others say." I have checked and it has since closed down under mysterious circumstances, but if you can ferret out the article, it contains some gem analysis in this area.
If you like, you may wish to write to them directly to ask for an article and a reading list. I hope this helps with your research.
Thanks for writing this article.