Singapore Press Holdings
The Straits Times is the largest English daily newspaper in Singapore and has been in circulation for over 150 years. It was not without anticipation that I visited the offices last night (LL had to turn down dinner with us because she had a “story” to work on - we decided to visit her workplace after that).
The offices were state-of-the-art, with landscaped gardens, stainless steel and soft lighting. And at 9pm on a Friday night, it was probably the busiest office in Singapore. People were working on the weekend editions and the energy was palpable. Journalists are minor celebrities in their own right - we caught glimpses of many familiar names huddled over their workstations, though we did not dare interrupt their outpouring of creativity.
The only thing missing was the huge presses - these are no longer located in the head office on Braddell Road. Instead, stories are sent electronically to the presses in Jurong where the machines churn out the sheets for distribution. Everything is now digitized - there were screens of newsfeeds and layout software that held the skeleton of tomorrow’s news.
Also interesting was the skeleton of the Channel i studio. This was Singapore’s abortive attempt to introduce competition between the TV/radio company and the printed press. SPH started broadcasting television and Mediacorp started printing newspapers. It was probably a daring adventure out of their core competence that did little to enhance the availability of free choice (both offerings had little to differentiate themselves).
It was an interesting glimpse into the innards of a modern newspaper. Thanks LL!