the straits times

 

  • As editor, Woods sought to distinguish The Straits Times from The Singapore Free Press by including humour, short stories, and foreign news, and by making use of regular steamship
    services carrying mail that launched shortly before The Straits Times was launched.

  • [12] Historian Mary Turnbull disputes this account of The Straits Times’ founding, saying that it was unlikely an Armenian merchant would have wanted to found an English-language
    newspaper, particularly given the presence of the more established Singapore Free Press.

  • In the 1920s and 1930s, The Straits Times began to face competition from other papers, specifically the Malaya Tribune, which promised “frank discussion of Malayan affairs”
    and “weekly articles by special and well-informed writers, Chinese, Indians, and Muslims”.

  • The news website of The Straits Times launched on 1 January 1994, making it one of the first newspapers in the world to do so.

  • Post-war period[edit] An example of The Straits Times on 1 May 1952 publishing cash bounties offered by the British for information on communist activities and individuals
    during the Malayan Emergency.

  • On 11 March 1950, The Straits Times became a public limited company.

  • [14][15] The Straits Times became a major reporter of political and economic events of note in British Malaya, including shipping news, civil and political unrest in Siam
    and Burma, official reports, and including high society news items such as tea parties held at Government House and visits from dignitaries such as the Sultan of Johor.

  • [18] He also made significant changes to the paper: he expanded coverage of events in Singapore and Malaysia; created a Sunday paper; cut the price of the paper to match that
    of the Malaya Tribune; and incorporated pictures, comics, and other eye-catching elements to make the paper more attracted.

  • The rival newspapers spurred readership among the growing English-reading community, with The Singapore Free Press published in the morning and The Straits Times released
    in the afternoon.

  • Many current ST management and senior editors have close links to the government as well.

  • During this period, the paper was thoroughly pro-Japanese and would often report on Japan’s war efforts in the Pacific.

  • [37][38] Lee Boon Yang Executive chairman of SPH 2011–present Cabinet Minister In his memoir OB Markers: My Straits Times Story, former editor-in-chief Cheong Yip Seng recounts
    how, since 1986, there has been a government-appointed “monitor” at the newspaper, “someone who could watch to see if indeed the newsroom was beyond control”, and that disapproval of the “monitor” could cost a reporter or editor their job.

  • [10][11] The Straits Times was launched as an eight-page weekly, published at 7 Commercial Square using a hand-operated press.

  • The children’s newspaper, outlined in the third goal, was published as Sakura and included as a free supplement in the 10 June 1942 edition of the Syonan Shimbun, though it
    was later sold separately for one sen.

  • The Straits Times Schools[edit] The Straits Times Schools is a news desk created to encourage youth readership and interest in news and current affairs.

  • Following the return of Singapore to the British after World War II, the name of the paper reverted to The Straits Times on 5 September 1945.

  • The Home section consist of local news and topics on Education for Monday, Mind and Body for Tuesday, Digital for Wednesday, Community for Thursday and Science for Friday.

  • [23] Launched in 2004, the programme was initially known as The Straits Times Media Club.

  • [15] Subsequently, the Singaporean government restructured the entire newspaper industry, in which all papers published in English, Chinese, and Malay were brought under Singapore
    Press Holdings (SPH), established on 30 November 1984.

  • [34] Chua Chin Hon, then ST’s bureau chief for the United States, was quoted as saying that SPH’s “editors have all been groomed as pro-government supporters and are careful
    to ensure that reporting of local events adheres closely to the official line” in a 2009 US diplomatic cable leaked by WikiLeaks.

  • To promote the study of Japanese during and after Nippon-Go Popularising Week, introduce the Japanese state of affairs in a series of articles, and strengthen the command
    of conventional Japanese language in the local papers.

  • In addition to the Sakura children’s newspaper, the Syonan Shimbun was used by the Japanese government as a way of attempting to create pro-Japanese youth leaders among the
    multiethnic, multilingual children of Singapore.

  • Woods covered the financial deficit by using the printing press for other projects, including the first directory of Singapore, The Straits Times Almanack, Calendar and Directory,
    published in 1846.

  • [24] Students will receive their papers every Monday together with the main broadsheet.

  • John Cameron served as editor from 1861 to 1869, during which the paper nearly went out of business due to hugely destructive fire.

  • Cooper arrived in Singapore in September 1941 and reported that the various civil, governmental, and military elements did not communicate or coordinate well.

  • Following the establishment of the conglomerate, The Straits Times, and the other subsidiaries, were allowed to maintain its own board of directors and editorial staff.

  • Preservation In July 2007, the National Library Board signed an agreement with the Singapore Press Holdings to digitise the archives of The Straits Times going back to its
    founding in 1845.

  • It was known as the “Thunderer of the East”, a reference to the original Thunderer, The Times of London, and was a critic of the British colonial administration, though much
    milder in its criticism of the government compared to its critique of unethical businesses.

  • [14] Still retired from The Straits Times in 1926 and the paper cycled through four editors in the span of two years before George Seabridge became editor in 1928.

  • Still also considered the Asian population of Singapore “untrustworthy” and suggested they should not hold positions of power or serve in the military.

  • [3][4] Straits Times Online[edit] Launched on 1 January 1994, The Straits Times’ website was free of charge and granted access to all the sections and articles found in the
    print edition.

  • The newspaper was run by members of the Japanese military propaganda division and included prominent writers such as Masuji Ibuse.

  • [25] Government interference Prior to 1965, during the early days of Singaporean self-governance, the paper had an uneasy relationship with some politicians, including the
    leaders of the People’s Action Party (PAP).

  • The rival Singapore Free Press came to Brooke’s defence and the ensuing controversy boosted the circulation of both papers.

  • [15] During the Malayan Emergency, The Straits Times published cash bounties for information leading to the killing or capture of senior communists.

  • [16] The Tribune, founded in 1914, lagged behind The Straits Times in sales and readership, and launched an advertising campaign to increase circulation and move the paper
    away from its image as the “clerk’s paper”.

  • [21] Community programmes The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund[edit] The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund was initiated on 1 October 2000 by The Straits Times,
    to heighten public awareness of the plight of children from low-income families who were attending school without proper breakfast, or pocket money to sustain their day in school.

  • [13] Brookes was exonerated, but the popularity of the episode made The Straits Times a success, and it became a daily newspaper in 1858.

  • Youth newspapers, IN and Little Red Dot are produced on a weekly basis for secondary and primary school students respectively, whose schools would have to subscribe in bulk.

  • [15] by 1952, it began to actively embrace the role as the predominant newspaper of Singapore, referring to itself as the ‘national’ newspaper of Malaya.

  • As a propaganda instrument[edit] In June 1942, the Military Propaganda Squad (軍宣伝班) launched a campaign, Nippon-Go Popularising Week, to promote the Japanese language among
    Singaporeans, using the Syonan Shimbun.

  • The Straits Times focused predominantly on British and British-related events while ignoring the politics and socio-economic issues of concern to other groups, including the
    Malay, Chinese, and Indian populations in and around Singapore.

  • Still’s outspokenness as editor resulted in a number of libel suits against the paper, which were either lost or settled privately out of court.

  • On 1 January 2005, the online version began requiring registration and after a short period became a paid-access-only site.

  • A document dated 17 May 1942 outlined the four main objectives of Nippon-Go Popularising Week.

  • However, Governor Shenton Thomas insisted that the British community of Singapore not flee in the face of the Japanese, that no racial discrimination was to take place in
    the evacuation of civilians, and that British civil officers stay behind to “look after their Asian charges”.

  • [12] The parent company of The Straits Times was converted into a separate, public company.

  • From Batavia, Seabridge filed a secret report for the War Cabinet in London in April 1942 on the failure of both military and civilian governments to hold and maintain Singapore’s
    defences.

  • The first issue of The Shonan Times published a declaration by Tomoyuki Yamashita, announcing that the aim of the Japanese was to establish the Greater East Asia Co-Prosperity
    Sphere in order to achieve a “Great Spirit of Cosmocrasy” and “sweep away the arrogant and unrighteous British elements”.

  • The paper later published Swettenham’s writings on the history of Perak and his involvement in the British Residential system in 1893.

  • The website remained entirely free until 2005 when paid subscription became required to fully access news and commentary.

  • For instance, the newspaper repeatedly interviewed a commuter named Ashley Wu on 8 occasions within a span of 10 months, whenever the trains broke down, rather than getting
    fresh viewpoints from different affected commuters.

  • Under Still’s editorship, the paper called for better working conditions for Malay, Chinese, and Indian labourers, but on the grounds that it would improve their efficiency
    and productivity.

  • [15] Following Reid’s retirement, Alexander W. Still took over as editor, a post he held for 18 years.

  • In response to the competition, Seabridge improved the company by building a new office, replacing and updating old printing equipment, hiring local journalists, and beginning
    delivery upcountry.

  • If the newspapers and the newspaper reading public are to be any help in combatting rumour, they must be supplied with the only things which are of the slightest value in
    carrying out the task.

 

Works Cited

[‘1. “Leadership change at The Straits Times”. AsiaOne News. 30 November 2011. Archived from the original on 3 January 2012. Retrieved 6 May 2012.
2. ^ Jump up to:a b “The Straits Times / The Sunday Times (Singapore Press Holdings website)”. Singapore
Press Holdings. Retrieved 25 November 2019.
3. ^ Jump up to:a b c “The Straits Times launches Myanmar edition”. Singapore Press Holdings. 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
4. ^ Jump up to:a b c “The
Straits Times launches Brunei edition”. Singapore Press Holdings. 24 March 2014. Archived from the original on 30 June 2016. Retrieved 2 June 2016.
5. ^ “Newspaper Article – Straits Times and Singapore Journal of Commerce”. Newspapers.nl.sg. Archived
from the original on 17 July 2013. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
6. ^ “The Straits times and Singapore journal of commerce”. Library of Congress. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
7. ^ Christopher, H. Sterling (2009). “A–C”. Encyclopedia of Journalism.
Vol. 1. SAGE Publishing. p. 108. ISBN 978-0761929574.
8. ^ “Audit Bureau of Circulations Singapore”. abcsingapore.org. Archived from the original on 6 August 2013. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
9. ^ Jump up to:a b “Robert Carr Woods, Sr | Infopedia”.
eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 8 July 2022.
10. ^ “The History of Armenians in Singapore and Malaysia”. Amassia.com.au. Archived from the original on 26 February 2015. Retrieved 28 February 2015.
11. ^ “The Straits Times | Infopedia”. eresources.nlb.gov.sg.
Retrieved 8 July 2022.
12. ^ Jump up to:a b c Turnbull, Constance Mary (1995). Dateline Singapore : 150 years of the Straits times. Singapore: Singapore Press Holdings. ISBN 981-204-615-1. OCLC 33925517.
13. ^ Buckley, Charles Burton (1984). An
anecdotal history of old times in Singapore : from the foundation of the settlement under the honourable the East India Company on February 6th, 1819 to the transfer to the Colonial Office as part of the colonial possessions of the Crown on April
1st, 1867. Singapore: Oxford University Press. ISBN 0-19-582602-7. OCLC 11519818.
14. ^ Jump up to:a b Turnbull, C. M. (2009). A history of modern Singapore, 1819-2005. Singapore: NUS Press. ISBN 978-9971-69-343-5. OCLC 489265927.
15. ^ Jump up
to:a b c d e f Kheng, Cheah Boon (1996). “Review of Dateline Singapore: 150 Years of the Straits Times”. Journal of the Malaysian Branch of the Royal Asiatic Society. 69 (2 (271)): 116–119. ISSN 0126-7353.
16. ^ Jump up to:a b c New Culture in a
New World : the May Fourth Movement and the Chinese Diaspora in Singapore, 1919-1932. David Kenley. Taylor & Francis. 2003. ISBN 978-1-135-94564-0. OCLC 824552213.
17. ^ Paths not taken : political pluralism in post-war Singapore. Michael D. Barr,
Carl A. Trocki. Singapore: NUS Press. 2008. pp. 267–300. ISBN 978-9971-69-378-7. OCLC 154714418.
18. ^ Jump up to:a b Eaman, Ross Allan (2021). Historical dictionary of journalism (2nd ed.). Lanham. p. 359. ISBN 978-1-5381-2504-5. OCLC 1200832987.
19. ^
Ward, Ian; Miraflor, Norma; Peng, Chin (2003). Alias Chin Peng: My Side of History. Singapore: Media Masters. pp. 312–313. ISBN 981-04-8693-6.
20. ^ Jump up to:a b Hack, Karl (2016). “‘Devils that Suck the Blood of the Malayan People'”. War in
History. 25: 209 – via Sage Journals.
21. ^ Walravens, Hartmut, ed. (19 January 2008), “ENHANCING ACCESS TO THE NEWSPAPER COLLECTIONS: The Lee Kong Chian Reference Library Experience”, IFLA Publications, Berlin, New York: Walter de Gruyter, K. G.
Saur, doi:10.1515/9783598441264.5.137, ISBN 978-3-598-44126-4, retrieved 8 July 2022
22. ^ “The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund”. www.spmf.org.sg. Archived from the original on 2 March 2019. Retrieved 2 March 2019.
23. ^ “Our Mission -“.
ST Schools. Archived from the original on 6 May 2018. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
24. ^ “Frequently Asked Questions -“. ST Schools. Archived from the original on 7 October 2017. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
25. ^ MarketScreener. “Singapore Press
: The Straits Times’ student magazine, IN, goes digital | MarketScreener”. www.marketscreener.com. Archived from the original on 30 March 2019. Retrieved 24 November 2019.
26. ^ “PAP and English Press”. The Straits Times. 30 April 1959. Archived
from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
27. ^ “Press Freedom”. The Straits Times. 19 May 1959. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
28. ^ “IPI to Discuss PAP Threat Against The Straits
Times”. The Straits Times. 22 May 1959. Archived from the original on 20 August 2017. Retrieved 19 August 2017.
29. ^ “‘Ugly threats’ are also a menace to already dwindling liberties”. 28 May 1959. Archived from the original on 19 August 2017.
Retrieved 19 August 2017.
30. ^ Aglionby, John (26 October 2001). “A tick in the only box”. The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
31. ^ Jump up to:a b “More young people writing to
ST Forum”. www.asiaone.com. Archived from the original on 16 September 2017. Retrieved 15 September 2017.
32. ^ Mydans, Seth (5 May 2011). “In Singapore, Political Campaigning Goes Viral”. The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Archived from the original
on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
33. ^ “Singapore Straits Times website down after hacker threat”. Reuters. 4 November 2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
34. ^ “Singapore bans Chinese-American
scholar as foreign agent”. ABC News. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
35. ^ “Journalists Frustrated by Press Controls”. Wikileaks. 16 January 2009. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017.
36. ^ “WikiLeaks:
Significant gov’t pressure put on ST editors”. Archived from the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
37. ^ Cheong, Yip Seng (2013). OB Markers: My Straits Times Story. Straits Times Press. ISBN 9789814342339.
38. ^ “COMMENT:
The big story behind the SPH reshuffle”. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
39. ^ “Former president S R Nathan dies, aged 92”. The Straits Times. 22 August 2016. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
40. ^ “Lim Kim San |
Infopedia”. eresources.nlb.gov.sg. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
41. ^ “Tony Tan elected Singapore president”. www.ft.com. 28 September 2011. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
42. ^ “Former ISD director Tjong Yik Min dies at age 67”. The Straits Times. 1 June
2019. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
43. ^ “Alan Chan reappointed LTA chairman”. www.businesstimes.com.sg. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
44. ^ Chua, Hian Hou. “ST editorial reshuffle to streamline, strengthen coverage”. www.asiaone.com. Archived from the original
on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
45. ^ “Land Transport Authority Annual Report 2009” (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 11 November 2012. Chua Lee Hoong was with the civil service for 10 years before joining Singapore Press
Holdings as a journalist in 1995.
46. ^ Ellis, Eric (21 June 2001). “Climate control in the Singapore Press”. The Australian. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017.
47. ^ “Appointment of Members to The Public Transport Council | Ministry
of Transport, Singapore”. www.mot.gov.sg. Archived from the original on 24 September 2017. Retrieved 24 September 2017.
48. ^ Yahya, Yasmine (26 May 2017). “Journalism veteran Patrick Daniel to retire as SPH deputy CEO, stay on as consultant”. The
Straits Times. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
49. ^ “Patrick Daniel to be interim CEO of SPH Media Trust; digital media capacity to be enhanced”. www.businesstimes.com.sg. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
50. ^
“Bio on Author Han Fook Kwang” (PDF). Archived (PDF) from the original on 15 September 2017.
51. ^ “Han Fook Kwang | RSIS”. www.rsis.edu.sg. Retrieved 25 June 2021.
52. ^ “Appointment to the Government Information Service”. Base. Archived from
the original on 8 September 2017. Retrieved 8 September 2017.
53. ^ Jump up to:a b “Book Review: Lee Kuan Yew’s Taming of the Press”. Archived from the original on 5 October 2013. Retrieved 7 September 2016.
54. ^ “Under Lee Kuan Yew, the press
was only as free as it needed to be to serve Singapore”. South China Morning Post. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
55. ^ “The Exotic World of Singaporean Journalism – Asia Sentinel”. Asia Sentinel. 17 July
2013. Archived from the original on 13 August 2017. Retrieved 13 August 2017.
56. ^ Reuters Institute Digital News Report 2020 (PDF). University of Oxford: Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism. p. 101.
57. ^ “Transport Minister vs. “Singapore’s
only commuter” Ashley Wu”. Archived from the original on 31 July 2017. Retrieved 31 July 2017.
58. ^ “Thanks to Minister Khaw, Ashley Wu, aged 35 to 37, is S’pore’s most famous public transport user”. Mothership.sg. Archived from the original
on 22 March 2018. Retrieved 8 May 2018.
59. ^ “Straits Times modifies AWARE contributor’s article for “Opinion” section, adds in lines without telling her”. Mothership.sg. Archived from the original on 11 November 2017. Retrieved 12 November 2017.
2. Thio,
HR and the Media in Singapore in HR and the Media, Robert Haas ed, Malaysia: AIDCOM 1996 69 at 72-5.

Photo credit: https://www.flickr.com/photos/101469280@N05/9702378513/’]