SPH Media put government funding to good use, but it still has ‘considerable catch-up’ to do: Josephine Teo

PUBLIC SERVICE MEDIA A “CRITICAL PUBLIC GOOD”

While SPH Media did not meet some KPIs in FY2023, Mrs Teo also commended them on other improvements.

The funding disbursed to SPH Media has strengthened its digital systems to improve outreach, in line with what other global publications have done.

For instance, all of SPH Media’s titles – The Straits Times, Lianhe Zaobao, Berita Harian and Tamil Murasu – have launched mobile apps. 

SPH Media has also made “extensive efforts” to improve retention and quality of its newsrooms through training, scholarships and fellowships with overseas institutions such as the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism.

On Friday, Mrs Teo also reminded the House that in an information landscape where truths have to compete with falsehoods, public service media is a “critical public pillar in our society’s infrastructure of fact”. 

“On matters deserving public attention, such as community news in the vernacular, or indeed parliamentary proceedings, profit-driven platforms may have no interest except to sensationalise or add their own ‘spin’,” she said. 

“We also need public service media to tell Singapore stories and project Singapore’s voice. We cannot expect media organisations elsewhere to do so for us.”

Mrs Teo pointed out that “our ability as a people to have a shared understanding of issues of the day, to know where our national interests lie and what we must do to ensure our continued success” is at stake. 

As such, sustained investment in public service media entities is not a “nice-to-do”, she stressed. 

“Rather, it is a ‘have-to-do’, if we are to uphold quality journalism that supports the public good.”

CNA has contacted SPH Media on its response to Mrs Teo’s comments, as well as its plans to meet KPIs in FY2024.