High Pay Monopoly Lack of Passion Lack of Creativity The fate of the SPH Media is the future of the PAP.

High Pay

Monopoly

Lack of Passion

Lack of Creativity

The fate of the SPH Media is 

the future of the PAP.

Who can define the future newspapers in Singapore? Not the PAP, not the SPH Media. Like social media, it is the readers, the users, the customers.

Newspapers in Singapore were forced to group into SPH in the 1980s. 

High Salary

SPH senior management was rewarded handsomely then, some even drawing pay near to a minister’s salary. One of them was Mah Bow Tan, the defeated PAP candidate in Potong Pasir SMC in 1984. The President’s Scholar got elected into parliament through a backdoor GRC system.

Senior management and senior journalists are drawing high salaries.  Compared to the compensation of political appointments and senior civil servants, and also contributions to the nation, the PAP government then realised they were underpaid - senior people in the media were drawing the same or higher salaries than politicians and officials, especially junior ministers and lower rank ones. 

Scholars

SPH, especially the Straits Times, was making easy money. And so, the cash rich company could afford to recruit scholars, they even brought over the bonds of the scholars from government (including the President's scholar). 

      

Will scholars, joining the SPH, make any different? The answer is NO and their current President’s scholar CEO has confirmed it and takes ‘UMBRAGE’.

Monopoly  

This needs no further explanation. The monopoly model helps to build a blue chip company.  Like the PAP government, SPH has no financial problem in paying high salaries to senior management and recruiting scholars to boost her credibility. 

However, the SPH is running out of luck, so does the PAP. 

30年河东，30年河西。 风水轮流转。

However, every dog has his day. The ‘umbrage’ CEO and the ‘umbrage’ SPH media like every dog has his day.

It is not sure whether a dog has his/her independence, integrity or pride and prejudice. 

But a domestic dog certainly needs a master or a family.  Who is the master? The PAP government or the readers at large?

Dogs will need to have passion and creativity to please the master.  In all the SPH announcements so far, they have never asked the opinions of the readers.  What do readers want? What do they expect from SPH?  

Newspapers are not normal business.  It is the 4th Estate.  The PAP ignores it.  The SPH pretends to take ‘umbrage’. 

SPH Media goes for not-for-profit. The SPH proposes it. The PAP government supports it. Never have they considered the views of the readers, the public, not to mention small shareholders.

The PAP and the SPH have forgotten they have to listen to their readers, citizens and their masters - consumers. No readers, no votes. Consumers and voters decide the future of newspapers and government.  

So, is there any difference between the PAP and the SPH?  The SPH is going to drop their media business and concentrate on making more money outside the 4th Estate. The PAP is also aware they will soon lose their monopoly in politics. In the meantime, they will focus on making money too, opening up the economy despite Covid-19, ignoring their duty and principle of looking after citizens. One ignores their readers and the other refuses to listen to their voters.