'Integrity will help newspapers stay relevant'

Traditional newspaper publishers still have a place amid the boom in social media, and their products can remain trusted sources of information, relevant to the societies they serve, said Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) chairman Lee Boon Yang on Friday.

This is because traditional publishers still have 'critical, fundamental strengths' they can leverage on, namely, editorial integrity, accuracy and a confidence in and responsibility for what they publish, he said.

He was speaking at a Chinese New Year get-together for the staff of SPH's Chinese Newspapers Division at News Centre in Toa Payoh.

Dr Lee began his speech on a sombre note, on the economic outlook for the year, saying that newspaper publishers are in for a difficult year.