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Why do newspapers keep changing their look and their content? And why The Straits Times?
You - our readers - are the main reason, actually.
The pressure newspapers face to remain relevant and attractive to readers has intensified over the last 10 years. We can no longer take our readers for granted because there are so many other alternatives available today, especially on the Internet.
Experts say the changes taking place in the way information is created and distributed make the period we are living in the most revolutionary since the invention of Gutenberg's printing press in the 15th century.
Never before in human history has so much information been available to so many people with so little effort.
Newspapers have to respond to these life-changing developments. If they do not, they will lose their relevance and die. In fact, many have already perished.
The Straits Times is not immune to these changes, not when we operate in Singapore, which is as open and as connected to the outside world as any other place on earth.
We know that we need to keep up with your changing needs and expectations.
That is why we have introduced many new features in the paper over the last 10 years, going full colour in 1998, changing our look again in 2004 when we introduced three new lifestyle magazines, Digital Life, Mind Your Body and Urban.
If not for these changes, and our persistent efforts to improve quality, we might have gone the way of other papers which have seen their readership decline. We have held our ground. Today, more than 1.3 million people read us every day, the same number as 10 years ago, despite the explosion of the Internet and the free availability of news and information on radio, TV and in the freesheets.
So, what have we changed this time?
Our new design starts with the masthead which is the title of the paper on Page 1. It was not easy picking the right one, and our designers were originally drawn to the idea of reviving the 1845 font because it struck them as being particularly simple and modern for its time (see facsimile on this page). But after testing it on readers, we decided to opt for a more modern and elegant type called Big Caslon.
But we decided to keep two of the design elements found in the 1845 paper. First, we have placed the 'The' of The Straits Times in smaller type above the main title, as in the original design. Second, we have re-introduced the full stop at the end, stylised now as an orange dot.
The result, we think, is a modern, elegant look with touches of the old design. However you feel about this change, I hope you appreciate the thought which went into it and the rich heritage of The Straits Times from which it is derived. Not many organisations in Singapore, and not many newspapers around the world can claim an unbroken 163-year history. The Straits Times masthead symbolises this extraordinary achievement every day.
For the headline and body text, the objective was simple: Make the paper easier to read, especially for our older readers and those who scan the pages quickly.
You only need to compare the new fonts with the old to see how well our designers have chosen. The headline font is bigger now and challenges our sub-editors to write snappier headings, and the larger body text makes for easier reading.
If you have read this far into the paper and started from Page 1, you would have noticed our expanded Prime section, which runs to page 14. It is quite a different mix of stories from how we used to do it, and for good reason.
Previously, these front pages were devoted to news but in this revamp, we will include commentaries, special reports, interviews and personality profiles.
We believe doing this will serve our readers better because newspapers that survive in this new Internet age are those that do more than just report yesterday's news. Why bother to read the paper if all it does is report what you have already heard on radio and TV or read online?
We hope our Prime pages will be a reason why. We will still cover the main news of the day here. But you will also find the best commentary of the day on an issue that matters, and exclusive reports by our team of 300 journalists in Singapore and our network of 13 bureaus across Asia and beyond.
We hope these pieces will tell you a lot more about the rich world we live in, and reflect the diversity of views and issues that exist in any free society.
We are also introducing new features in all our other sections - World, Review, Forum, Home, Money, Sports and Life!
Some of the changes are the result of us finding out what readers read and do not.
In the Money section, for example, we no longer carry every stock in the SGX listing, but only Straits Times Index stocks and the FTSE ST midcap index stocks.
Our surveys showed that fewer than 1 per cent of readers referred to our previous stocks listing page, hence our decision to revamp the page. We are now able to contain all the relevant market information, including those from the regional markets, in one page (see Money Page B33). For the full listings and latest stock prices, readers can go to btstocks. asiaone.com
The newspaper you are reading is not the only thing we have changed today.
If you go online to straitstimes.com, you will see a completely new website with breaking news done by the same newsroom that produces this paper.
Our journalists no longer work towards one deadline for the paper. They break the news online first in
straitstimes.com to serve the tens of thousands who increasingly turn to their computers (and mobile phones) to get the news first.
Because we are The Straits Times, you know you will get the same high standards of accuracy and credibility in our online site as in the paper.
There is more. We are introducing two new features in this site which are firsts for us.
The Straits Times RazorTV is a live news programme broadcast from our new SPH Multimedia Centre. That's right, real-time news programming on your computer screen, presented in an edgy talk-show format more in tune with online audiences.
Our journalists will also start to blog even as they file their stories online, with personal observations and insights on the news they cover. These blogs will help us connect and interact with our online readership, and help you get closer to our newsroom and the people running it.
We are adding these extra features online because we want to reach out to more people across all platforms at all times of the day. Throughout this paper, you will find information on what is happening in these online sites.
The best news? The site is free.
For our subscribers who want to read all of our ST stories online, they can do so in our ST Digital site which will continue to be subscription-based. You can access it at www.straitstimes.com
That's it, these are the main changes we are making in the paper and online.
One thing, however, will not change. And that is our commitment to continue making The Straits Times the paper that has been a part of your life because you have valued our credibility and trustworthiness, and the quality journalism we practise.
I welcome your feedback, which you can post at www.straitstimes.com or e-mail to stforum@sph.com.sg
Our journalists will also start to blog even as they file their stories online, with personal observations and insights on the news they cover. These blogs will help us connect and interact with our online readership, and help you get closer to our newsroom.
