Members had a candid discussion under the Chatham House rules on the challenges faced by the Singapore mainstream media, including the need to enlarge the political space for print journalists, and the business model requiring premium-priced advertising space even for personal columns, making it difficult, for instance, for readers to insert death notices for family members. It was also noted (with some regrets) that there was insufficient investigative journalism in Singapore.
However, it was commented that it is refreshing that a crop of younger, more hard-hitting journalists was coming through the system which would allow the media to improve itself and evolve with the times. As such, even if the Singapore mainstream media hasn’t always had an easy time, it has largely held its own in a rapidly changing media landscape.
About the speaker:
Mr Daniel was appointed deputy chief executive officer of Singapore Press Holdings in July 2016. He was appointed Editor-in-Chief of the English and Malay Newspapers Division of Singapore Press Holdings in January 2007. The division was renamed English/Malay/Tamil Media Group in January 2015, incorporating the print and digital operations, as well as business adjacencies.
Prior to being Editor-in-Chief, he was Managing Editor of the division from September 2002, and Editor of The Business Times from May 1992. He joined The Straits Times as a senior leader/feature writer in October 1986 from the Singapore Government’s Administrative Service where his last position was director in the Ministry of Trade and Industry.
Mr Daniel graduated from University College, Oxford in 1976 with a Bachelor of Arts (Honours) in Engineering Sciences and Economics. He also has a Masters in Public Administration from the John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University.