Newspapers

ThinkChina editor: ‘What better time to cover China than today?’

As ThinkChina celebrates its fifth year, editor Chow Yian Ping shares her thoughts on the portal’s journey thus far. She remembers the people who have helped China’s stories come alive and looks forward to the next lap — just five years in, there is still so much road to travel.

Chow Yian Ping

15 Sep 2024

Why can't God of Wealth and Taylor Swift exist side by side: Reflecting on Washington Post's article on Lianhe Zaobao

A recent piece in the Washington Post claims that Lianhe Zaobao is a pro-China mouthpiece that lacks its own stand. Lianhe Zaobao's associate editor Peter Ong examines the paper's editorial considerations and responds to the Post's comments.

Peter Ong

14 Aug 2023

Can we still trust the media amid falling media credibility?

Do people still read, watch and listen to the news today? Second, is the media, especially the traditional media, still credible? Answering these questions will lead us to the answer as to whether it matters if journalists will be replaced with the dawn of generative AI.

Peter Ong

23 Jun 2023

The second life of yesterday's papers

Hua Language Centre director Chew Wee Kai thinks fondly of old newspapers and the purpose they served in the past and still serve in the present. From spreading the news of the day to being used as decorations and even polishing glass, their role is humble no doubt, but always useful.

Chew Wee Kai

06 Apr 2023

Navigating China-US competition: A Singapore Chinese-language paper's experience

Former Zaobao editor Lim Jim Koon observes that zaobao.com was recently lumped in with "local media" of China in one of the Japanese media reports. Intentionally or not, this is one of the ways that Singapore's leading Chinese-language newspaper has sometimes been cast as pro-China or anti-China to suit the narratives of others. As China-US tensions intensify in the new Year of the Rabbit, the paper, and perhaps Singapore too, must brace itself for labels being cast on it, and keep vigilant in staying the course and guarding its own interests.

Lim Jim Koon

14 Jan 2023

When a news media company becomes radically politicised: Jimmy Lai and the Apple Daily saga

The high-profile trial of Apple Daily founder Jimmy Lai has been postponed, with some voices asserting that media freedom has not been respected. From his close observation of Apple Daily in his years as Zaobao's editor, Lim Jim Koon takes a clear-eyed look at Apple Daily. He says that having crossed the baseline of news media organisations and broken the law, it can no longer justify its actions with media freedom.

Lim Jim Koon

05 Jan 2023

Rising China: Indonesia's Chinese-language newspapers avoid taking sides

All six Chinese-language newspapers in Indonesia support closer economic co-operation with Beijing, and all are pro-Beijing when reporting on Taiwan and Hong Kong issues, except for one. Chinese-language newspapers also face other issues such as insufficient readership and advertisement revenue, and a dearth of journalists. ISEAS academic Leo Suryadinata takes a closer look at the papers' predicaments with a rising China on one hand, and a diminishing pool of local readers on the other.

Leo Suryadinata

01 Sep 2020

Chinese media companies' quest for survival

How can Chinese newspaper media companies outside of China survive the internet age? Is the perceived decline of quality journalism just a problem for news media companies to solve? Is there an elixir for immortality that can re-energise and sustain the life of good journalism? Head of Singapore Press Holdings' Chinese Media Group Lee Huay Leng touched on these topics and more in her acceptance speech upon receiving the award for outstanding contributions to the media industry (星云真善美传播奖杰出贡献奖). The event was held in Singapore on 24 November 2019.

Lee Huay Leng

11 Dec 2019