Bibliography
AFP. (2009, July 24). Thio cancels NYU stint after uproar. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from AsiaOne: Education: http://www.asiaone.com/News/Education/Story/A1Story20090724-156860.html
Article 19. (2005). Freedom of Expression and the Media in Singapore. London: Article 19.
BBC. (2009, August 6). BBC News. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Murdoch signals end of free news: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/business/8186701.stm
Chu, Y. L., & Wong, M. Y. (2000). Asia Media Project -- Singapore. Retrieved May 28, 2009, from Journalism and Media Studies Centre - The University of Hong Kong: http://jmsc.hku.hk/students/jmscjournal/critical/elainandmargaret.htm
Crets, D. (2007, February 9). Are Asian Newspapers Under Siege? Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Asia Sentinel: http://www.asiasentinel.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=370&Itemid=32
Dignan, L. (2009, August 6). Rupert Murdoch's grand subscription plan: Much ado over minimal revenue? Retrieved August 10, 2009, from ZDNet: http://blogs.zdnet.com/BTL/?p=22332
MDA. (2009, April 8). Development and Policies: Internet. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from MDA: http://www.mda.gov.sg/wms.www/devnpolicies.aspx?sid=161
Razor TV. (2009, August 8). "It's a privilege to be an NMP" (Pt 1 NMPs in focus). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Razor TV: http://razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/currentaffairs/34428.html
Razor TV. (2009, August 7). Exotic ghosts galore (Hantu Pt 1). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Razor TV: http://razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/entertainment/34402.html
Razor TV. (2008). Razor TV: About Us. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Razor TV: http://razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/about/
Razor TV. (2009, August 9). Where on earth are you pledging? Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Razor TV: http://www.razor.tv/site/servlet/segment/main/news/local/NDP09_Pledge_Moment/34478.html
SPH. (2008b, October 08). Main Shareholders. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from SPH Investor Relations: http://sph.listedcompany.com/main_shareholder.html
SPH. (2009). The AsiaOne Network. Retrieved July 30, 2009, from Singapore Press Holdings: http://www.sph.com.sg/ourproducts_asiaone.shtml
SPH. (2008a, February 22). The Straits Times Razor TV Fact Sheet. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from SPH: http://www.sph.com.sg/pradmin/upload/iuzwBjwc_FactSheetSTRazorTV.pdf
Statistics Singapore. (2009, July 16). Culture and Recreation. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Statistics Singapore: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/pubn/reference/yos/statsT-culture.pdf
Statistics Singapore. (2008, September 26). Statistics: Population. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Statistics Singapore: http://www.singstat.gov.sg/stats/charts/popn-area.html
Tan, L. (2008, October 19). Newspapers and television decline while internet use goes up (or why Red Sports has more readers). Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Red Sports: http://redsports.sg/2008/10/19/newspapers-circulation-decline/
Temasek Holdings. (2008, March 31). Our Portfolio: Major Investments. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from Temasek Holdings: http://www.temasekholdings.com.sg/our_portfolio_portfolio_highlights_major_investments.htm
The AsiaOne Network. (2009, March). The Straits Times RazorTV. Retrieved August 10, 2009, from The AsiaOne Network: http://network.asiaone.com/doc/razortv.pdf
The Straits Times. (2008, August 8). SINGAPORE: Ground-breaking interactive ST Razor TV goes live. Retrieved July 30, 2009, from AsiaMedia: http://www.asiamedia.ucla.edu/article.asp?parentid=95734
Xu, X. (2005). Demystifying Asian Values in Journalism. Singapore: Marshall Cavendish Academic.
Monday, August 10, 2009
So what can we conclude?
From the above analysis, we can see that:
1) The internet has significantly impacted the newspaper industry. Internet news sites frequently release news before it even reaches the newspaper presses.
2) This has led to falling circulation numbers and loss of advertising revenues. Its impact can be seen in News Corp’s US$3.4 billion loss.
3) Razor TV was created as a result of the falling circulation and advertising revenues. SPH sees it as a platform to engage the 18 to 40 demographic and link it to the print edition of The Straits Times.
4) It seeks to engage the aged 18 to 40 demographic through its entertaining and educative features and covers various current affaris, entertainment and lifestyle videos which are relevant to this demographic.
5) It is in line with government policy when it comes to internet content and there’s a sense of Xu’s “Asian Values” in its videos.
Only time will tell whether this venture by SPH will prove to be successful. Since Razor TV was only launched last year, more time is needed so that we can see its impact on the circulation rates of The Straits Times. If it does prove to be a success, it could revitalise the newspaper industry in Singapore as well as a possible move by the SPH to introduce similar websites for its other products like Zaobao (Perhaps we can name it Zaobao TV?).
1) The internet has significantly impacted the newspaper industry. Internet news sites frequently release news before it even reaches the newspaper presses.
2) This has led to falling circulation numbers and loss of advertising revenues. Its impact can be seen in News Corp’s US$3.4 billion loss.
3) Razor TV was created as a result of the falling circulation and advertising revenues. SPH sees it as a platform to engage the 18 to 40 demographic and link it to the print edition of The Straits Times.
4) It seeks to engage the aged 18 to 40 demographic through its entertaining and educative features and covers various current affaris, entertainment and lifestyle videos which are relevant to this demographic.
5) It is in line with government policy when it comes to internet content and there’s a sense of Xu’s “Asian Values” in its videos.
Only time will tell whether this venture by SPH will prove to be successful. Since Razor TV was only launched last year, more time is needed so that we can see its impact on the circulation rates of The Straits Times. If it does prove to be a success, it could revitalise the newspaper industry in Singapore as well as a possible move by the SPH to introduce similar websites for its other products like Zaobao (Perhaps we can name it Zaobao TV?).
Razor TV's approach...and (more) Content!
For Razor TV, SPH’s approach is slightly different from News Corp. SPH already charges customers for the digital edition of The Straits Times. As mentioned before, Razor TV is a platform for SPH to attract the 18 to 40 years old demographic and link them to the print version of The Straits Times.
Thanks Statistics Singapore for this graphic!
As shown in the above graphic, this particular demographic represents a significant part of the overall population in Singapore as well as an affluent and educated group who are multimedia-savvy.
SPH uses relevant lifestyle, current affairs and entertainment videos which are clearly targeted at this younger demographic. Since these web TV shows feature mostly local content and are usually hosted by local reporters, it gives these shows a unique local flavour. To give you all a better idea of what I am talking about, let us take a look at some of the content available on Razor TV.
For one of their regular series called “Point Blank”, Razor TV has a multi-part feature on three of the new Nominated Members of Parliament. The NMPs featured were arts manager Audrey Wong, media entrepreneur Calvin Cheng and sociologist Associate Professor Paulin Tay Straughan.
This can be considered a tactic by the SPH to engage the young people in Singapore on the subject of local political issues. This can be considered relevant especially after the recent controversy surrounding former NMP Thio Li-ann and her now-aborted teaching stint at New York University (AFP, 2009). It’s a way to educate youths on political issues, introduce the new NMPs and find out more about their views on various subjects.
On another one of Razor TV’s regular series, “Razor Pop”, they do a multi-part feature on the upcoming horror musical “H Is For Hantu”. This is presented in a humorous and tongue-in-cheek manner where the presenter dresses up as a vampire to interview the creator of the musical, Jonathan Lim.
This is another way that Razor TV engages the youth and young people in Singapore, which is through a combination of humour and the arts. This feature seeks to entertain as well as educate the youth about the vibrant arts scene in Singapore. This can also be considered advertising for the actual musical itself.
Thanks Statistics Singapore for this graphic!
As shown in the above graphic, this particular demographic represents a significant part of the overall population in Singapore as well as an affluent and educated group who are multimedia-savvy.
SPH uses relevant lifestyle, current affairs and entertainment videos which are clearly targeted at this younger demographic. Since these web TV shows feature mostly local content and are usually hosted by local reporters, it gives these shows a unique local flavour. To give you all a better idea of what I am talking about, let us take a look at some of the content available on Razor TV.
For one of their regular series called “Point Blank”, Razor TV has a multi-part feature on three of the new Nominated Members of Parliament. The NMPs featured were arts manager Audrey Wong, media entrepreneur Calvin Cheng and sociologist Associate Professor Paulin Tay Straughan.
This can be considered a tactic by the SPH to engage the young people in Singapore on the subject of local political issues. This can be considered relevant especially after the recent controversy surrounding former NMP Thio Li-ann and her now-aborted teaching stint at New York University (AFP, 2009). It’s a way to educate youths on political issues, introduce the new NMPs and find out more about their views on various subjects.
On another one of Razor TV’s regular series, “Razor Pop”, they do a multi-part feature on the upcoming horror musical “H Is For Hantu”. This is presented in a humorous and tongue-in-cheek manner where the presenter dresses up as a vampire to interview the creator of the musical, Jonathan Lim.
This is another way that Razor TV engages the youth and young people in Singapore, which is through a combination of humour and the arts. This feature seeks to entertain as well as educate the youth about the vibrant arts scene in Singapore. This can also be considered advertising for the actual musical itself.
Impact of the Internet on Print Media
According to Crets (2007), this “structural shift” is essential as these publishers are losing their advertising chare to online-based classifieds. The loss of advertising revenue has affected even Rupert Murdoch’s News Corp where the company announced losses of US$3.4 billion. This has resulted in Rupert Murdoch announcing that News Corp would start charging online customers for its news content across all its websites (BBC, 2009).
The feasibility of charging customers for online news content has also been questioned. Larry Dignan of ZDNet has questioned Rupert Murdoch’s move of charging for online news content (Dignan, 2009). Some of the issues that he raised were that the potential revenue from an online pay news model was insignificant compared to what News Corp currently earns from its newspaper business ($200 million compared to $6 billion!), that newspapers low pricing would affect online charges and a possible lack of content worth charging online customers (Staci Kramer of PaidContent suggests The Sun's topless page 3 girls and Bill O'Reilly outtakes...lol).
The feasibility of charging customers for online news content has also been questioned. Larry Dignan of ZDNet has questioned Rupert Murdoch’s move of charging for online news content (Dignan, 2009). Some of the issues that he raised were that the potential revenue from an online pay news model was insignificant compared to what News Corp currently earns from its newspaper business ($200 million compared to $6 billion!), that newspapers low pricing would affect online charges and a possible lack of content worth charging online customers (Staci Kramer of PaidContent suggests The Sun's topless page 3 girls and Bill O'Reilly outtakes...lol).
Why Razor TV?
So why did a traditional newspaper company expand into the web TV market? While SPH does have a number of online properties, they are essentially online extensions of current SPH newspapers like The Straits Times and Zaobao. Razor TV represents SPH’s first foray into the video-on-demand content.
A clue to this question can be found in the objectives of Razor TV. According to The Straits Times Razor TV Fact Sheet, their main objective is to attract viewers “between the ages of 18 and 40 and connect them to the print edition of The Straits Times” (SPH, 2008a). According to recent statistics from the Singapore government, there was a slight drop in newspaper circulation for English newspapers, from 904,518 in 2006 to 877,472 in 2007 (Statistics Singapore, 2009) while there was an overall 24.5% drop in circulation of English newspapers from 2002 to 2007 (Tan, 2008).
This situation is not just restricted to Singapore as newspapers around the world are also suffering from a drop in circulation. For example, major newspapers across the United States like the Boston Globe and The New York Times all experienced a drop in circulation. This has resulted in a “structural shift to online” for publishers of broadsheet newspapers (Crets, 2007). According to Tan (2008), one of the main reasons for the drop in newspaper circulation is the speed at which content is published online, where news websites are able to “publish stories even before the newspaper has gone to print”. Tan calls the internet a “newspaper killer of the first order”.
Thanks to TVTropes.org for this image!
A clue to this question can be found in the objectives of Razor TV. According to The Straits Times Razor TV Fact Sheet, their main objective is to attract viewers “between the ages of 18 and 40 and connect them to the print edition of The Straits Times” (SPH, 2008a). According to recent statistics from the Singapore government, there was a slight drop in newspaper circulation for English newspapers, from 904,518 in 2006 to 877,472 in 2007 (Statistics Singapore, 2009) while there was an overall 24.5% drop in circulation of English newspapers from 2002 to 2007 (Tan, 2008).
This situation is not just restricted to Singapore as newspapers around the world are also suffering from a drop in circulation. For example, major newspapers across the United States like the Boston Globe and The New York Times all experienced a drop in circulation. This has resulted in a “structural shift to online” for publishers of broadsheet newspapers (Crets, 2007). According to Tan (2008), one of the main reasons for the drop in newspaper circulation is the speed at which content is published online, where news websites are able to “publish stories even before the newspaper has gone to print”. Tan calls the internet a “newspaper killer of the first order”.
Thanks to TVTropes.org for this image!
Ownership, Regulation and (A bit of) Content
Ownership, Regulation and Content
So who owns Razor TV? As mentioned in an earlier post, it was opened as part of The Straits Times online presence, which in turn is part of the AsiaOne Network owned by the SPH (SPH, 2009). While it has no direct ties with the Singapore Government in terms of ownership, one of SPH’s major shareholders is the DBS Group (SPH, 2008b) which in turn is partially owned by Temasek Holdings, an investment company owned by the Singapore Government (Temasek Holdings, 2008). Further analysis by Chu & Wong has shown a more complex system of indirect ownership of SPH by Temasek Holdings (Chu & Wong, 2000). SPH in general is said to have “close ties to the PAP government” (Article 19, 2005).
Razor TV, as with other internet sites, is regulated by the MDA with a “light-touch regulatory approach” through the use of the Class License Scheme and the Internet Code of Practice among others (MDA, 2009).
Just as the Newspaper Printing and Presses Act make SPH newspapers practice self-censorship and self-regulation so as to allow it to “operate on the right track” in the definition of the government (Xu, 2005), MDA regulations have also affected Razor TV’s content and some of its content has been shown to include what Xu calls “Asian values” in journalism.
So here is an example of “nation-building”, one of the factors in Xu’s “Asian values.
As part of its National Day 2009 coverage, Razor TV made a special tribute video about Singaporeans taking part in the National Day’s Pledge Moment, where Singaporean around the world took the pledge at exactly 8.22PM on Sunday, 9th of August. This video, in a nutshell, represents a show of unity from Singaporeans around the world.
So who owns Razor TV? As mentioned in an earlier post, it was opened as part of The Straits Times online presence, which in turn is part of the AsiaOne Network owned by the SPH (SPH, 2009). While it has no direct ties with the Singapore Government in terms of ownership, one of SPH’s major shareholders is the DBS Group (SPH, 2008b) which in turn is partially owned by Temasek Holdings, an investment company owned by the Singapore Government (Temasek Holdings, 2008). Further analysis by Chu & Wong has shown a more complex system of indirect ownership of SPH by Temasek Holdings (Chu & Wong, 2000). SPH in general is said to have “close ties to the PAP government” (Article 19, 2005).
Razor TV, as with other internet sites, is regulated by the MDA with a “light-touch regulatory approach” through the use of the Class License Scheme and the Internet Code of Practice among others (MDA, 2009).
Just as the Newspaper Printing and Presses Act make SPH newspapers practice self-censorship and self-regulation so as to allow it to “operate on the right track” in the definition of the government (Xu, 2005), MDA regulations have also affected Razor TV’s content and some of its content has been shown to include what Xu calls “Asian values” in journalism.
So here is an example of “nation-building”, one of the factors in Xu’s “Asian values.
As part of its National Day 2009 coverage, Razor TV made a special tribute video about Singaporeans taking part in the National Day’s Pledge Moment, where Singaporean around the world took the pledge at exactly 8.22PM on Sunday, 9th of August. This video, in a nutshell, represents a show of unity from Singaporeans around the world.
What does it want to do?
Razor TV aims to deliver news that is “young, hip, with an informal tone presented by fresh faces” where the news “will be raw and edgy” as opposed to the traditional TV broadcasts. There is also a “strong emphasis on hyper-local content” as well as leveraging on “user-generated content” (Razor TV, 2008). Based on its monthly traffic reports for March, its total page views for that month were 5.6 million with a unique audience of 638,000. The age range of their audience ranged from 18 to 40 and 54% of them were male (The AsiaOne Network, 2009). This is in line with the main objective of Razor TV, which was to attract viewers of that demographic. The other objectives of Razor TV are to connect this demographic to the print edition of The Straits Times, seek new streams of revenue through “television commercials, online banners and advertorials”, “promoting The Straits Times brand name” and “building an impactful online presence” (SPH, 2008a).
So what is Razor TV anyway?
Razor TV is a free access online television service that is broadcast live from SPH’s Multimedia Centre web studio, offers video-on-demand content and “real-time interactivity” between the studio and the audience through Web 2.0 technologies (Razor TV, 2008). It was launched on 8th August 2008 and is a part of The Straits Times online presence (The Straits Times, 2008). Being an online service, it is also part of SPH’s AsiaOne Network, which is the online presence of Singapore Press Holdings and claims to command 160 million page views and read by an audience of over 11 million (SPH, 2009).
CULT 2130 Media Project
Hi! I am Anthony Chia and this is my media project for CULT 2130 - Media Structures and Practices. I have chosen to do an analysis of Razor TV, a web TV website owned by Singapore Press Holdings. I hope this blog will provide an in-depth and entertaining view on Razor TV and its impact on the industry.
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