The new chairman of Singapore Press Holding’s not-for-profit media entity SPH Media Trust, Khaw Boon Wan, spoke during a press conference on 12 May.
He said that he is out of his depth in terms of journalism but intends to add value however he can.
Khaw said: “I don’t know how to be a journalist, I am not a journalist, I am out of my depth here.”
He added: “How can I interfere with the news room if I don’t know what I’m talking here?”
Khaw also touched on SPH subscription fees and staff cuts, saying:
“If your objective is just to chase eyeballs, then the easiest is [to] make it free. But does mak[ing] it free serve the objective […] [of] quality journalism, quality contents?”
“Are you sure they’re reading it? Or they just read one line and throw it away?”
“This paid model forces us to make sure [we] are a lot more analytical, [with] deeper analysis and, more importantly, original insights, which I can’t get from the competition.”
“So, instead of talking about staff cuts and retrenchments, it is just the opposite.”
“So pass the word around — if you have good writers out there who left us last year or recently, and they are good team workers, bring them back. I’ll find money to pay them, so that we can enhance the newsroom.”
Images source: Khaw Boon Wan Facebook and glassdoor.sg