S'poreans still rely on public service media for credible news: Minister

Public service media outlets here are still the first place that many Singaporeans go to for credible news, and having trusted platforms is crucial in the fight against misinformation, Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said.

Speaking during the debate on her ministry's budget on March 7, she said The Straits Times and CNA are among Singapore's most frequented online news platforms, with more than 40 per cent of Singaporeans reading them weekly.

Trust in Singapore's mainstream media remains high, she noted. CNA and ST are the most trusted by Singaporeans at 74 per cent and 73 per cent respectively, even as public trust in mainstream news has fallen in other countries - hovering at 60 per cent or lower, she added.

Mrs Teo told Parliament that the Government is also studying regulatory measures from other countries to ensure mainstream media content remains prominent and easily accessible in Singapore's evolving digital landscape.

She flagged the threat to broadcast television as consumers move to platforms such as YouTube and Netflix.

Public service media (PSM) outlets struggle to stay visible on these platforms due to how they rank content, she noted.

To address this, countries such as the United Kingdom and Australia now require television sets to be pre-loaded with public service media apps like BBC iPlayer and ABC iview, and display them prominently for easy access.

"Given the important national role of our PSM entities to inform, educate and connect Singaporeans, we must be very concerned about their visibility being obscured by the decisions of third-party platforms," Mrs Teo said.

The Government will study measures to keep mainstream media content readily accessible, she said in response to Ms Hany Soh (Marsiling-Yew Tee GRC) and Mr Sharael Taha (Pasir Ris-Punggol GRC), who had asked about helping such outlets increase their reach.

Mrs Teo added that the authorities will consult industry stakeholders - including device manufacturers - before deciding on the next steps.

SPH Media's performance

Turning to SPH Media's performance, she said the media company did not ask to lower its performance targets despite not meeting all of them in 2024.

SPH Media continued to reach 70 per cent of Singapore's resident population in 2024, and is committed to maintaining its reach and relevance with Singaporeans, she added.

She noted that reach for youth and vernacular groups dipped.

Leader of the Opposition Pritam Singh (Aljunied GRC) had asked if SPH Media met its key performance indicators (KPIs), and if these had been changed.

An SPH Media spokesperson said the company is on track to receive most of the performance-linked incentive of $28.9 million for the 2024 financial year.

The sum will be pro-rated based on the progress reports and KPI achievements submitted to the Ministry of Digital Development and Information for the past year, the spokesperson said.

In February 2022, the Government had announced that SPH Media Trust will receive funding of up to $180 million annually over the next five years.

Mrs Teo said that while reach is important, her ministry is looking at other ways to assess the performance and effectiveness of public service media outlets.

"We must look at the trust levels that they are able to harness from the population, and we must also look at satisfaction levels. And so those would be the additional KPIs that we are looking to introduce," she added.

Mr Singh also asked for data on print and digital subscriptions for SPH Media's publications.

Responding to the Workers' Party chief, Mrs Teo said that like news outlets worldwide, the organisation has seen a decline in print subscriptions as readers consume news online.

Highlighting that less than 20 per cent of consumers globally pay for digital news subscriptions, she noted that SPH Media's digital subscriptions have held steady.

They are now 35 per cent higher than print subscriptions, up from 20 per cent two years ago.

"SPH Media will have to continue its pivot to digital news, and the Government must support this effort so that our public service media entities can meet audiences where they are," she added.

During the debate, Mr Singh also said there is "anecdotal feedback from those who follow local English news closely" that CNA's reporting and commentary on local issues has overtaken that of The Straits Times in terms of depth.

"Does the ministry conduct local surveys to gauge the public response to our local media outlets, and, if so, how does it make the decision to deploy taxpayer dollars to those media outlets that rank less satisfactorily in the public eye?" he asked.

Replying, Mrs Teo said comparisons must avoid "oversimplification". She noted that CNA is mainly Singapore's national broadcaster as well as digital news channel, whereas most of the titles in SPH Media are print, albeit with digital versions, and are meant to be national papers of record.

"So they are different and complementary. And it is perhaps my... humble suggestion to members to look at the performance of public service media holistically because, in truth, we need all of them to reach as many Singaporeans as we can," she said.

Mr Singh subsequently said members of the public would inevitably have a view about which publication is of a higher quality.

Responding, Mrs Teo said opinions about the two outlets will differ. "If you ask 10 people their views, probably you will get 15, at least. So I think we take that as a given."

She added: "We track how the public views the trustworthiness of these titles, and we will continue to do so. And as I shared in my speech, as well as, you know, on other occasions, they compare very favourably.