Lights out for Singapore’s TODAY

Singapore’s Mediacorp announced the closure of its print edition of TODAY — the Lion City’s free national daily.

The move comes in light of the publication’s holistic digital migration which will see it become the first newspaper in Singapore to be housed solely online. 

In a report by Channel NewsAsia, Mediacorp will buy Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) minority shareholdings in it’s entertainment television and newspaper businesses. Both companies announced in a joint news release on Friday (Aug 25).

Valued at S$18 million, the purchase will involve Mediacorp buying SPH’s 20 per cent stake in Mediacorp TV Holdings, which owns Channels 5, 8 and U and Mediacorp Studios; and 40 per cent stake in Mediacorp Press, which operates TODAY newspaper.

The agreement comes 12 years after SPH purchased the stakes as part of a media industry asset consolidation in 2005.

Pulling the curtains on TODAY’s print edition will make about 40 jobs obsolete. However,  Mediacorp has that it will “explore options to redeploy the staff in these positions to other roles within the company” and offer severance packages and outplacement support in cases should that strategy not be applicable to certain cases.

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