Today (Singapore newspaper)

TODAY is a Singapore English-language digital news provider under Mediacorp, Singapore's largest media broadcaster and provider and the only terrestrial television broadcaster in the country. It was formerly a national free daily newspaper.

TODAY
TypeNational free daily newspaper (2000 to 2017)
National online newspaper (from 2017)
FormatDigital newspaper
Owner(s)Mediacorp
EditorWalter Fernandez
Founded10 November 2000 (2000-11-10)
LanguageEnglish
HeadquartersMediacorp Campus, 1 Stars Avenue, Singapore 138507
Circulation300,000 (in 2013)
OCLC number46474542
Websitewww.todayonline.com

At its inception, Mediacorp had a 60% stake in TODAY while, Singapore Press Holdings owned 40% of TODAY. The newspaper was published and distributed from Monday to Saturday.

In 2017, the two media companies announced that SPH will divest its stakes in Mediacorp Press, which publishes TODAY, and Mediacorp TV, which owns Channels 5, 8, U, and Mediacorp Studio.

TODAY was distributed to selected homes upon subscription and for free at MRT stations, bus interchanges, selected food and beverage outlets, shopping malls among other public areas during the morning rush hour.

It had a circulation of 300,000, with more than half of its readers being professionals, managers, executives and business people.[1] It is the second-most-read English-language newspaper in Singapore, after The Straits Times.[2]

Readership is 730,000 according to the Nielsen Media Index Report 2012.[3]

History

On 10 November 2000, TODAY was launched as a rival to Streats, another English-language freesheet published by the Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Initially, the newspaper was available only on weekdays.

In 2002, TODAY launched a weekend version, WeekendTODAY, which was also distributed to homes as a free newspaper but also available for sale at newsstands for 50 cents.

In 2004, during a merger deal between MediaCorp and Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) to merge mass-market television and free newspaper operations, SPH's free newspaper Streats was merged into TODAY and continued to be operated under MediaCorp.[4]

In 2010, TODAY launched the TODAY-New York Times International Weekly, covering international affairs, social trends, arts and culture as well as business and finance.[5]

In May 2011, TODAY extended their publication to include a Sunday edition.[6] However in June 2012, the Sunday edition ceased publication.

In 2013, the newspaper had a digital revamp of its website, mobile and tablet applications. It also ceased its afternoon edition.

In April 2017, the weekend edition of the newspaper ceased publication and converted into a digital version.[7] In September, TODAY ceased all its print editions and become a fully online digital newspaper.[7]

Suspension of mrbrown column

On 6 July 2006, the newspaper suspended a weekly opinion column by Lee Kin Mun (alias: mr brown) after the government criticised an article he wrote in his column discussing the rising cost of living in Singapore, which he depicted in satirical style.[8]

Editors
Name Appointment[9]
Walter FernandezEditor-in-Chief
Loh Chee KongDeputy Chief Editor
Jason TanExecutive Editor
Jiamei LinSupervising Editor
Razali AbdullahSupervising Editor
Karen LimSupervising Editor
Yasmine YahyaSupervising Editor

See also

References
  1. "TODAY Circulation & Distribution" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2013-11-11.
  2. "TODAY is Singapore's Second Most Read Daily". Archived from the original on 9 January 2012. Retrieved 6 November 2011.
  3. "TODAY readership jumps 14% to 730,000" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 3 September 2013. Retrieved 3 November 2012.
  4. "MEDIACORP AND SINGAPORE PRESS HOLDINGS MERGE THEIR TV AND FREE NEWSPAPER OPERATIONS" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 30 November 2010. Retrieved 17 September 2004.
  5. "TODAY launches weekly newspaper with The New York Times". Archived from the original on 22 October 2013. Retrieved 29 July 2010.
  6. "TODAY launches new Sunday edition - TODAY on Sunday". Archived from the original on 23 June 2011. Retrieved 27 May 2011.
  7. "TODAY's journey from print to fully-digital". Archived from the original on 26 August 2017. Retrieved 25 August 2017.
  8. "Daily Newspaper TODAY Sacks Blogger 'mr brown' after Government Criticism" Archived 2009-06-09 at the Wayback Machine. Reporters Without Borders. 6 July 2006.
  9. TODAY | For Media - Media contacts of all Archived 2013-10-22 at the Wayback Machine
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