Singapore News Sites example essay topic

Is Singapore online journalism served as a barometer for the health of stand-alone web journalism, or are journalists grappling with how to feed the mass audience that visits their sites while trying to remain distinctive? Anyone hoping to get some Internet surfing done is likely to be surprised at the accessibility of computers in Singapore. The room behind the smoked-glass windows, housing several matte-black terminals and a two-head espresso machine, is a typical Internet caf'e that can be found in almost any shopping mall in the country. This caf'e, built to accommodate germinating legions of Internet users- mostly technologically advanced individuals, generally interested in getting juiced on high-octane caffeine drinks and exposure to magnitudes of information. Public access of the Internet was available in 1994 and Internet services are currently made available from these 3 most-highly-used Service Providers (ISPs) - Signet, Pacific Internet, and Star hub Internet. Total subscribers number to 2.31 million out of a population of 4.452 million.

The Straits Times Interactive (STI), [ web owned by Singapore Press Holdings, is the Internet version of Singapore's oldest daily newspapers- The Straits Times. This online news site breathes life into the daily reports and greatly takes advantage of technology to give readers more than what the printed edition offers- Breaking news, photo galleries, web specials, interactive graphics. STI strives to be an authoritative provider of news and views, with special focus on Singapore and the Asian region. This online newspaper is hence better at attracting readers- young and old- because it sets itself apart with robust local coverage. The site offers plenty of youth-oriented content by whetting their appetite with exclusive features like movies, entertainment listings, and groundbreaking web events such as real-time chats with celebrities from all over Asia for example - Jackie Chan. This is a big part of the sites' efforts to attract a younger audience through the use of multimedia and the interactive aspects of the Web.

The site possesses elegance and an easy-to-read quality. Despite many of its articles written in a traditional print style, and few took into consideration the quick readers on the Web, epitomes of breaking news were included for the benefit of reaching busy professionals with little time to plough through dense Web information. Top stories in featured video clips and published photographs unearth reportage that is compelling and meaningful. TODAY online [ web targets more than 300,000 broadband and 500,000 dial-up (56 k dial-up) users in Singapore. Where STI lacks, TODAY makes up for in the classifieds section and vast advertising. The site offers both a quick-load text-only version as well as a tabloid-style PDF-version.

Loading time for TODAY is much slower when using the PDF format and the site's weakness is its obvious time-consuming page-by-page load. However the wait pays off when the quality and presentation of content on each page starts to sneak in from the fringes. TODAY writers display commentary originality to the Web, offering freshness of insight and clear writing to its readers. In defiance of the site being packaged originally as seen in the printed edition, it meets the audience's expectations of enthralling perspectives and uncovering major news, based on the reporters' own exclusive investigations, hence producing imperative original analysis and interpretation. Channel News Asia (CNA), [ web impresses a reader by the breadth and range of stories showcased on the news site. Photography in stories on the site gives the reader a complete picture of what is really happening globally.

The content of a picture, not just its artistic quality, conveys powerful meaning and emotion to readers. CNA understands and exploits the unique qualities and power of the online medium. Content and presentation are inextricably intertwined; both of which are essential to ensure the story does not lose its luster. The depth of content on BBC News site [ web translates well on its homepage.

This news analysis website has a center section with nice, chunky promos highlighting the day's big stories. Its simple navigation points readers to a section or region in an easy-to-use menu. Design is the form of journalism that renders each element of news in its most interesting and accessible form, and combines them in the most coherent way. Online journalism in Singapore is still somewhat derivative- meaning that the reportage are often written for the newspaper first (and primarily) and then moved to the Internet.

Where some readers may feel that a digital reproduction may be a way to beef up circulation, reach new readers or retain print subscribers, others may feel it is a more truthful viewpoint. However, in Singapore, online journalism is not spared from the clutches of censorship regulations, which are justified on historical and socio-political grounds. In spite of wrestling with censorship attempts, many Singapore news sites have developed niches and achieved vast avenues of growth.