KEY POINTS

Although the newspaper platform is still the dominant media-of-choice for advertisers in Singapore, there is certainly no guarantee that this will continue for all that much longer.  In fact, with the accelerating rise of digital, it will only be a matter of time before the balance is toppled.  The question remains - do we continue to be in denial and merely strive to milk print for what it is worth, or do we change the game and go all out to woo readers and advertisers with a myriad of new-age strategies?

• There is a shift in mindset to integrate all the service offerings under the brand to achieve higher impact with customers by being a 'one-stop shop' facility.
• Now it is important to have inter-divisional corporation, such as between marketing editorial. Though there are still strict rules concerning advertorials.
• Salespeople have also progressed from single-title sales to media sales, over the span of 30 years. Now we stop selling inventory, but ideas and consult with clients on solutions.  
• Advertisers are now freely allocating their finite advertising budgets across paid, owned, earned, and converged platforms.  
• Online you compete with the whole world, the whole world can see you and advertise with you.
• The news day has been restructured according to the new cycle. Five years ago, the newsroom used to operate on two speeds (next day or longer term articles). Now it operates on four speeds (breaking news and same-day).
• The owner will always have some influence on news reporting. It also depends on the financial position of the newspaper, whether it is able to say no to a particular ad or story.  The separation between editorial and marketing is more blurred online.