Singapore broadcaster Mediacorp has announced it will be merging its TODAY and CNA (Channel News Asia) digital newsrooms, effective 1 October 2024. According to Mediacorp, the move is aimed at strengthening CNA, Singapore’s most trusted news source for the past six years, and will see TODAY become the digital long-form weekend magazine of CNA.
Launched in 2000 as a free commuter newspaper, TODAY moved to a fully digital format in 2017. The merger will see TODAY focus on producing analytical features on current issues under the well-regarded Big Read brand; ground-up news features; engaging human interest interviews; as well as opinion pieces every weekend to supplement CNA’s current suite of daily digital offerings.
From 1 October, the TODAY app and website will no longer be updated. All new content will be found on the CNA website and app. TODAY will retain its social media pages, with links pointing audiences to the CNA website.
Mediacorp Editor-in-Chief Walter Fernandez explained: “This merger comes in a post-COVID landscape defined by a global surge in news fatigue coupled with active news avoidance. These trends have been exacerbated by changes to the algorithm of selected social media platforms to de-emphasise news by reducing its discoverability. At the same time, the overlap between the TODAY and CNA digital audiences has also increased significantly over the past two years.”
The merger will not result in any staff cuts. All TODAY staff will be offered roles in CNA.
TODAY was first launched in late 2000 as a newspaper, with a mission to “Set You Thinking”. Within six years, it was the second-most widely read daily newspaper in Singapore, across all languages. In 2017, it became the first newspaper in Singapore to embrace a fully digital future, as it discontinued its print edition. Since then, it has gained recognition domestically and abroad as a trusted news brand with an accessible tone of voice, particularly among the youth.
Over the last few years, TODAY has won international accolades for its use of short-form video on TikTok and its online seminar series on the findings of its Annual Youth Survey. TODAY has also won local awards for financial reporting and its coverage of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Chief Commercial Officer Jacqui Lim assured the many long-time advertisers in TODAY that they would be offered competitive, alternative advertising solutions across the Mediacorp network including the stable of news brands that includes CNA, 8 World, Berita, and Seithi.
She added: “This strategic move reflects our long-standing commitment to an audience-first approach for advertisers. We are constantly refining our offerings to ensure we have an effective range of innovative solutions. Brands and advertisers who partner us can look forward to meaningful and relevant media and content opportunities within our integrated portfolio.”