Here's
hoping Today doesn't become yesterday
One has to be careful
how much credence to give to bulletin board “news”. The story
making the rounds this week about a management shake-out in the
newsroom of ‘Today’ is probably exaggerated. The only thing that I
know is definitely correct is that Rahul Pathak has quit as Deputy
Editor.
However, it reminded me of a
slightly older story, dating from November 2003, which, given
the passage of time and corroborating accounts, is in my
opinion, largely accurate.
This one was about how the Senior Minister thrashed the news
team of ‘Today’ for a report they made of one of his
speeches.
At this point, I suggest you read the various boxed articles, to
fill in the details.
As you can see from Exhibit 1, Today wrote a story about the
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew disparaging the UK health system.
But Exhibit 2, detailing the correction issued by the Senior
Minister’s Office, indicates clearly where the offending point was
- it had to do with the phone call made to No. 10 Downing Street
hoping for some intervention to move Mrs Lee up the queue for a
brain scan (I mentioned this in my article Adding
Value).
Exhibits 3 and 4 must be read with caution, being internet
postings, although Exhibit 3 does explain its source.
3 Nov 2003
'Today' newspaper
by Val Chua
Emotions ran high on a balmy Sunday night as the normally stoic
Senior Minister Lee Kuan Yew nearly broke down while recounting the
ordeal his wife went through in London recently.
The troubles that the couple faced - including joining a queue
in a free hospital - when Mrs Lee was hit by stroke two Sundays
ago, revealed how differently two systems worked.
"I cannot tell you how restless and unhappy we felt," he said at
a community event in Jalan Bukit Merah yesterday.
"We run a (healthcare) system where you have to co-pay ... but
you get the attention. There, no attention, just join the queue,"
he said grimly.
The first sign of trouble was that there was no private hospital
with CT scan facility at night in London, he told residents and
community leaders.
So, Mrs Lee had to go to the NHS hospital nearest to the Four
Seasons Hotel where they were staying - a free facility called the
Royal London Hospital - and join the queue.
"We waited 45 minutes for the ambulance for a 10-minute drive,"
said Mr Lee in his first public appearance since the couple
returned on Friday.
"In Singapore, within half-an-hour, you would be in SGH
(Singapore General Hospital), TTSH (Tan Tock Seng Hospital) ... and
within one-and-a-half to two hours flat, you'd know what went
wrong."
When Mrs Lee reached The Royal London Hospital at 12.30am, it
happened to have three cardiac arrest patients.
Mr Lee was told his wife's brain problem was "not as important"
as the cardiac arrest cases, he recounted solemnly. She would have
had to wait till 8am the next morning for her CT brain scan if 10
Downing Street had not intervened to get her early attention. High
Commissioner Michael Teo had sought help from 10 Downing Street at
2am on Sunday and she received treatment at 3.30am on the night
itself.
"Once upon a time, it was a wonderful hospital. But after 40
plus years ... the system cannot deliver. There's no connection
between those in the system and the patients," he said.
But it's the way free healthcare systems work, he added, noting
that Singapore must not go down that path, even though there are
calls for free C class wards in public hospitals here.
"It's how the system works ... They did not discriminate against
us," he noted of his London experience.
This contrasted sharply with how quickly Singaporeans -
including national carrier Singapore Airlines - reacted to the
situation.
Even though doctors initially advised that Mrs Lee stay put in
London for three weeks, Mr Lee decided fly her back once her
condition stabilised.
And then there was the big worry that she would get a spasm
onboard, he recounted.
But he needn't have worried. Within 48 hours, SIA had fitted out
SQ321 with medical support of oxygen tanks and other fixtures for a
drip.
"No other airline would have done this," Mr Lee said, looking
visibly touched.
On board were also two Intensive Care nurses from Changi General
Hospital, two doctors, as well as officials from SIA who made sure
all the equipment worked.
"Everyone knows his job," said Mr Lee. "Within 12 to 13 hours,
we'd reached Changi Airport. It was a big relief," he said. "Twelve
to 13 hours. Your heart stops beating sometimes. We landed at
Changi Airport. Great relief. I had my granddaughter (Li Xiuqi)
with me. She is very fond of her grandmother. She was so
relieved."
Mrs Lee was whisked off in an ambulance to Singapore General
Hospital, where she is recovering.
"I think this experience has changed my granddaughter's view of
Singapore," Mr Lee said.
The overseas ordeal has made him even more assured that
Singapore has what it takes to succeed, despite the downturn. "It's
how we respond in an emergency that determines how we fight back.
And I have enormous confidence that we can fight back."
The Singapore system - with its efficiency and fighting spirit -
must be kept, he said.
"You slacken, you choose the easy way, and you'd be finished,"
he said.
Choking back tears, he added: "I have immense confidence that in
an emergency, our people respond ... If we can do that, we can
succeed."
4 Nov 2003
Agence-France Presse
Singapore's Senior Minister,
Lee Kuan Yew, admitted Wednesday he was mistaken to claim that
British Prime Minister Tony Blair's office intervened to ensure his
wife got quick treatment at a London hospital.
The elderly Lee caused a mini
furore when he told a public gathering here at the weekend that 10
Downing St helped ensure his wife was given a brain scan four and a
half hours earlier than doctors had initially said they
could.
Mrs Lee Kuan Yew, 82, was
taken to the state-run Royal London Hospital at 12:30 am on Sunday
October 27 after she suffered a stroke while the couple were
travelling on official business.
Lee, 80, initially said
Singapore High Commissioner Michael Teo had called 10 Downing
Street at 2:00 am and asked them to help ensure Mrs Lee was given
the CT scan more quickly.
"Because of 10 Downing Street,
the CT scan was done at 3:30 am. And then the blood clot could be
seen clearly," Lee told the weekend community event, adding the
incident highlighted the problems of Britain's free health care
system.
But after the Royal London
Hospital denied on Tuesday it ever gave preferential treatment to
anyone and his comments made front-page headlines in Britain, Lee's
office issued a short statement clarifying his comments.
"Mr Lee Kuan Yew regrets he
was mistaken that 10 Downing Street had anything to do with his
wife getting a CT scan at 3:30 am," the statement said.
"Earlier, at 2:00 am, he was
told that it would be done at 8:00 am because they had cardiac
patients to attend to.
"The hospital authorities may
have decided on their own that they could do the scan for Mrs Lee
earlier and she was scanned at 3:00 am, completing it at 3:30
am."
The Royal London Hospital is
part of Britain's huge state-run National Health Service, which
guarantees free health care to all but suffers long waiting lists,
excessive red tape and a shortage of doctors and nurses.
Lee's weekend comments that
were critical of Britain's health care system compared with
Singapore's part user-pays method also caused
controversy.
"We run a system where you
have to co-pay... but you get the attention. There, no attention,
just join the queue," local media reported Lee as
saying.
He described The Royal London
Hospital as a "wonderful hospital" a long time ago.
"But after 40 plus years...
the system cannot deliver. There's no connection between those in
the system and the patients."
Lee also praised Singapore
Airlines for fitting out a plane with two intenstive care nurses,
two doctors, oxygen and a drip to bring his wife back to Singapore,
despite a British doctor telling them it would be better she stayed
in London to recover.
"We weighed the odds and
decided to take the risk," Lee said.
Mrs Lee is recovering at
Singapore General Hospital
20 Nov
2003
From bulletin board of Sammyboy
http://forums.delphiforums.com
/sammyboymod/messages
?msg=36845.45
Here's the lowdown on what
happened at Today newspaper after it reported on the stroke that
Mrs LKY suffered in London.
I checked with my client at Mediacorp, which is the largest
shareholder of Today.
LKY's press secretary summoned Shaun Seow, Mano Sabnani, Rahul
Singh, Bachchan Singh and Val Chua for a tekan session at the
Istana. He chided the newspaper for running provocative stories
that are out of bounds.
Today was asked to explain what service it does to the nation
and why it shouldn't be closed down. Mediacorp was ordered to
supervise Today more closely or it will be punished too. Also, all
reports on local news must be written by locals, no foreigners
allowed.
The chief editor, Mano Sabnani, has been demoted. He still holds
the title, but he must now report to Shaun Seow, CEO Mediacorp
Channel News Asia. ...
[personal remarks snipped]...
The deputy editor Rahul has also been demoted to night desk to
be together with the other night editor Bachchan Singh.
The reporter Val Chua now writes advertising features for DBS
and other banks. Her press pass is withdrawn and she cannot report
news. She keeps her job and now reports directly to an old
ex-Reuters editor hired in September by Today to consolidate
operations.
Today has been told it has crossed the line and the media
license will be withdrawn if it writes in such a way as to provoke
bad feelings which may lead to public unhappiness.
Now, what the **** is happening?
Was Val Chua's report factually wrong? Was it slanderous? Was it
biased?
Nothing. She reported what SM said at the Tanjong Pagar makan
session, straight reporting, no twist. She added some background
about the healthcare system and how different Singapore and UK are,
mentioned by SM in his talk.
A young girl's career is ruined when she did no wrong. Where is
justice?
22 Nov
2003
The Optical
[email protected]
Exclusive: SM Lee Vents Anger
at TODAY
SM Lee Vents Anger at Newspaper for Report About His Wife
Singapore Libertarians is concerned about news that a Singapore
newspaper was taken to task for reporting on the incidents that
recently occurred in London over the treatment of Mrs Lee Kuan Yew
when she suffered a stroke there.
Singapore Libertarians was informed that last week SM Lee had
summoned the top brass of a Singapore daily, Today, after the paper
published a story that indicated his wife had received preferential
treatment in a London hospital.
Mr Lee met with senior staff members of Today Mr Ernest Wong,
Group Chief Executive Officer of Mediacorp (which publishes the
newspaper), Mr Mano Sabnani (Editor of Today), Mr Rahul Pathak
(Deputy Editor of Today) and Ms Val Chua (a journalist with the
newspaper).
The meeting took place around noon on 5 November 2003. It was
learned that the above mentioned staff members of the newspaper
were reprimanded for publishing the article "SM Lee and the eye
opening trauma in London." They were also warned against writing
any articles that were risqué.
If it is true that the meeting between Mr Lee and the newspaper
staff actually took place, the incident constitutes a grave breach
of journalistic practices in Singapore where newspapers are
expected to report the truth freely without undue interference from
the government.
Singapore Libertarians is concerned about the effect this
meeting has on the media in Singapore. It is a clear indication
that not only has the liberalisation of the mass media not happened
in this, but also that Mr Lee Kuan Yew has no compunction about
putting journalists on a very short leash when it comes to
reporting on his family and the PAP.
The government must rectify this unethical and unhealthy
situation immediately. It has to clearly separate the interests of
the ruling party and the demands of the Senior Minister from the
those of an independent media. Singapore's media organisations must
not be used by one man or one party for their own agenda. They
should have the right to perform their duties without fear or
favour.
We also urge the management of Today to stand firm on its
principles and serve the interests of the public.
In Singapore, all local newspapers, radio and television
stations are owned and controlled by the government or its agencies
and foreign publications are subjected to defamation suits and
various laws to ensure compliance with the ruling party's views and
policies.
For further information, contact us at:
[email protected]
Late January, I heard this
story again from two sources. One was a friend whom I consider a
very reliable source, who in turn had heard it directly from one of
the persons involved. The other source more or less confirmed the
general outline, on top of which he added that the press who were
at the Tanjong Pagar event listening to the speech were told by
officials what not to report of it. Today,
however, did not abide by the instruction. I haven't had
confirmation if the last part is true, but most of the rest of the
story appear to be corroborated.
This whole episode makes a sorry commentary on the way our media
are expected to meekly abide by whatever instructions are given,
and the way our ruling politicians feel they can bully their way
through. If you look carefully at exhibit 1, you'd hardly think it
a scurrilous piece of journalism begging for a reprimand.
This
brings to a crunch the problems that Today has faced since the very
day they launched. These have to do with how it can be positioned
and succeed as a serious newspaper when the Straits Times so
dominates the landscape, and when the rules of the game are so
constrictive.
* * * *
*
Let's
ask ourselves, how would one establish a new newspaper against the
Straits Times?
The
first problem to crack has to be distribution, and giving it out
free the way Today has been doing is probably the only way to
achieve that quickly. It brought immediate returns in that getting
circulation rapidly brought in advertisers. But now they are
trapped in a vicious cycle: having been given away free, how does
one persuade subscribers to pay for it?
What I might have done
differently would be to have two versions of it: a "lite" version
given free, and a full version that carried a price tag. The lite
version would have carried abridged stories, and perhaps an index
of additional stuff available in the full version. Lite would be
good enough for a quick read on the metro or over lunch, but it
would also give the reader the assurance that he would get stuff
that interested him if he paid a bit for the full version from the
newsstand.
After a while, readers might
be confident enough to sign up for home delivery of the full
version.
If distribution is a big
problem for a newspaper start-up in Singapore, the editorial
challenge is head-crackingly huge. As a resource-short David
against a well established Goliath, it stands to reason that Today
has to choose certain niche areas in which to differentiate
itself.
The Straits Times has pretty
good foreign coverage, partly because it's an area (other than
sports) with the least governmental interference, stories about
Malaysia excepted.
Its weakest area is local
politics, and therefore this is where a new brand can distinguish
itself. Related to that is also the fact that it's the one area
where the market is hungriest for interesting stuff. However, to
satisfy the public's appetite, there has to be critical writing and
the courage to carry trenchant rebuttals by the government's
opponents, or by independent voices.
This can tie in with sharper
reporting of home news. Singapore can do with a lot more
investigative reporting about official cover-ups, bureaucratic
bungling, errors of judgement in our government-linked companies
and scandals both public and private.
The third area where Today can
differentiate itself is the type of third-party commentaries it
carries. The Straits Times' choice of commentaries is characterized
by safe positions argued by the same names seen over and over
again.
Their local op-eds try very
hard for "balance" (which I put in quotation marks because what is
"balance" in the establishment's eyes looks awfully contrived in
others'). I have respect for some of their columnists as they try
to strain at the leash, but they will be the first to tell you, I
am sure, that strain is sometimes what they have to do.
The imported op-eds in the
Straits Times often give a depressing appearance of propaganda. I
mean, has it not struck you why they all seem to buttress the
government's preferred way of seeing the world? The message seems
to be, "see, all these worthies are saying the same things as your
PAP government about the global economy, the rise of China and the
evils of Muslim extremism. How can you not be convinced that the
Singapore government is right?"
But then, have you seen any
articles in the Straits Times lately about the evils of Christian
extremism? Or the perils of a headlong rush to
globalisation?
There is lots of room for more
argumentative commentaries staking out unconventional positions,
particularly about domestic affairs. There are plenty of local
voices wanting to be heard on issues close to Singaporeans' hearts.
If Today sets out to develop a working relationship with those
among them who can write, the newspaper can find this to be rich
source of free content (unlike the costly syndicated columns the
Straits Times carries) giving a fresh, alternative, and maybe
younger tone to Today. This may lay the groundwork for capturing
the loyalty of the new generation.
* * * * *
All the above is not difficult
to envision, and I'm not in the least suggesting that Today didn't
think of them. Who am I, to quote that earthy Singaporean phrase,
to teach a grandmother to suck eggs?
(Don't ask. I have no idea
about the origin of this phrase.)
What I hope to achieve by
sketching out this "business development plan", as it were, is to
show that from a purely business point of view, there is a
reasonable way for another serious newspaper to emerge in
Singapore. Those who have been suggesting that Singapore is too
small a market for 2 serious papers are making too hasty a
judgement.
At the same time, what is also
obvious from the above sketch is how impossible the plan is. Can
you imagine any of these ideas being carried out under the present
government policies?
To close, let me put the
problem succinctly: How do we have two newspapers when we're only
allowed one point of view? 