MediaCorp may not participate in or produce next year's Asian Television Awards, which is co-funded by MediaCorp and the Singapore Broadcasting Authority, because it says it is not profitable to do so. Its response comes after articles in newspapers like Streats and Lianhe Zaobao questioned why the broadcaster had not aired the awards on the day it had previously announced. On whether MediaWorks would pick up the gauntlet and produce the show, MediaWorks chief operating officer MAN Shu Sum told The Straits Times "We don't mind considering it at all." (Straits Times 18 Dec 2002) (H3)

  Veteran journalist Paul Jansen, 49, of The Straits Times was named acting editor of Streats yesterday. He takes over from Mr Ken Salleh Jr, who is being redeployed within Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Streats underwent a revamp on 18 Nov 2002 and its print run was increased to 280,000 copies a day, with 120,000 copies distributed to homes. (Straits Times 18 Dec 2002) (H2)

  The inaugural five-day Singapore Media Festival starts today. Some 2,000 delegates from 35 countries are attending the festival which incorporates six regional broadcast media events. (Straits Times 2 Dec 2002) (H3)

  The total amount spent on advertisements here grew 5.3 per cent to S$1.2 billion in the first nine months of this year. Advertising expenditure (Adex) for the full year is expected to register single-digit growth, said Nielsen Media Research in a report released yesterday. It said newspapers accounted for some 41.7 per cent, or S$500 million, of total Adex in the first nine months. Total spending in television was S$490.4 million of which a third, or S$168.8 million, went to Channel 8, Nielsen said. Channel U surpassed Channel 5 as Singapore's second-most popular advertising destination on television by grabbing a quarter of total television Adex or S$126.1 million. (Straits Times 21 Nov 2002) (A18)

  Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) headquarters in Toa Payoh will be renamed News Centre, like its former headquarters. (Straits Times 11 Nov 2002) (H3)

  A new media competition code to ensure that media groups here compete fairly will be released by the first half of 2003. The code will be enforced by a new statutory board called the Media Development Authority (MDA) of Singapore, which will merge the present Singapore Broadcasting Authority (SBA), Films and Publications Department and the Singapore Film Commission. (Straits Times 1 Nov 2002) (H5)

  An AC Nielson survey done between July 2001 and June 2002 shows that newspaper readership, boosted by the recent appearance of free sheets Streats and Today, has risen to 87 per cent of Singapore's teen and adult population. Over the same period in the previous two years, 82 per cent of that potential market of three million people read newspapers regularly. The Straits Times captured 43 per cent of readership while Lianhe Zaobao and Lianhe Wanbao posted 22 per cent and 18 per cent respectively. The report sampled a total of 4,200 Singaporeans aged 15 and above using face-to-face interviews. (Straits Times 2 Oct 2002) (H5)

  The Straits Times has been named Newspaper of the Year by Sydney-based Pacific Area Newspaper Publishers' Association (Panpa) which groups together over 300 newspaper publishing companies and suppliers from 14 countries in the Pacific Rim, including Australia and New Zealand. (Straits Times 15 Aug 2002 (1)

  24]7 - Maiden issue of lifestyle magazine launched in July 2002

  Style - Premiere issue launched in June 2002

  Companies and individuals may be allowed to own up to 5 per cent of the shares in newspaper and broadcasting companies, up from the existing limit of 3 per cent. Shareholders, who are associates, may as a group, be allowed to own a total of no more than 12 per cent. Two bills setting out the changes were introduced in Parliament yesterday. (Straits Times 24 May 2002) (1)

  Today newspaper launches 50-cent weekend edition on 27 Apr 2002.

  Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has retrenched 65 employees with effect from today. The affected staff are from the production department, the administration division and the information technology division. They include seven executives. The retrenchments follow earlier cost-cutting measures by SPH, which included trimming the salaries of two-thirds of its 4,300 staff. (Straits Times 20 Apr 2002) (H9) 

  Fashion magazine Flirt's last issue hits the stands on 2 Apr 2002. Its parent company, Times Periodicals, has decided to suspend its publication. Flirt was launched in July 2000. (Straits Times 29 Mar 2002) (H4) Flirt magazine bows out of circulation

  Singapore Press Holdings (SPH) has launched a "stick-on" advertisement in its morning dailies, such as The Straits Times, The Business Times and Lianhe Zaobao. These Post-It advertisements can be pulled off the newspaper and stuck on a fridge, board or any other surface. (Straits Times 18 Mar 2002) (H2)

  Singapore Press Holding's (SPH) headquarters in Toa Payoh North was officially opened by the Acting Minister for Information, Communication and the Arts, Mr David LIM yesterday. To mark SPH's moment in history, executive chairman LIM Kim San sealed a time capsule, containing yesterday's copies of all its newspapers, a video clip of Thursday night's news bulletin and the group's annual report, among other things. Buried in the central courtyard, the capsule will be unearthed in 10 years' time. (Straits Times 9 Mar 2002) (1)

  Streats, the free commuter newspaper, will have a formal face tomorrow. Besides a new purple masthead, there will be more pages devoted to financial news. About 230,000 copies of Streats are printed every day by its publisher Singapore Press Holdings (SPH), which launched it on 4 Sep 2000. (Straits Times 17 Feb 2002)(6)

  The last edition of The Straits Times will roll out of the mustard-coloured Times House building at the corner of Kim Seng Road and River Valley Road as the newspaper moves out to new premises after 44 years. Their new office is a 110,256-sq-ft complex in Toa Payoh North. (The Straits Times 11 Feb 2002) (L4,5)