Last Print Editorial

  It's been a year since we launched the new Lien with our partner Capricorn Media, embarking on an adventure that saw the magazine taking on a greater variety of topics and a smaller, more managable size. By all accounts, it's been a big journalistic success. LIEN has strengthened its identity as a Franco-Singaporean arts magazine, acting as a witness to, as well as a player in, the local cultural scene. 

  From the beginning, the commercial gamble was to be profitable, or at least solvent, through revenue from advertising. Sadly, the timing has not been in our favour. With the return of economic uncertainties, many of our advertisers have been compelled to cut back on their publicity costs, including those advertisers whose support has been out of goodwill. In short, the Alliance Française and Capricorn Media have not been able to balance the books.

  We have thus had to find a less costly alternative. So we are launching @Lien, that is to say Lien on the Internet - a format that fits in extremely well with high-tech, web-savvy Singapore. The vast majority of our members, our students, and the public are connected and will be able to read @Lien on the Net. Many already consult the Alliance Française website, which was revamped last year. Web surfers will now get unlimited access to our magazine.

  This decision, while inevitable, has not been easy. Everyone's by now familiar with the respective advantages and drawbacks of conventional magazines and their e-counterparts. As a hard copy sometimes just can't be beat, we will publish special "real" magazines in conjunction with certain artistic or cultural events. LIEN still goes on.

  We'll see you then, on January 2002, @Lien!

Sidney Peyroles