Singapore media and Alexa rankings

Singapore's mainstream media continue to be commercially viable because they remain a trusted news source, said Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts, Lui Tuck Yew, reports Channel NewsAsia.

He then quoted a survey which found that newspapers remain the trusted source of information for 68 per cent of the respondents in Singapore. "It is significantly higher than the international average of only 34 per cent," says Channel NewsAsia.

Newspapers may be more trusted than other media in Singapore, but Singapore ranked 133rd in the 2009 Press Freedom Index compiled by Reporters Without Borders.

That means the press is considered less free in Singapore than in 132 other countries, according to journalism professor Cherian George of Nanyang Technological University.

He was critical of the index. It's not a press freedom index but a "national perception of press freedom index," he  wrote on Journalism.sg.

He pointed out that  "it asks respondents within each country or region to rate the country on various indicators. Their responses help determine where the country ranks."

"That’s like deciding the Miss World beauty pageant by comparing the scores given by the judges in each national competition," he added.

One may or may not agree with him, but this what he said: Singapore ranks low on the Press Freedom Index because the press isn't considered free in Singapore.

Alexa rankings

Now let's look at the internet traffic of Singapore newspapers since that was also mentioned by the minister to show how trusted they are.

Their online readership went up by 45 per cent between 2008 and 2009, the minister said, reported Bernama.

But the Straits Times website trails in 62nd place in Alexa rankings for Singapore. The other Singapore newspapers' websites are not even in the top 100. Channel NewsAsia remains the top news site, in 30th place in Alexa rankings for Singapore. See the table at the end of the post.

Granted that the Alexa rankings aren't perfect, but there can be no doubt about the popularity of Google and Facebook, ranked first and second globally by Alexa. Facebook is also No 1 in Alexa rankings for Singapore.

News sites aren't necessarily handicapped in a popularity poll. The BBC ranks sixth in Britain and 45th in Alexa Traffic Rank, which looks at the total global traffic. CNN is 18th in America and 62nd in Alexa Traffic Rank, the New York Times 25th in America and 96th in Alexa Traffic Rank. The Guardian is 16th in Britain and  252nd in Alexa Traffic Rank. 

Channel NewsAsia's Alexa Traffic Rank is 7,848, and the Straits Times' 8,905.

Now don't think their Alexa Traffic Ranks are low because Singapore is a small country with a small population. Only 37.4 per cent of the visitors to the Straits Times website are from Singapore: 14.5 per cent are from America, 6 per cent from Indonesia, 5.1 per cent from Malaysia, 5 per cent from Australia, 4.9 per cent from China, 4.7 per cent from India, 2.9 per cent from Britain, 2.2 per cent from Qatar (yes, Qatar), and 1.3 per cent, according to Alexa.

Maybe the Straits Times website doesn't get more local traffic because the newspaper is so widely circulated in Singapore. Singapore Press Holdings' 2010 first quarter results show the Straits Times had a circulation of about 360,000 copies.

Such a large circulation must be proof of its popularity.

Any alternative to Straits Times?

But, seriously, is there any alternative in Singapore?

The only other English daily newspapers are Today, a freesheet, The New Paper, a tabloid, and The Business Times, a business daily. 

And all the newspapers are owned by Singapore Press Holdings. It shares a stake in Today with the broadcaster, MediaCorp, and owns the rest.

The minister, Lui Tuck Yew, said Singapore media had avoided the financial difficulties faced by those in other countries. He praised prudent management,  reported the Straits Times.

But where else in the world are all the newspapers owned by the same company?

It's impossible to tell how competitive the Singapore media really is because it's somewhat like Wordsworth's Lucy:

Fair as a star when only one
Is shining in the sky.

 And, now the Alexa rankings for Singapore:

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