We hear so much about the American newspaper industry's woes that this may come as a surprise. Not every American newspaper is bleeding red ink, only those facing competition, says the New York Review of Books.

So the US newspaper industry is not all that different from that in Singapore, where it is thriving, except for one thing. As Singapore's Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts Lui Tuck Yew said:

"Unlike some foreign newspapers, the media here in Singapore has not gone for aggressive journalism; they have not gone for aggressive campaigning. They have taken the position that they will investigate thoroughly before they publish."

Speaking at the Singapore Press Club, he said: "As long as the mainstream media reflects the reality on the ground more accurately than any other sources, you ought to be able to retain a sizeable segment of your population."

I believe the word he was looking for was "audience".

Semantics aside, his statement begs the question, is it quality or monopoly that has kept the Singapore newspapers so profitable?

Singapore Press Holdings, which reported a net profit of 127 million Singapore dollars ($89.3 million) in the third quarter ended on May 31, either wholly or partly owns all the major local newspapers.

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