Daily vs Daily: Challenging the Big Boys by Ng Tien Eng Aliran Monthly 23:7, 2003
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There are now six Chinese dailies in Peninsular Malaysia, four in Sarawak and three in Sabah. With a potential readership of about 4 million, Chinese newspapers are competing fiercely with each another. Thanks to the diversity of ownership and fierce competition, the Chinese press had long been well known for its relative independence in news coverage. Nevertheless, the last two decades saw Chinese dailies moving further towards consolidation and concentration of ownership. The decreasing number of Chinese dailies over time has accelerated this process. The number of Chinese dailies has fallen from 23 in the 1970s to today’s 13. Due to huge accumulated losses, some dailies were forced to shut down. The consolidation of Chinese dailies began in the early 1990s when two conglomerates emerged to consolidate major dailies and command nearly 90 per cent of total readership. Sarawak timber tycoon Tiong Hiew King’s Pemandangan Sinar took over Sin Chew Jit Poh and Guang Ming Daily in 1988 and 1992 respectively. Meanwhile the Hong Leong group acquired Nanyang Press in 1991 and China Press in 1993. Besides, Pemandangan Sinar also publishes four periodicals while Nanyang Press has 14 periodicals. The MCA’s takeover of Nanyang might have led to a new level of media consolidation. Speculation is rife that the purchase was part of a grand plan to eventually merge the Nanyang group with Sin Chew Jit Poh. Such speculation is not without basis. Here are some points to think about. First, the dailies Tiong controls have deliberately neglected the issue of takeover in their news coverage. Those who relied mainly on Sin Chew or Guang Ming would hardly have been aware of the issue until the takeover was almost a fait accompli. Second, it was Liew Peng Chuan, then the group chief executive of Pemandangan Sinar, the company that owns Sin Chew Jit Poh, who tendered his resignation in 24 hours. He represented MCA’s Huaren Management, and came to Nanyang’s head office to take over Nanyang Press.
Finally, Tiong has shown his interest in Nanyang; he now owns a 0.56 per cent stake in Nanyang Press. According to Nielsen Media Research, Sin Chew Jit Poh enjoys the highest readership (990, 000), followed by China Press (588,000), Nanyang Siang Pau (373,000), Guang Min (371,000) and Kwang Hua Jit Poh (263,000) in a 2002 fourth quarter survey. Concentration of Ownership How do these figures translate into media ownership? It means Tiong’s dailies now enjoy about 53 per cent of readership while the MCA’s dailies have 37 per cent of readership in the Peninsula alone. Obviously the immediate consequence of this consolidation is that these two conglomerates now command about 90 per cent of the total Chinese dailies’ readership. This is what worried many critical Chinese groups: if Tiong goes hand-in-hand with MCA, they would have leverage over 90 per cent of the Chinese-speaking community. That also partly explains why these groups were not so concerned about the takeover of Tong Bao and Shin Min Daily by the MCA and UMNO respectively in the 1980s. Besides the consolidation of Chinese dailies had not yet taken place at that time; it was also simply because the readership of Tong Bao and Shin Min was so negligible. Hence, for many in the Chinese community, the MCA’s takeover of Nanyang was unacceptable. A media boycott was called; an alternative consortium was formed to buy Nanyang; a rally was held; and about 90 writers and columnists are boycotting the MCA’s and Tiong’s dailies. The MCA itself was further divided over the issue. The opposition to the takeover was not merely for the sake of press freedom. With the concentration of media ownership, observers feared that the MCA would have more leverage over other Chinese dailies. They feared that the MCA would make use of its influence over the Chinese media to silence dissidents, thus imparing Chinese “interests”. Their nightmare came true. After the takeover, some controversial issues, (for example, the Vision Schools issue, the use of English to teach Science and Mathematics, and the relocation of a Chinese school in Damansara) were not given fair space in the four Chinese dailies. The MCA’s Team B also suffered. Hence, the demand for a new daily was high. Tiong’s rival, KTS Group, came in to fill the vacuum, and Oriental Daily was born. New Hope After overcoming many obstacles, Oriental Daily hit the street on 1 January this year. Since its launch, Oriental Daily has given rather fair space for Team B. However, the daily, like other Chinese dailies, is still very cautious in reporting on the so-called sensitive issues. It has to be bound to the State too. For instance, the coverage of the Vision School issue was too official. Two columns were pulled out from the daily following a demand from the Home Ministry a few months ago. And Abdullah Badawi is being praised too much in its news coverage, admitted one of its high-ranking editors. But would its fierce competition with the other four dailies promote more space for ‘dissident voices’? Many are prepared to give this young daily a bit more time. But the honeymoon period won’t last very long.
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Tiong’s dailies now enjoy about 53 per cent of readership while the MCA’s dailies have 37 per cent of readership in the Peninsula alone.
