SPH reveals plans for revamp of both Straits Times, BT

Cheong Yip Seng, editor-in-chief of SPH's English and Malay newspapers, said with DVDs, the internet, cell phones and cable television, the competition for readers' time had grown. Readers' needs were changing too. They are demanding more coverage on health, science and technology, he said.

The paper was thus looking into how it could better allocate resources to these new areas. It was also looking to improve coverage of Singapore news and to reflect changes in the world economy, such as the growing economic importance of India. "It's a resource allocation game," he said.

Also being revamped is Business Times, which Cheong said had lost readers after local banks merged and financial institutions closed shop in the aftermath of the Asian financial crisis in 1997.

However, he said the biggest problem that the business daily faced was competition from The Straits Times. "The more The Straits Times improves, the tougher it is for BT, which will have to take a very hard look at how to protect its unique selling point, which is business and financial information relevant to up-market readers."