Singapore – Mediacorp has announced that TODAY, its local news website, will be merged with CNA’s digital newsroom, which will take effect on October 1 this year. According to Mediacorp, this move is aimed at strengthening CNA and will see TODAY become the digital long-form weekend magazine of CNA.
Through the merger, TODAY will focus on producing analytical features on current issues under the well-regarded ‘Big Read’ brand; ground up news features; engaging human interest interviews; as well as opinion pieces every weekend to supplement CNA’s current suite of daily digital offerings.
From 1 October, the TODAY app and website will no longer be updated. All new content will be found on the CNA website and app. TODAY will retain its social media pages, with links pointing audiences to the CNA website.
It is also worth noting that the merger will not result in any staff cuts, as all TODAY staff will be offered roles in CNA.
Walter Fernandez, editor-in-chief at TODAY, explained, “This merger comes in a post-COVID landscape defined by a global surge in news fatigue coupled with active news avoidance. These trends have been exacerbated by changes to the algorithm of selected social media platforms to de-emphasise news by reducing its discoverability. At the same time, the overlap between the TODAY and CNA digital audiences has also increased significantly over the past two years.”
Meanwhile, Jacqui Lim, chief commercial officer at Mediacorp assured the many long-time advertisers in TODAY that they would be offered competitive, alternative advertising solutions across the Mediacorp network including the stable of news brands that includes CNA, 8 World, Berita and Seithi.
“This strategic move reflects our long-standing commitment to an audience-first approach for advertisers. We are constantly refining our offerings to ensure we have an effective range of innovative solutions. Brands and advertisers who partner us can look forward to meaningful and relevant media and content opportunities within our integrated portfolio,” she added.
