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Straits Times
12-07-2025
- Entertainment
- Straits Times
Exhibition marking The Straits Times' 180th anniversary opens on July 12 at Jewel Changi
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox The exhibition is equipped with interactive features that allow visitors to flip through thousands of front pages and participate in a Reporter-In-Training quest. SINGAPORE – An avid reader of the news, Mrs Wendy Yap took a bus on Saturday to Jewel Changi Airport, to be among the first at The Straits Times' 180th anniversary exhibition. The 57-year-old primary school mathematics teacher said she has the ST app, but still prefers the physical copy. 'It is my routine to read ST every morning. Once, the newspaper wasn't delivered to my home and I felt like something was off that day,' said Mrs Yap, who added that she feels a sense of pride when the newspaper is distributed to passengers on all Singapore-bound SIA flights. She especially likes the human-interest reports and enjoys trying food recommendations published in ST's Life! section. Mrs Yap highlighted two stories in particular: Mr Ricqo Rafiezuwan , who used to be a stateless unemployed youth, and is now a permanent resident and Mr Hsu Hu-Chin, who found his mother – a former SIA stewardess - after his story appeared in ST . 'I wanted to be at the exhibition to see more of the stories ST has covered over the years - different events in history and how the stories actually unfolded. 'I'm glad ST's articles has had an impact on people's lives,' she said, adding that she looks forward to reading profile features every weekend. The exhibition takes visitors through eras the nation has experienced. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Like Mrs Yap, several other visitors at the roving exhibition at South Gateway Garden at Jewel Changi Airport, said they were intrigued by the range of stories the publication has covered over the years. Ms Cheong Yin Ping , a r etired bank worker in her 60s , liked the interactive features, which she felt would do well in keeping the younger visitors engaged. Her favourite part was when she created her own front page. 'In this age, people usually need instantaneous response, since their attention spans are shorter,' said Mrs Cheong. Others like Mr Albert La i liked the interactive display comparing photographs of places in Singapore then and now, including landmarks like Clarke Quay, Bukit Batok Hill and the Padang. 'Because we forget the past sometimes, and now (this display) helps us to remember and see the changes,' added the 52-year-old sales executive . For J arred Loo , 17 , his favourite part of the exhibition was the comic-book style panels that showed how the newsroom transformed from producing print-only papers to multi-media news formats. The secondary school student said he has often reads ST, to expand his knowledge of current affairs. Visitors at an interactive section of the exhibition. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM Adult visitors were treated to a complimentary tote bag and notebook upon completing activities at three checkpoints, while children were presented with a specially designed sticker set. Titled Heartbeats and Headlines: 180 Years of Telling The Singapore Story , the roving exhibition organised by ST is equipped with interactive features that allow visitors to flip through thousands of front pages and participate in a Reporter-In-Training quest. Adult visitors were treated to a complimentary tote bag and notebook upon completing activities at three checkpoints, while children were presented with a specially designed sticker set. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The exhibition takes visitors through eras the nation has experienced: war and occupation in 1942 , the beginning of Housing Board flats in 1960 , the nation's dramatic exit from Malaysia in 1965 , the very first MRT trains starting service in 1987 , as well as national football team Singapore's Lions' victory in the Malaysia Cup in 1994, which sparked the rise of the 'kallang roar'. It also showcases headlines that ST delivered when the world ushered in the millennium, ranging from the Singapore Airlines SQ006 crash in Taiwan in 2000 , the nation's largest manhunt for Mas Selamat Kastari who broke out of detention in 2008 , Singapore's first Olympic gold medal won by national swimmer Joseph Schooling in 2016 , the pandemic Covid-19 that brought the world to a standstill from 2020 to 2022 , to the present. The exhibition is held at Jewel Changi Airport from July 12 to 20, and will shift to Westgate from July 25 to Aug 3, before settling at Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 8 to 17. ST PHOTO: KEVIN LIM The exhibition also chronicles the evolution of ST from a newspaper of record to a multi-platform media outlet in today's digital age. One section displays readers' fondest memories of ST, and the lives of those transformed after being featured in its pages. The exhibition is held at Jewel Changi Airport from July 12 to 20 , and will shift to Westgate from July 25 to Aug 3 , before settling at Raffles City Shopping Centre from Aug 8 to 17 .
Straits Times
11-07-2025
- Business
- Straits Times
Wishes for ST beyond 180: Odes to its enduring role in the Singapore story
Sign up now: Get ST's newsletters delivered to your inbox PM Lawrence Wong taking a wefie with Minister for Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo and The Straits Times School Pocket Money Fund beneficiaries at ST's 180th anniversary gala dinner. SINGAPORE - Many Singaporeans have grown up reading The Straits Times, and want it to continue featuring in their lives as the broadsheet has stayed relevant, trusted and close to the ground even after 180 years. Minister for Digital Development and Information Josephine Teo said this on July 11, adding that Singaporeans will always need credible news sources that can help them get a good understanding of the world and inform their decision-making. The difficulty in today's media landscape is that people are inundated with multiple information sources but are unsure how much of it they can trust, and trust has therefore become a very rare commodity. That is why the Government continues to support public service media such as ST to ensure Singaporeans have trusted news sources they can turn to, said Mrs Teo, though these media organisations must then stay relevant and engaging to their audiences. Mrs Teo was among the guests at ST's 180th anniversary gala dinner who shared personal anecdotes of having grown up reading the newspaper. She recounted fond memories of rushing home after school to read the comics carried in its Life! section, and reading the paper cover to cover when she grew older. She also remembered the thrill, as a young Economic Development Board officer, of seeing a ministerial speech she had written get reported on. 'I grew up with The Straits Times, and I'd like to grow old with The Straits Times,' she said. Top stories Swipe. Select. Stay informed. Singapore ST will have Govt's 'full confidence and support' in its mission: PM Wong Singapore ST will aim to become an indispensable partner to S'pore's communities: Editor Jaime Ho Singapore Heartbeats & Headlines: ST's 180-year legacy comes to life in immersive exhibition Singapore Trusted news, smarter experience with new Straits Times website and app Singapore Community space Stranger Conversations blossoms as a 'library of human stories' and life experiences Singapore Judge declines to void alleged sham marriage in S'pore, says it is for Parliament to decide Singapore New list of technologies that reduce carbon footprint of buildings to be ready by Q1 2026 Singapore Man who killed 5-year-old daughter gets life sentence after he appeals against 35-year jail term At the gala dinner, Prime Minister Lawrence Wong also shared how his consumption of ST had evolved. As a boy, he paid little attention to the main stories or editorials and went straight for the comics and sports pages. Reading the newspapers became a daily ritual only after he became a working adult, and he would devote half an hour or more every morning to read ST from cover to cover. 'I would enjoy doing that, looking forward to doing it every morning,' said PM Wong. PM Lawrence Wong with old and new copies of The Straits Times at ST's 180th anniversary gala dinner. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH Leader of the Opposition and WP chief Pritam Singh related a similar experience. Growing up, he was not an avid book reader, but the Lions fan would regularly read the paper from back to front. The back is where the Sports section is. 'The big thing was that I read the newspaper more faithfully than I read any books,' said Mr Singh, who added that ST remains one of his many sources of news today. PM Lawrence Wong and Leader of the Opposition and WP chief Pritam Singh at the gala dinner. ST PHOTO: JASON QUAH Diplomats and business leaders also had similar experiences to share. Ambassador-at-Large Chan Heng Chee remembered how expensive and scarce books were when she was young, and her parents' ST subscription was the only printed word around the house. Today, she consumes news from four outlets every morning, but the first one she picks up – before others such as the Financial Times and New York Times – is ST. This is as ST keeps her the most informed about Singapore policies and happenings. 'In my work, when I try to represent Singapore, it's absolutely crucial.' Ambassador of Japan to Singapore Hiroshi Ishikawa said ST has done a good job staying relevant so far, and that the broadsheet has become the most important source of news for him in the region, even surprising him with facts about Japan he did not know. Asked how ST can continue to serve its readers well, Mr Singh said the news organisation has a big responsibility to tell the Singapore story in balanced and informative ways. 'Our population is very diverse, so there's a thirst for alternate perspectives, and ST should position itself to carry the views of critics, to carry the views of people who think differently,' he added. 'I think it is to ST's benefit if it can do that.' There are readers who go to the ST in the first instance because 'there is an automatic premium on quality'. 'Recognise that if you play to your strengths, you'll be here for the long haul,' said Mr Singh. SingTel Singapore chief executive officer Ng Tian Chong said ST has to keep up with how technology is evolving, and in this regard he was pleasantly surprised by the refreshed app and its new features. 'I find it more friendly, easier, faster to get to what I want to read, and easier to share articles as well,' he said. Moving forward, ST could continue serving up innovations by curating news the way Netflix curates its shows and movie offerings for individual users, based on their viewing activity, he added. Singapore Pools CEO Lam Chee Weng said ST has been the stalwart of trustworthy reporting, and is part of the DNA of its community, being something that Singaporeans look forward to every day when they wake up. He expressed confidence that ST will find ways to stay relevant, to continue to provide insights, and to resonate with Singaporeans. 'It is a Singapore product, with Singapore quality, Singapore reliability,' he said. 'I'm looking forward to more of the Straits Times for years to come.'
