IHT & ST

Yesterday I obtained a copy of International Herald Tribune for free through perfectly legal methods! yay! I finished the entire paper (except the boring parts, crossword and finance sections) in 40 min, as compared to approximately 95 min for the ST (except for the boring parts, orbits, classified ads and finance section). The newsstand price of the IHT is S$3.80, so naturally it was only my second time reading the IHT (the first time was in HK). So what is so special about the IHT that it costs 375% more than The Straits Times?

In terms of writing quality between the two papers, there is obviously a distinction, but only a subtle one. The IHT, with its team of international journalists and corespondents, publishes slightly better articles than the ST. Most of its articles are actually penned by its journalists, instead of ST's 'bought' articles, mostly from Reuters or AFP. I suppose the bulk of IHT's readers are busy executives or finance managers, so its articles are more concise and succinct (It has 20 pages). I also prefer the more liberal outlook offered by the IHT in its editorials. I was really refreshed by an article 'Hurrah for capitalism, its many warts and all' written by Roger Cohen. Go to iht.com and check it out!

In terms of paper and printing quality, IHT is definitely better than ST. Its pages are crisp, do not stink at all, do not leave that unsightly stains on your fingers, and the ink is far better.

In terms of advertisements, IHT has far less advertisers as compared to ST. But the quality of ads in IHT is once again, better than the usual supermarket/furniture/computer ads widely available throughout ST. IHT also do not have orbits since its international.

But ST does have its constraints. After all, all its columnists have to respect the OB markers, so the chances of anyone reading liberal insights from within its pages are slim to impossible. Besides, it is a national newspaper which has practically no opponent (Today is free, so it doesn't count) to challenge its local monopoly, so why bother to write comments which may jeopardise its editor's position? Why bother to write anything which may leave it liable for libel suits? Middle-income readers (who form majority of ST's subscribers) cannot afford to buy a copy of IHT everyday. Lower-income and youth readers cannot afford to read the IHT. So they will all naturally turn to ST for their daily source of news. Thus ST wins.