Today (website)

''Today'' was a Singaporean digital news magazine published by Mediacorp. It was originally established on 10 November 2000 as a free print newspaper, competing primarily with Singapore Press Holdings' (SPH) '' Streats''.

In 2004, SPH announced an agreement to take stakes in Mediacorp's publishing and television businesses, resulting in the discontinuation of ''Streats'' and the sale of its two SPH MediaWorks channels to the company. In 2017, ''Today'' ended print publication, continuing as a digital publication. In October 2024, ''Today'' was merged into CNA, becoming a weekly digital news magazine devoted to long-form journalism.

History

''Today'' launched on 10 November 2000; it was established as a rival to '' Streats'', another English-language freesheet published by Singapore Press Holdings (SPH). Initially, the newspaper was available only on weekdays. It was a partnership between MediaCorp, Singtel, and SMRT. DelGro was also announced as a partner in the paper, but dropped out of the venture shortly before launch.

In 2002, ''Today'' launched a weekend version, ''WeekendTODAY'', which was also distributed to homes as a free newspaper but also available for sale at newsstands for 50 cents.

In September 2004, SPH reached an agreement to sell its SPH MediaWorks television channels to MediaCorp. As part of the agreement, ''Streats'' ceased publication, and SPH took a 40% stake in MediaCorp's publishing business, and a 20% stake in its MediaCorp TV Holdings business.

On 6 July 2006, the newspaper suspended a weekly opinion column by Lee Kin Mun (alias: mr brown) after the government criticised an article he wrote in his column discussing the rising cost of living in Singapore, which he depicted in satirical style.

In 2010, ''Today'' launched the ''Today— New York Times International Weekly'', covering international affairs, social trends, arts and culture as well as business and finance.

In May 2011, the paper launched a Sunday edition, ''Today on Sunday''. In June 2012, the Sunday edition ceased publication.

In 2013, the newspaper had a digital revamp of its website, mobile and tablet applications. It also ceased its afternoon edition. That year, ''Today'' had a circulation of 300,000, with more than half of its readers being professionals, managers, executives and businesspeople. It was the second-most-read English-language newspaper in Singapore, after ''The Straits Times''.

In April 2017, ''Today'' discontinued its weekend edition, publishing only on weekdays. In September, it then ceased print publication of its weekday edition, continuing as a digital publication only. SPH concurrently divested its stakes in Mediacorp.

On 28 August 2024, Mediacorp announced that ''Today'' would be merged into its CNA division effective 1 October 2024, with all staff retained. ''Today'' would be relaunched as a "digital long-form weekend magazine" published by CNA, focused on its "The Big Read" features, human interest stories, and opinion columns.

Editors

See also

* Media in Singapore
* List of free daily newspapers
* List of newspapers in Singapore
* Censorship in Singapore
*''The Straits Times''

References

External links

TODAYonline
Official Website
mediacorp.sg/en/corporate/print
MediaCorp Print Overview

{{Singapore Press Holdings

2000 establishments in Singapore
English-language newspapers published in Asia
Free daily newspapers
Online newspapers with defunct print editions
Mediacorp
Newspapers published in Singapore
Newspapers established in 2000
2024 disestablishments in Singapore
Newspapers disestablished in 2024