The furore is directed at the Singapore Press Holdings’ (SPH) sudden increase in seven of its nine newspapers, with the major ones rising from 60 cents to 80 cents at the outlets.

However, the subscription price for the majority of readers is 70 cents, a lesser increase of 16.5%.

Irate Singaporeans from both Chinese and English language streams have been bombarding the Internet, newspapers and TV and radio stations with complaints that it is unjustified.

Their complaint centred on the perception that the media giant’s objective was to improve on its profits, which had jumped 23% last year to S$378mil (RM832mil).

(This included a one-time gain of S$188mil (RM414mil) from the partial sale of its MobileOne mobile phone stake, SPH explained.)

Well-informed critics say the rise is to partly offset SPH’s losing venture into TV and a free newspaper, Streat.

Operating broadcasting losses in the latest quarter rose from S$6.3mil (RM14mil) (2002) to S$10mil (RM22mil).

The timing is bad because Singaporeans are still reeling from weak earnings and record-high (5.9%) unemployment.

Maybe advertisements are down, critics say, but the publishers had been helped by a reduction in corporate tax and Central Provident Fund contributions from 20% to 16%.

Some protestors have threatened to boycott the dearer newspapers by switching to the Internet and radio and TV.

The strong reaction has come as a surprise to most people.

It shows the depth of public feeling against newspaper monopoly and government control in Singapore, where a newspaper price rise is unlikely without official clearance.

Hence, some of the complaints have been directed at the Government at a time when it is working hard to improve public confidence.

The impact is already being felt in the market.

At least 80% of these morning papers are home delivered and so sales remain largely stable. It’s obvious the company wants to drive people to subscribe to, rather than buy, newspapers.

Street sales of the two biggest newspapers, the Straits Times and the Chinese language Lianhe Zaobao, are reportedly hit the hardest.

On the first Sunday of the increase, one vendor at a hawker centre told me that turnover was down by about 25%. “After a while, sales will recover. I’ve gone through this before,” he added.

Others reported a 15% to 20% decline.

One chat-site reader reported: “Last Sunday, at one of the HDB provision shops I visited, I saw a huge stack of unsold Sunday Times.

“The Indian shopkeeper told me that the number of unsold papers was unprecedented. At a nearby Chinese provision shop, too, I saw a huge stack of Chinese newspapers.”

SPH did not issue any sales figures. The Straits Times did not improve sentiment when it ran six readers’ letters supporting the rise out of a pile of complainants.

Consumers Association of Singapore (CASE) president Yeo Guat Kwang said he received “numerous complaints” from retail buyers about being charged so much more at outlets.

He urged SPH to reconsider its decision and suggested that consumers turn to other sources of information, including online newspapers, freesheets, TV and radio.

In response, SPH chief executive officer Alan Chan said that SPH had not raised prices since 1995 and had held off increases through difficult economic conditions since the 1997 Asian crisis.

It had held off even as prices of most consumer items went up – bus fares by 40%, taxi fares (50%), white bread (47%) and a cup of coffee (40%).

“Despite concerted efforts to contain costs, our newspaper production costs have gone up significantly,” said Chan, without giving details. “We can no longer continue to fully absorb the rising cost.”

Newspapers in Singapore have got rich because of advertisements, since newsprint and production costs far exceed their retail prices.

Readers are subsidised by advertisers but competition has been rising from TV and radio and the rising number of newspapers.

In Singapore, the media is not an ordinary commodity. It is politics, because it is a monopoly that is controlled by the Government.

The price rise has revisited this controversy among Singaporeans who want the media freed of control.

“Competition provides for better standards and ensures there’s no profiteering,” is a common argument that is resurfacing.

Whenever a monopoly raises prices, fairly or not, it enters the realm of politics. With SPH, it is no exception.

What is making things a lot hotter is the public perception that newspapers here are too compliant and excessively self-censoring when it comes to reporting politics or the Government.

On its side, the newspaper giant sees a lot of uncertainty for its business in the future. Its advertising margin will continue to come under pressure.

Unlike before, it does not have the option of raising rates every time profits come down. Today, advertisers have a growing list of alternate sources, including from abroad, to turn to.

They include cable TV – both domestic and foreign - films and, of course, the Internet. This means price rises may become more regular.

Research agencies view the global prospect for newspapers as – at best – one of stagnancy in both circulation and advertisement.

Surprisingly, the sky appears brighter for TV and, more so, the Internet, which is taking away newspaper sales, according to one study.

This probably explains why SPH is hanging on to its two loss-making TV stations.

For the government-controlled media giant, investing abroad into foreign newspapers is virtually impossible. No country wants its newspapers to be taken over or controlled by it.

Ironically, the price rise may benefit its own website.

Its major newspapers are available on AsiaOne, one of Asia’s most widely read online groups. Boycotters will miss little by just logging into AsiaOne free of charge.

SPH is reportedly watching sales closely. If the falls become a trend, it will probably act to plug this hole.

Insiders say that plans are afoot to start charging online readers when this happens – or maybe even before.

o Seah Chiang Nee is a veteran journalist and editor of the information website littlespeck.com (e-mail: cnseah2000@ littlespeck.com )

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