Founded in 1845, the Singapore Press Holdings company, which owns the 175-year-old Straits Times, is moving its media business to a nonprofit group that will continue its quality journalism. The new ownership has been working to improve the company's financial status. The new nonprofit group will take over the daily newspaper and will be responsible for all aspects of the newspaper's publication and editorial content.
The Straits Times has offices in more than 16 cities worldwide, including London and Tokyo. The newspaper is published daily, and also has several bureaus and special correspondents throughout the world. Its five main sections are international and Asian news, editorials, and letters to the press. Its other sections include local news, science, education, and community. Its newspaper, Free Press, is the most widely read in Singapore.
The Straits Times has over 16 overseas offices, including the United States. The publication has more than one million readers, and more than 100 international offices. The Straits Times is also published in many other countries. The Singapore-based newspaper's editorial pages are authored by foreigners. The Singapore-based edition of the English/Malay/Tamil Media Group was established in 1863. Its editorial staff is composed of former editors and the current chief executive. The newspaper's business and operations divisions are separate. They operate independently, although they are both owned by the same parent company.
Before the company's launch in 1845, the paper was known as The Straits Times. It was named after an Armenian man, Catchick Moses. After his death, Martyrose Apcar purchased the newspaper. In 1861, he appointed Robert Carr Woods as its editor and added international news coverage. The company continued to publish the newspaper until its sale to the present owners in 1882.
Singapore Press Holdings started as a small newspaper in Singapore. In 1904, an Armenian immigrant named Catchick Moses purchased the press and hired Robert Carr Woods to edit the eight-page weekly newspaper. By 1900, the newspaper had a circulation of 200 copies. It was eventually increased to a monthly circulation of 80,000. By the following year, the number of subscribers increased, and Carr Woods bought the company from Moses.
The company is not a publisher, but an independent newspaper company. The newspaper's original location was in Raffles Place, but it later moved to Cecil Street. The press's first permanent headquarters was in 1903. The Straits Times' publishing operation continued to expand, releasing the newspaper in Malaysia. The daily edition grew to 5,000 in circulation by the end of World War I. In 2007, The Straits Times began to publish a monthly magazine, a weekly magazine, and other periodicals.