Josephine Teo on SPH Media Trust's efforts to strengthen accountability

SPH Media Trust (SMT) will benchmark its reporting to international standards. It is commissioning the World Association of Newspapers and News Publishers to review and advise on the methods of measuring the reach of various titles. Secondly, SMT will improve internal controls. These include tightening the deal structure and pricing approval procedures, strengthening guidelines and checks for revenues and cost recognition, improving separation of duties amongst staff to ensure data accuracy and accountability, and commissioning external parties to review governance control and compliance measures. Thirdly, SMT will enhance its risk management practices throughout the organisation and review its risk culture. It has assured the Ministry of Communications and Information (MCI) that it will implement these measures immediately and will provide updates. Communications and Information Minister Josephine Teo outlined these measures in reply to MPs’ questions in Parliament on Thursday (Jul 6). She said the Government will continue funding SMT at the amounts it has committed to. “Trusted news media made possible by quality journalism is a public good we cannot afford to compromise on. It is more important than ever when the environment is full of disinformation and sensationalised news. However, SMT can only deliver quality journalism if they can continue to strengthen their capabilities and reach audiences in the digital age,” she said. Mrs Teo said this does not mean that the Government has no additional expectations of SMT in the light of the overstated circulation numbers of its publications. The focus is to make sure that SMT will discharge its public duties responsibly on an ongoing basis, she said. Mrs Teo said at the leadership level, the SMT management and board have shown commitment to changing legacy practices. SMT has assured the Government that it intends to ensure organisation-wide accountability. Mrs Teo said this is an ongoing process. The Government will intervene if there is a case of misconduct or mismanagement of public funding and has safeguards to conduct its own ad hoc audits. If serious wrongdoings are found, it has the right to terminate funding, she said. Mrs Teo added that MCI will be reviewing the terms of the funding agreement at the mid-term juncture. SMT’s ability to address management issues will be taken into consideration, she added. She also said the ongoing police investigation should be allowed to take its course and when concluded, the follow-up actions will be made public.