The Straits Times in Singapore on Friday will finish its year-long gathering of readers' viewpoints with a complete revamp of its content and a new look – both in print and online. However, makeovers of its print and online platforms will have to be maintained and continually updated, the newspaper reported Wednesday.

“It's a ceaseless, ongoing job to keep improving,” ST Editor Han Fook Kwang stated in the article, posted by AsiaMedia.

Online, changes include a new design and new content, including more updates, as well as journalist blogs.

“We aim to excel in our print product, which is read daily by 1.3 million readers. We also want to reach out and interact in new ways with many more through our new online offerings,” Han said, according to the ST article, posted by AsiaMedia. “We want to serve all our readers better, on all platforms.”

To make all these changes, ST hired U.S. consulting firm Bain & Company to analyse its readership to suggest the best changes. To grow and retain readership, Bain consultants recommended that the ST organise reader focus groups and survey readers to find out what they wanted and disliked most.

Bain discovered three types of readers: “tech-savvy sponges who soak up all sorts of news from the paper and then go online for more; news junkies who read from cover to cover; and time-starved scanners who had time only for headlines,” the ST reported. The firm also suggested more attention needed to be paid to the “sponges,” as they are made up of readers in their 20s and 30s, are growing the most now and have the biggest growth potential for the future.

For a previous article on this topic, visit our partner site, EditorsWeblog.org.