Bilingual freesheet bridges English-Chinese gap
By Leah McBride Mensching, Tuesday 8 January 2008 at 22:53 :: General :: #1072 :: rss
A new bilingual newspaper featuring equal coverage in both English and Chinese languages hit the streets in Singapore Tuesday.
my paper, which was originally launched as a Chinese-language freesheet two years ago, has been re-launched to include unique English-language content that is not just a translated version of the Chinese content. Two teams of journalists, one producing Chinese-language content and one producing English-language content, now file separate reports, The Straits Times reported Monday.
“We are reaching out to the English-educated Chinese Singaporean who is comfortable conversing in Mandarin, may listen to Mandarin music and watch Mandarin dramas, but isn't fluent enough to read hard news in Chinese,” Yeow Kai Chai, editor of my paper's English section, told The Straits Times.
The changes “reflect the changing reality of Singapore,” he said. “Instead of trying to pummel them on the head with Chinese, we are customising the news for them in English.”
Go Sin Teck, editor of the Chinese section, said that section will continue to carry stories on entertainment, human interest and lifestyle. “We're playing to the strengths of each language,” he said.
my paper is a freesheet with a print run of 250,000 copies, targeting adults ages 20 to 40. It will be available at transit stations, coffee shops and office buildings. Some copies will also be home-delivered.
The relaunched edition includes bundled giveaways of cans of coffee and traditional Chinese tau sar piah (green bean biscuits). On Wednesday and Thursday, the bundled paper and snacks will also be given out by performers on open-top buses during the lunch hour in the Central Business District. Tuesday's Straits Times also contains a preview sampler of my paper.
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