Malaysia: the New Straits Times in two sizes from 1 September

Posted by Bertrand Pecquerie on August 24, 2004 at 5:16 PM

Frrom Publicitas: "The Malaysian New Straits Times (NTSP) will break from a 159-year-old tradition by publishing two versions of the newspaper — a tabloid-size daily along with the broadsheet format. New Straits Times Press chief executive officer Syed Faisal Albar said NSTP Berhad, the largest newspaper group in the country, would continue to publish the same number of broadsheet copies to cater to its loyal readers. However, it will also print, initially, extra 50,000 copies of the compact version to be distributed within the Klang Valley. He said the company did not currently plan to phase out the broadsheet.

The NSTP publishes six other titles besides the New Straits Times and the New Sunday Times. They are the English-language tabloids the Malay Mail and the Sunday Mail, the Bahasa Malaysia broadsheet Berita Harian and its Sunday edition Berita Minggu and the late-morning Bahasa Malaysia tabloids Harian Metro and Metro Ahad.

The NSTP sells more than 600,000 copies of the newspapers within its group daily and 796,000 on Sunday, a total increase of 11 per cent and six per cent respectively over the corresponding period in 2003. In July 2004, the daily average increased by 10 per cent while on Sunday, the group averaged sales of 833,000 copies.

NSTP group editor-in-chief Datuk Kalimullah Hassan said the compact version was not a new idea as it had been discussed and debated by the management over the last 20 years.

... Since beginning this year, the newspaper has recruited some of the top writers in the region to beef up its coverage. They include Philip Bowring, who writes for the International Herald Tribune and is former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review, and Frank Ching, a well regarded columnist from the FEER who writes on China.

Source: Publicitas newsletter and NST press release

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