- Kyle Chua
Mothership Overtakes CNA, Straits Times As Most Used Online News Site in Singapore
Updated: Dec 19, 2023
Singaporeans love to get their news from Mothership.
According to the 2023 Reuters Institute Digital News Report, the youth-focused digital news outlet is the most widely-used in Singapore, overtaking the likes of Channel News Asia (CNA) and The Straits Times.
Mothership came in first, with 48% of respondents saying they visit the site at least once a week. Meanwhile, CNA came in second with 46% and Straits Times at third with 42%. They're followed by Yahoo Singapore and TODAY with 23% and 21%, respectively.
More respondents, however, said they visit CNA at least three days per week than they do Mothership. The former came in at first with 32%, while the latter tailed closely behind it with 30%.
The Straits Times took the top spot for weekly offline use, covering print, TV and radio media channels, with 37%. It's followed by three Mediacorp properties: CNA with 33%, Channel 8 News with 26% and Channel 5 News with 24%. American news giant CNN rounded out the top five with 14%.
The Reuters report suggests that the preference is moving towards online. "Online and social media remain the most common ways of accessing news in Singapore, while both TV and print have declined significantly over the last few years," it said.
It also found that the majority of Singaporeans enjoy free access to news, with only 15% of the respondents saying they pay for online subscriptions.
When it comes to brand trust, mainstream outlets continue to occupy the top spots. CNA came in first with 75%, while Channel 5 was behind it with 73%. The Straits Times came in third with 73%. Mothership, in spite of its wide online reach, lagged behind in trust, with 52%.
"Whether respondents consider a brand trustworthy is their subjective judgement, and the scores are aggregates of public opinion, not an objective assessment of underlying trustworthiness," noted the report.
The report was commissioned by the Reuters Institute for the Study of Journalism, with YouGov conducting the local surveys between late-January to early-February 2023. Singapore's survey sample size is 2,025 people.
The 2023 Reuters Institute Digital News Report found that Mothership is the most widely-used online news site in Singapore, overtaking Channel News Asia (CNA) and The Straits Times.
The Straits Times took the top spot for weekly offline use, covering print, TV and radio media channels.
The report suggests that the preference is moving towards online.
"Online and social media remain the most common ways of accessing news in Singapore, while both TV and print have declined significantly over the last few years," it said.