With print in decline, is revenue generation still viable for vernacular media? What is the impact of artificial intelligence in the newsroom? How can we continue to attract and retain talent, and engage young audiences who increasingly prefer English over their mother tongues?
These are questions with no simple answers, but navigating them with serious thought is necessary for the long-term relevance of vernacular media.
In conversation with Money FM 89.3’s Lynlee Foo on the Industry Insight special segment of ‘The Afternoon Update’ show, I represented tabla! and Tamil Murasu to discuss and explore potential answers to these challenges.
The most pressing question of all is how vernacular media must adapt to stay relevant while continuing to actively engage the community. With digital news consumption—especially on social media—on the rise, news delivery methods must evolve to keep pace with the latest technology.
For example, at Tamil Murasu, AI is used to generate English summaries and provide a human-like text-to-speech interface for all articles. The platform also now features an AI-powered quick news feed that delivers bite-sized articles, videos, and various lifestyle widgets based on browsing behaviour and topics of interest—a feature soon to be introduced on the tabla! website.
Because AI can make mistakes or “hallucinate,” there remains a need for humans-in-the-loop to ensure accuracy. However, AI undeniably reduces the manual effort required, allowing us to deliver quality content better and faster.
Social media is another space that must be actively explored to deepen the reach of news content. In 2024, Tamil Murasu produced more than 900 videos. Meanwhile, tabla!—though newer to its social media foray—has been actively producing a weekly “Top 5 News” video update throughout the second half of 2025, alongside graphics and posters designed to present stories in a visually appealing way.
The question of revenue is also one that must be solved by any enterprise with its sights set on the long term. While strong support and investment from the Singapore government have enabled initial digital growth, sustainable revenue generation will provide more resources and a greater ability to create content that truly serves our audiences.
Attracting and retaining talent is another crucial challenge. In the past few years, scholarships have been introduced to incentivise young undergraduates to choose a career in vernacular media. Moving forward, we must find better ways to attract talent, such as offering financial incentives for bilingual journalists—which, again, ties back to the issue of revenue.
My conversation with Lynlee explores these topics in greater detail, and I encourage you to listen when you have the time. The two-part podcast recording airs on Dec 18 and Dec 19 (Thursday and Friday) during the afternoon show at 1:15 PM.
You can also find both recordings on SPH Media’s free Awedio app. Episodes are also on Spotify and Apple Podcasts.
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4 Dec 2025 13:56
