While online platforms are the future of news organisations, the skills that print media require are timeless, said Tamil Murasu’s former editor Murugaian Nirmala.
“Whether on paper or online, a good story must explain, engage and resonate,” she said.
Ms Nirmala was among the Tamil daily’s former editors who were honoured on stage at Tamil Murasu’s 90th anniversary celebrations in Fairmont Singapore on July 6.
Former editor Jawharilal Rajendran, along with family members of the late founder G. Sarangapany and late editor V.T. Arasu, was also honoured with a memento by President Tharman Shanmugaratnam.
Describing the event as “not just a Tamil event but a Singapore event”, Ms Nirmala said that the gala reflected a cooperative spirit.
She joined Tamil Murasu in 2005, soon after Singapore Press Holdings had acquired the paper, and served until mid-2011.
“We worked with photographers, the finance and marketing teams, even the photo desk. At that time, the relationships were still forming. We had to build trust and respect, and we did,” she said.
Noting that the paper has evolved over time, Ms Nirmala described the focus on the online edition as a positive development, in alignment with other newspapers. Yet, she remains a stickler on the principles of print journalism.
“Print is more challenging to do than visual. With visuals, you can lean on moving images and sound. But in print, you are a wordsmith, a surgeon of language. You must hold your reader from the first word to the last,” she said.
Referring to international publications like The New York Times which have preserved the art of storytelling even as they adapt to digital formats, Ms Nirmala opined that well-crafted, long-form writing will continue to be in vogue with readers, even in an ubiquitously online environment.
“Tamil journalism is not just a translation of English,” she noted. “It has its own idioms, rhythm and logic. To write Tamil, you must think in Tamil.”
Mr Rajendran expressed his hope that Tamil Murasu would celebrate a 100th anniversary.
Companies that last beyond 100 years tend to be the ones that thrive, he noted.
“Look at Coca-Cola, Kraft, others. The stretch from 90 to 100 is absolutely critical,” he said.
Appointed Tamil Murasu’s deputy editor in 2006 and its editor in 2010, Mr Rajendran oversaw the paper’s digital transformation until he stepped down in 2024. He was also the editor of tabla! for the first six months when it started in 2008, and thereafter he was supervising editor till 2018, when he became editor until July 4, 2025.
“In this day and age, survival requires both strong leadership and financial support. Back then, Tamil Murasu wasn’t making money – circulation and advertising were declining, much like what we’re seeing today. Except at that time, there was no digital media; everything relied on print,” Mr Rajendran said.
