Negotiating OB Markers When Running the Straits Times

Former Straits Times editor-in-chief Cheong Yip Seng tells us how he negotiated OB markers with the government during his tenure (1987–2006), how he balanced the interests of the paper’s stakeholders, and which news story he nearly went to jail for.

Cheong Yip Seng is a veteran journalist. He was editor-in-chief of the Straits Times from 1987 to 2006 and editorial adviser to the South China Morning Post from 2012 to 2020. He has written OB Markers: My Straits Times Story and Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel.

What Cheong Talked About

• 00:55 – Podcast introduction
• 01:48 – Why a sequel to OB Markers
• 03:21 – Differences between the two books
• 06:24 – Events leading to Cheong's appointment as editor-in-chief
• 11:33 – Accusations of the Straits Times (ST) as government mouthpiece
• 17:16 – Impact of social media on traditional news
• 18:28 – Cheong's near arrest over a leaked story
• 20:50 – Hardest decisions as editor-in-chief
• 21:52 – Importance of ST credibility
• 24:06 – Cheong's principles in negotiating OB markers
• 27:40 – Criticisms ST faced over its coverage of the 1987 “Marxist Conspiracy”
• 29:48 – Cheong’s outlook on ST in the next two decades
• 33:30 – Why Cheong became a journalist
• 26:29 – Person who had the greatest intellectual impact on Cheong

Transcript and Resources

• Read the transcript: https://biblioasia.nlb.gov.sg/podcast/negotiating-ob-markers-when-running-straits-times-cheong-yip-seng/transcript/
• Read Cheong's books: OB Markers: My Straits Times Story and Ink and Influence: An OB Markers Sequel

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This episode of BiblioAsia+ was hosted by Jimmy Yap and produced by Soh Gek Han. Sound engineering was done by Nookcha Films. The background music “Di Tanjong Katong” was composed by Ahmad Patek and performed by Chords Haven. Special thanks to Cheong for coming on the show.

BiblioAsia+ is a podcast about Singapore history by the National Library Singapore.