The Sun (Malaysia)
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| [[]] | |
| Type | Private |
|---|---|
| Founded | 1993 |
| Headquarters | Headquartered at Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia |
| Key people | Tan Sri Vincent Tan |
| Industry | Publication Newspaper |
| Products | The Sun Newspaper |
| Employees | NA |
| Website | http://www.sun2surf.com |
The Sun (now branded as theSun) is Malaysia's first national free daily newspaper in tabloid form. Available from Mondays to Fridays except on public holiday, with a target audience of the white collar working community and the urban young.
It is published by Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd, which is part of the Berjaya Media Berhad (formerly known as Nexnews Berhad). theSun was launched in 1993, which was originally The Sun. It became a free newspaper in 2002.
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[edit] History
Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd (SMCSB) was incorporated in Malaysia under the Act on 19 July 1991 as a private limited company under the name of Fikiran Abadi Sdn Bhd. On 8 December 1994, it changed its name to Sun Media Group Sdn Bhd before assuming its present name on 22 August 1998.
The principal activity of SMCSB is the publication of theSun newspaper, an English language national daily that was launched in 1993. On 8 April 2002, theSun newspaper was relaunched as a free national daily.
On 4 March 2008, Berjaya Corporation Berhad acquired a substantial stake from the holding company, Nexnews Berhad, and consequently SMCSB has been announced to be a subsidiary of Berjaya Corporation Berhad. On 23 April 2008, Nexnews Berhad changed its name to Berjaya Media Berhad.
[edit] About Us
theSun now covers national and international news as well as sports, property, media & marketing and lifestyle & entertainment. It has been redesigned for easy reading and has plenty of news briefs to cater to the reading habits of busy executives - the paper's target audience.
theSun weekend was launched in the weekend of 15-16 May 2004, a revamp of its Saturday issue. It was however discontinued in March 2006 as it is not consistent with the free paper model. The well-read comments and opinion sections from the weekend edition have been moved to Thursday as eXtra!
theSun is currently the second largest English newspaper in Peninsular Malaysia in terms of circulation with an average daily circulation of 265,443 (Audit Bureau of Circulations Malaysia, as at 30 June 2007).
Under this new business model, SMCSB derives its revenue completely from advertising. SMCSB aims to offer advertisers the most cost effective way of reaching their customers. It has formed alliances with more than 500 business partners and channels such as major office complexes, convenience store chains, F & B outlets, stockbroking firms, banks and colleges for readers to pick up the newspaper for free. However, readers who want the convenience of having the newspaper delivered to their doorstep can subscribe to the delivery services at a very low delivery charge of RM0.30 per copy through their newspaper vendors.
Readers with broadband access can also access theSun's ePaper online for free at its website, Sun2Surf (www.sun2surf.com).
[edit] Target audience
As of March 8, 2007, theSun prints and distributes 265,000 copies a day to approximately 2,200 targeted distribution points, called SunSpots (office buildings, condominiums, LRT stations, fast food outlets), primarily in the Klang Valley, also known as Kuala Lumpur Metropolitan Area. People can also get a copy of theSun in almost all Malaysian 7-Eleven stores. However, this figure is doubtful, as there is no mechanism in place to track the exact number of copies distributed, leading to many believing that The Sun actually trails far behind rivals The Star and New Straits Times.
In 2006, prompted by the rising demand for copies and advertisers' thirst for a wider reach, theSun, increased its print run by 76%. The increase took place in two phases, the first on 8 March, with circulation bumped up to 230,000 from 150,000 previously. The second phase saw circulation rising by another 15% to 265,000 copies on 2 October. Out of that, 215,000 copies are distributed in the Klang Valley, solidifying theSun's position as the top English daily in the nation's top consumer region.
[edit] Awards
theSun has won several awards for advertising. The Association of Accredited Advertising Agents Malaysia (4As) has awarded theSun the Media Partner of the Year Award (2004/2005). In the recent Malaysian Media Awards 2005, advertisements by MindShare/Nike and mediaedge:cia/ING Insurance published in theSun won Gold and Silver awards respectively.
In March 2007, theSun achieved another milestone when three of its journalists won top awards given by the Society of Publishers in Asia (SOPA) based in Hong Kong.
A first award, for Excellence in Opinion Writing, was for a series of six commentaries written by assistant news editor Jacqueline Ann Surin, who wrote a fortnightly column, Shape of a Pocket, published in the eXtra! section on Thursday. Surin beat an entry from the Far Eastern Economic Review's series of commentaries on Singapore, which received an honorary mention.
theSun's second win, for Public Service Journalism, was for the story "Low Cost Palace" by the Special Reporting and Investigations team of editor R. Nadeswaran and deputy news editor Terence Fernandez who exposed the illegal mansion built by a former Selangor executive councillor.
SOPA again gave theSun two awards in 2008; honourable mentions for Terence Fernancez and R. Nadeswaran in Public Service Journalism for their reports on the failed sports training centre in Brickendonbury and for R. Nadeswaran for Opinion Writing for his Citizen Nades bi-weekly columns.
[edit] External links
- theSun's website provides articles and news
- Berjaya Group announcement on 23 May 2002 of sale of Sun Media Corporation Sdn Bhd to Nexnews Group
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