‘We are much more than TV boxes’ says Channel NewsAsia as it rebrands to CNA
Mediacorp-owned news organisation Channel NewsAsia has rebranded itself as CNA.
The name change reflects a larger transformation underway at the organisation which will see the launch of radio station CNA Talk, the start of a citizen-journalism initiative called Tell CNA and an increasing reliance on artificial intelligence.
The announcement was made by Mediacorp chairman Niam Chiang Meng speaking at an event held to commemorate the channel’s 20th anniversary.
He said: “As part of our transformation, the brand name of Channel NewsAsia will be shortened to just CNA.
“We are dropping the TV-centric reference to a channel, so we can embrace our new transmedia multi-platform reality. When you look at Channel NewsAsia, people remember ‘channel’ and the TV box. It’s no longer just looking at TV boxes; we are much more than that.”
CNA will also be rejigging its radio operation, Niam announced. He said: “CNA Talk will feature more live talk radio around news and current affairs.” The station is expected to be an “improvement upon the existing 938NOW” according to a release from CNA.
He also announced the launch of the Tell CNA initiative which will go live later this year.
He said: “It will provide a single seamless platform for the public submission of text, photos or videos to our mobile, website and WhatsApp applications. Content, of course, will be verified by our team of editors before being reported.”
Other initiatives announced at the event was a greater reliance on AI. Niam said: “We are also looking at AI to see if we can produce various facets of our news more productively.
“This is being done in many other news agencies including Bloomberg where about a third of their news is done by AI. Xinhua is using AI to do presentations of their news and so on.”
A new programme Asia First will combine two of the channel’s morning show First Look Asia and Asia Business First which will offer synchronised live news coverage between television radio station and digital platforms.
The changes come against the backdrop of a larger shift away from television as the centre of gravity at Mediacorp with a CPM-oriented rate cards and offers of up to 80% in savings.
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