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Channel i News

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Channel i News
GenreFlagship News
StarringPaul Jansen
Arnold Gay
Michelle Quah
Country of originSingapore
Original languageEnglish
Production
Camera setupMulti-camera
Running time30 minutes (8:30pm to 9:00pm Singapore Time at closing time).
Production companySPH MediaWorks
Original release
NetworkChannel i
Release20 May 2001 (2001-05-20) –
31 December 2004 (2004-12-31)
Related
Singapore Tonight

Channel i News (formerly TVWorks News and Straits Times TV News) was a Singaporean daily evening news bulletin broadcast on Channel i since its inception until its closure. It employed synergies from Singapore Press Holdings' print publications, most notoriously The Straits Times, which used its name until 2003.

History

[edit]

The first TVWorks news bulletins aired on 20 May 2001. TVWorks broadcast two news bulletins at 7:30pm and 10:30pm.[1] The first 7:30 bulletin was presented by Michelle Quah and the first 10:30 bulletin by Paul Jansen.[2] Although the first edition of TV Works News was plagued by minor technical issues,[3] the bulletin was known for its novel ideas, such as ending the bulletins with live jazz performances by the Singapore Stompers.[4][5] Unlike its competitor News 5 Tonight, TV Works News aimed more at local news.[6]

On 13 June 2001, the channel's news operation angered the Filipino community over controversial remarks from Michelle Quah telling viewers that the Abu Sayyaf hostages were "fortunately not American" led to accusations of portrayals of Filipinos as maids or prostitutes.[7] Quah apologised on the following evening's newscast, after news of the incident reached news wires.[8]

On 3 September 2001, the same day TV Works introduced a new schedule in order to recoup losses from the initial format,[9] the news moved to 9:30pm and adopted a two-anchor format, presented by Arnold Gay and Michelle Quah;[10] the former returned to SPH.[11]

In order to increase its identity and ratings, SPH MediaWorks announced on 12 May 2003[12][13] that it would rebrand Straits Times TV News as Channel i News effective 19 May 2003.[14] The new look was heavily visual in nature.[15] Its journalist Deborah Ng in July fed the story of the surgical operation of Iranian twins Laleh and Ladan Bijani to US network CNN in July 2003.[16] In order to clear more time to entertainment programming, the bulletin moved to 8:30pm on 3 November 2003.[17][18] On 4 December 2003, Channel i News was awarded "Best News Programme" at the 2003 Asian Television Awards.[19] The award was given mainly because of its 2003 refresh.[20]

The final edition of Channel i News aired on 31 December 2004 at the usual time[21] and was repeated at 1am, effectively becoming the last programme seen on the channel.[22] The final segment consisted of a brief retrospective of the channel's news and current affairs programming followed by a farewell message from the channel's news team.[2]

References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Page 17". Today (retrieved from NLB). 21 May 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  2. ^ a b SPH Mediaworks Channel i - Last Transmission
  3. ^ "Here comes the competition". Streats (retrieved from NLB). 22 May 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  4. ^ "BOB NG". Project Eyeball (retrieved from NLB). 23 May 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  5. ^ Singapore Stompers live on TV Works
  6. ^ "Straits Times TV news bulletins are refreshing". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 4 July 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  7. ^ "TV station's hostage remark offends Filipinos". Today (retrieved from NLB). 14 June 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  8. ^ "Story of a slip-up". Today (retrieved from NLB). 15 June 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  9. ^ "TV Works gets exciting new look". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 2 September 2001. Retrieved 13 September 2023.
  10. ^ "Broader coverage for TV Works news". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 1 September 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  11. ^ "Good news: Arnie's back". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 2 September 2001. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  12. ^ "LIFE!". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 12 May 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  13. ^ "i ON THE NEWS". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 12 May 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  14. ^ "CHANNEL i-nnovation". Streats (retrieved from NLB). 19 May 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  15. ^ "Seeing will be believing on i News". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 May 2003. Retrieved 15 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Channel i journalist on CNN with Iranian twins updates". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 19 May 2003. Retrieved 2 January 2025.
  17. ^ "i will look different". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 3 November 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  18. ^ "WHAT YOU CAN LOOK FORWARD ON i". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 3 November 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  19. ^ "Channel i News is best in Asia". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 5 December 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  20. ^ "i-catching graphics". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 6 December 2003. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  21. ^ "That's all, folks, from Channel i news". The Straits Times (retrieved from NLB). 1 January 2005. Retrieved 14 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Channel i Final Week Schedule | SPH Mediaworks". sphmediaworks.com. Archived from the original on 2004-12-30. Retrieved 2024-09-25.