Thanks to the blogosphere, we have a full audio recording and blog reactions to last week’s sold out lunch on the Future of Media in Asia.

Audio blogger Matthew Driskill recorded a full version of the event on his blog, The View from Here

Why Newspapers can start Online TV
The event started with Felix Soh, director of the Singapore Straits Times’ Razor TV project, giving the first-ever public overview of soon-to-be-launched service.

Blogger Rebecca MacKinnon asked Felix Soh why it was that his newspaper, the Straits Times, is launching an online TV station rather than a Singapore TV station.

Mike Savage of Asia Media Journal blogged the response given by Ivy Wong, COO of tvb.com, the website of Hong Kong television giant TVB:

It’s easier for a publisher to jump into online TV, Wong explained, because there’s little danger of cannibalizing existing revenues. For a TV company, the shift is a little trickier – something that TVB for instance, as a dominant TV player, is still trying to figure out.

The challenge faced by existing media players as they adapt to the digital world was a theme that resonated throughout the lunch.

Financial Times’ “Third Way” for online charging
Angela Mackay, executive director of the Financial Times’ Asia operations who also sits on the FT board, spoke about the “third way” approach that the newspaper has taken with their website.

Instead of charging upfront, the ft.com incrementally asks for information once users start using the site regularly. If you are an FT addict, they will start to charge you.

Advertising’s Digital Divide
Any media company’s hopes for digital ad spend immediately making up for offline losses were dashed by Torie Henderson, Hong Kong Managing Director of OMD International. Torie said that while digital budgets are increasing, many advertising clients remain reluctant to commit huge portions of their budgets to online video and other innovative platforms.

Future Search Trends
Anna Chan, the head of search for Asia Pacific at Universal McCann, spoke about how search will be getting more all-encompassing, with images, text and video all mixed together. She also said that search-related advertising has been growing fast.

Many thanks to the Society of Publisher in Asia, Asia Digital Marketing Association and Foreign Correspondents’ Club of Hong Kong for co-sponsoring this event.

Update: Matt Eaton wrote in Marketing wrote about the FT.com’s “third way” between offering a free website and charging.