section_path: History/Prewar period
section_name: Prewar period
paragraph_text: Prewar period
  
  In the 1920s and 1930s, The Straits Times began to face competition from other papers, specifically the Malaya Tribune, which promised "frank discussion of Malayan affairs" and "weekly articles by special and well-informed writers, Chinese, Indians, and Muslims". The Tribune, founded in 1914, lagged behind The Straits Times in sales and readership, and launched an advertising campaign to increase circulation and move the paper away from its image as the "clerk's paper". It also hired talented journalists, including Leslie Hoffman and T.S. Khoo, who became the editor-in-chief and deputy editor-in-chief, respectively, of The Straits Times after World War II. The efforts of the Malaya Tribune were successful when, in 1932, its circulation exceeded that of The Straits Times. In response to the competition, Seabridge improved the company by building a new office, replacing and updating old printing equipment, hiring local journalists, and beginning delivery upcountry. He also made significant changes to the paper: he expanded coverage of events in Singapore and Malaya; created a Sunday paper; cut the price of the paper to match that of the Malaya Tribune; and incorporated pictures, comics, and other eye-catching elements to make the paper more attractive. Particularly with the reduction of cost, the number of subscribers dramatically increased. In 1938, the paper began delivery by air to Kuala Lumpur, where they were taken from the city to rural areas by vans.
  
  Part of Seabridge's attempts to expand circulation was to include "women's columns", particularly by incorporating the voices of the wives of wealthy British planters.
  
  By 1933, the renewed Free Press was unable to maintain the competition with The Straits Times and the paper was bought by Seabridge, though it remained more closely affiliated with merchants and lawyers.