Los Angeles – The digital revolution roiling all media in societies plugged into the Internet (North Korea: you may disregard this column) is having a profound effect. Paper from trees has become the stone tablet of our time, not quite as hefty in weight of course but in other respects…
Month: August 2013
SINGAPORE: One Man’s View Receives Mixed Reviews
STEPHANIE GARCIA WRITES – The world weighs in as the Father of Modern Singapore, Lee Kuan Yew, shares his most pugnacious opinions in his latest book. One Man’s View of the World, a fitting title for a book whose author single handedly took a nation from rags to riches, was…
LOS ANGELES: Raunchy, Racist Music Video Goes Viral
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – Sex often sells, but not when it’s mixed with the stark insensitivity of misogyny and racism. Los Angeles based band Day Above Ground provoked a torrent of controversy earlier this month following the release of a music video for their song “Asian Girlz.” The video featured…
CHINA: Saved by the Bloggers
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – It all began with a video that spread on Sina Weibo, China’s popular micro blog website. Distributed by whistle-blowing writers, the short video snippets exposed the process by which bile is removed from Asiatic black bears, prompting outrage amid animal rights lovers and activists. On August…
SOUTH KOREA: Embezzlement Scandal Digs Chang Jae-Ku’s Grave Deeper
After making headlines in June for dismissing the unionized reporters who called for his investigation, Chang Jae-Ku is once again in the spotlight, and his streak of misbehavior continues. The newspaper owner and chairman of the Hankook Ilbo media group now faces charges for embezzling US$11.6 million for his personal…
THAILAND: Two More Important Books Derailed by Unofficial but Vicious Censorship
They’re at it again in Bangkok, reports the highly respected political website PRACHATAI. As its journalist Suluck Lamubol, writing for the site, tells us: “Asia Books, Thailand’s largest English language bookstore, on Thursday withdrew from their bookshelves two academic titles on Thai history, citing “political sensitivity.” The books concern the…
SOUTHEAST ASIA: New Book on Asia’s Rise Through the Eyes of a Journalist
The ‘top 100’ anthology seeks to represent a perspective on the rise of Asia and its evolving relationship with the U.S. through a benchmark approach of columns that highlighted major historical events, from the handover of Hong Kong to China, to the Asian Financial Crisis, and to the rise of…
CHINA AND THE UNITED STATES: Can a More Sophisticated Journalism on Both Sides Help Improve the Relationship?
There is more than one definition to the word “trip.” At its simplest it just means going to some place not close from where you started. But on a deeper level, going on a trip can mean a journey of some unexpected dimension or consequence. Both definitions apply to Prøf.…
GLOBAL PERSPECTIVE: Egypt as Iconic Tragedy
To me, the Hobbesian state of nature unfolding now in Egypt is the colossal story of the current epoch. In our idealistic quest for political perfection, what sometimes happens? We create darkness. When we agree to see a regime deposed (or help push it over the cliff), it night well…
SOUTHEAST ASIA: The Word ‘Kitaab’ Can Mean ‘Book’
LMU’s Asia Media writes: Interested in a terrific blog about writers and writing in Asia? Go to http://kitaab.org. It favors writers who can write, and writers’ festivals that are more than book conventions. Look up its coverage of the impending Singapore Fall Writers Festival. Kitaab, we are told by the…