How far would you walk for your favorite french fry? Five hundred loyal McDonald’s customers in Singapore can now answer that question with certainty. The residents received national media attention when they showed up at 8am on Sunday to make the 1.5 km (.93 miles) trek from a former McDonald’s to…
Month: March 2012
CHINA: Not “Lovin’ It”
In another major McDonald story: Chinese media outlets have pounced on a major McDonald’s slip-up. On March 16, a Chinese television station revealed that a branch of McDonald’s restaurants had been selling expired food products. The nation’s State Food and Drug Administration (SFDA) “invited” executives of McDonald’s China to a “discussion”…
NORTH KOREA: Japanese Journalist Gets Inside Look— Military More Independent than Expected
In a meeting with South Korean reporters, Japanese journalist, Yoji Gomi, a staff writer for Japan daily newspaper Tokyo Shimbun, claims that the late North Korean leader, Kim Jong-Il, did not have full control of his military. He further speculates that the military is probably behind the recent rocket launch plans…
JAPAN: Trading Punches Via Media, Old and New
A powerful mayor and a powerful media mogul are at each other’s throats. On March 18th, Toru Hashimoto, mayor of Osaka, labeled Tsuneo Watanabe, chairman of the giant Yomiuri Shimbun newspaper group, a “despot.” This remark came in response to the influential chairman’s description of Hashimoto’s mayoral term in the…
NEW ZEALAND: Port Protest Goes Radio-Active
According to the New Zealand Herald, inflammatory comments encouraging striking port workers to violence by RadioLive host Willie Jackson have infuriated Port of Auckland bosses. Members of the dockworkers union are currently protesting long shifts and lack of job security, as well as the laying off of 292 workers last week. Mr. Jackson described the…
THAILAND: You Can’t Teach English if the Teachers Fear it!
A conference recently held in Thailand for more than 600 Thai educators and teachers promoted the encouragement and motivation to overcome educators’ fear of using English in the classroom. A model known as the English for Integrated Studies (EIS) demonstrates that teaching in English makes the language more accessible to…
MALAYSIA: Courses Help Veterans Get in Step With the Young Generation
Attention, soldiers! The Information, Communications, and Culture Ministry of Malaysia is organizing training courses to help veteran groups familiarize themselves with the Internet as well as other forms of contemporary media. The courses are designed to ensure veterans continue contributing positively to the nation’s development and keep up with the…
SOUTH KOREA: Media Given Whatever They Need for Nuclear Security Summit
The International Media Center in Seoul will open on Sunday to fully support more than 10,000 journalists from abroad and at home covering the hotly anticipated two-day Nuclear Security Summit that begins on Monday. A senior official at the Preparatory Secretariat for the summit reports that: “The International Media Center…
MUGHAL DELHI VIA ASIA SOCIETY NEW YORK
MUGHAL DELHI VIA ASIA SOCIETY NEW YORK
MUGHAL DELHI VIA ASIA SOCIETY NEW YORK
CHINA: Media Star Uncle Wen – the Life of the Party?
Los Angeles– What was most amazing, to Westerners at least (and perhaps especially to the Chinese people), was that his comments were broadcast live on official China TV. After all, his official observations weren’t exactly pretty. Here is the back-story: In every historical movement and moment, there are good guys…
NORTH KOREA: Students Allowed Rare Access to Internet
In isolated and government-controlled North Korea, students are being given a surprisingly liberal opportunity. According to The Korea Times, a widely circulated English-language daily newspaper in South Korea, some students at Pyongyang University of Science and Technology (PUST) are accessing the Internet, albeit for purely research-oriented purposes. PUST is a…
INDIA: Israeli Author Overstaying Her Welcome?
What happens when your visa expires and you refuse to leave India? Ask Susan Nathan, a British-born Israeli writer who recently faced this problem head-on. After the expiration of her paperwork, Nathan was issued a deportation notice for violating visa rules by extending her stay in India. However, the author’s…
CHINA: People’s Blogs Push Authorities to Police Tourism Industry
The Chinese city of Sanya, in Hainan province, is catching heat from bloggers and critics alike due to the price-gouging occurring within its tourism market. Sanya received more than 500,000 tourists for this year’s Spring Festival. Tourists complained that they were overcharged “extremely irrationally” during the traditional Chinese holiday. Beijing-based…
BAHRAIN: The Elite Ten List You Don’t Want to Be On
Our favorite media watchdog – Reporters Without Borders –famously publishes an elite list on which few people would want to be included. It’s a list of “Enemies of the Internet:” Countries whose governments are uncomfortable with the information flows that come from this history-altering technology. What’s particularly interesting to Internet…