We proudly direct your attention to another site in the LMU universe. Titled ‘Momentum’, it keeps track of the more outstanding developments at Bellarmine College here. The current edition offers a nice article on this ASIA MEDIA site, featuring an interview with one of our more articulate staffers. She is LMU senior Lani Luo, and so with considerable enthusiasm we insist that you check out: http://newsletters.lmu.edu/bellarmine/.
Her thoughts were these:
Student-Driven New Asia Media Keeps Eyes on the World
By Lani Luo
Senior political science/Asian Pacific Studies double major
“Students come to Loyola Marymount University to be challenged, and many of us have found just the right place at The New Asia Media. This program was brought to LMU from UCLA in November 2011 by Tom Plate, Distinguished Scholar of Asian and Pacific Studies, to give students a new perspective on internationality. The New Asia Media is an online magazine that tracks the political and cultural trends across Asia, and it is completely driven by undergraduate students.
The staff consists of 16 student-writers, including a correspondent from the United Arab Emirates. Each writer has one or two Asian countries designated as his or her bi-weekly “beat.” Writers pay close attention to each country’s media system as a source for the magazine because the media is a direct reflection of the country’s political system.
Writers are able to analyze their country’s political institutions, atmosphere, and rising voices, depending on the extent that coverage is available. To get the best possible content for articles, each writer examines three to five news outlets before narrowing down the topic. Beyond official news sources, writers also dig into social networking websites, new technology and programs.
It is understood by the Asia Media staff that news does not necessarily come from a newsstand, but from individuals as well. And, of course, the writers are not alone in the process of reporting on countries some may have never visited. The New Asia Media editor in chief, Tom Plate, and writing instructor, Ben Sullivan, offer their expertise in journalism as guides. .
Selina Swatek, political science/philosophy double major, and myself, the managing editors, meet in our office every other Wednesday and spend hours editing then posting the articles. Not only do we fix the grammar and sentence structure, we also make sure that the content is executed appropriately. For example, Selina and I often refer back to the sources and check that The New Asia Media article fully explicates the issue. That way, the quality of our content can be clear to our audience.
Before we publish each edition, Selina and I rank the articles and select the most well-written piece to be the lead. After each Wednesday session, we leave the office feeling accomplished and very proud the staff’s hard work. Within just the first year, one of our articles has already been picked up by a major newspaper in Asia.
In addition to writing articles, the staff also meets every Tuesday over lunch to discuss all businesses relating to the magazine. The content is very important to us, but we are also concerned with the aesthetics, consistency, and easy-navigation of the site. Therefore, we devote a considerable amount of time to reaching a consensus.
The state of journalism is ever changing. As students of Loyola Marymount University, we need to take the initiative to keep ourselves informed so we can form our own opinions. The New Asia Media, a journalism model for the future, is our opportunity to learn and become better leaders.”