ANNIE LUNDGREN WRITES- Throngs of urbanites wearing face masks remind the world that Beijing still has not successfully dealt with its pollution problem. Its poor air quality has been under international scrutiny since the 2008 summer Olympics. Smog masks and full-face gas masks made headlines in October when thousands of…
HAIG TER-GHEVONDIAN WRITES – Pakistan’s flag is comprised of the colors green and white. The green represents the Muslim majority, while the white represents non-Muslim minorities. Together, they represent religious tolerance and unity – concepts on which the nation was founded. Such values are called into question, however, when cases…
NICK ARMER WRITES – U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry announced earlier this week that the U.S. strategy to defeat the Islamic State is “working”. It is hard to imagine how funding the organization’s expansion into Iran and Pakistan is helping to achieve national goals. Unfortunately, the American campaign to…
KELCEY LORENZO WRITES – Korean entertainment companies are always looking for the newest and freshest way to market and promote their idol-singers through means other than just the group’s music. Idols can be seen guest starring on variety and radio shows, endorsing products and companies, and modeling in magazine pictorials.…
ASIA MEDIA STAFF WRITES – A recent survey conducted in Singapore has found that the majority of youths who are active on social media strive to ensure that their online presence portrays them in a good light, but often do not lie about themselves in order to do so. The…
SHUTING LI WRITES – Who are the Uighurs and why have they become such an issue in East Asia? Here is a simplified analysis – absent of ideology, slant and misunderstanding – that you won’t normally find in the mainstream news media. First of all, we must note that conflict in…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Most people are lucky enough to enjoy twitter fame while they are still among the living. Unfortunately, recently deceased Japanese journalist Kenji Goto will not have this luxury. A 4-year-old tweet from Sept. 7, 2010 has spread across major social networking sites like wildfire, letting the…
PEYTON CROSS WRITES- With a world press freedom index rating of 165, it is no surprise that the Sri Lankan media is corrupt. Thanks to a recent election, however, it may only be a matter of time before this score improves. On January 24, the Colombo Telegraph called into question…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – After opening in the UK last Friday, being scheduled for an unofficial North Korean release via balloon airdrop, and possibly helping to bring the Hermit Kingdom into popular culture, The Interview has once again shown the world that it is Kim Jong-unstoppable. When hackers and the…
MICHELLE VARINATA WRITES – With a license to drive and big birthday plans, nothing is more blissful than being 16. Throw in a wedding ring and all of a sudden, being 16-years-old is equivalent to being an adult. Welcome to Indonesia, a country where children as young as 16 can legally…
MARY GRACE COSTA WRITES – Filipino citizens turned to social media to voice their frustration with President Benigno Aquino III, who was a no-show at Villamor Airbase when the bodies of fallen members of the Philippine National Police (PNP) and Special Action Force (SAF) arrived on Thursday, January 29. Aquino…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES— It seems that 2015 is beginning to look promising for the modernization of Vietnam’s regime. It’s true that you can’t ban social media, but you can always issue regulations that squeeze the life out of the industry. Mike Ives of the New York Times recently wrote about…
VERONICA BANEZ WRITES – Technology is more advanced today than it has ever been. One of the most important advancements has been the concept of streaming – not only for entertainment purposes, but for current events as well. In recent years, there has been a huge outbreak of media streaming…
ALEX DALY JOHNSON WRITES – The United Arab Emirate’s 2nd annual Bengali film festival, Abhijaan (“Expedition” in English), ran from February 5 to 7 last week. West Bengal of India has had a film industry dating back to the early 1890s, and many critically acclaimed films have originated in ‘Tollywood,’…
MIRANDA PAK WRITES- An annual report on the state of press freedom in China offers little to cheer about for fans of Western style journalism and media openness. The report “China’s Media War: Censorship, Corruption & Control” outlines dozens of instances of direct censorship, Internet surveillance, abuse of legal processes,…
MICHELLE VARINATA WRITES – With an affable personality and Obama-like charm, Joko Widodo nonetheless appears to have fallen from grace after a mere 100 days in office. The Indonesian president, called “Jokowi” by his loving supporters, got into trouble over the proposed appointment of a new head of the National…
