(Certain names in the story have been shortened to protect the person’s identity.) AASHNA MALPANI WRITES– I hear a piercing wail in the background. My source puts the phone on hold for a minute, then returns with apologies: “Sometimes I wish I never had him.” She sounds exasperated, complaining about…
YVONNE EPPS WRITES— Today’s generation would find it hard to imagine life without social media. And at least some people in the government seem to have caught on. According to TuoiTreNews, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung stated that authorities must provide “official and accurate information in a timely manner on…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – Has India elected a dangerous man? The media failed to answer this question. As Narendra Modi becomes leader of the world’s biggest democracy, his role in the killing of a thousand Muslims in 2002 remains murky. The 2002 Gujarat riots, a pogrom against Muslims, happened on Modi’s watch. His…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – The recent collapse of an apartment building in North Korea may reveal how the Hermit Kingdom’s media works. A large apartment complex recently collapsed in Pyongyang, but the national media made no mention of the incident until five days after the fact. While nobody knows why the…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – The Sewol, a South Korean ferry, started sinking off the coast of South Korea on Wednesday. The government and media tried to keep the nation informed, but their stories aren’t matching up. If this continues, the public’s trust in these groups may sink too. Early reports…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The Pakistani wing of the Taliban wants to do the seemingly impossible: Win public sympathy through improved PR. Surprisingly, it’s working. Since the election of Prime Minister Nawaz Sharif last year, the Taliban has retooled its communications ops to project the image of an embattled and…
E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Looks like “The Rocket” didn’t take off, at least not in Laos. Authorities have banned the distribution and showing of the internationally acclaimed film, which exposes ongoing problems in Laos caused by residual effects of the Vietnam War and government exploitation of the poor. According to the…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – The North Korean government may slowly be losing the battle for the hearts and minds of its people. How is this happening in a country where the government uses propaganda, political repression, and secrecy to control public opinion? It appears that many North Korean citizens have…
E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Imagine giving popular blog sites such as Perez Hilton and Just Jared the same legitimacy as newspapers. The New Zealand Press Council, the self-regulatory body that resolves complaints involving the press, has made this idea a reality by announcing its decision to allow digital media,…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – The world’s largest democracy may finally be set to host the world’s most expensive elections. In the months leading to India’s April-May congressional election, the competing Congress and BJP (Bharatiya Janata Party, or the People’s Party) will spend upwards of $5 billion on TV, print, radio, and…
AUSTIN SZABO WRITES – A misleading story about Beijing’s virtual sunrise earned more press than Friday’s report naming New Delhi the world’s most polluted big city. The Daily Mail’s inaccurate story claimed that China’s government digitally simulates the sunrise on television screens throughout Beijing since its pollution blocks natural sunlight. Major…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – These days, public executions are all the rage in North Korea. Over the summer, twelve musicians were sent to the firing squad for producing porn. More recently, seven North Korean cities held public executions on the same day, killing approximately 80 people. What were the charges? The people…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – It’s time for an upgrade to China’s decades-old petitioning system. According to the Central Commission for Discipline Inspection of the Communist Party of China’s website, the State Bureau of Letters and Calls announced new reform measures that would be put into effect following the investigation of…
E.J. DE LARA WRITES – Several reports have criticized New Zealand for its intrusion of privacy. Many have raised concerns over Parliament passing a bill for the Government Communications Security Bureau (GCSB) – the intelligence agency of the New Zealand government – to spy on people with a search warrant.…
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – South Korea enjoys some of the world’s most advanced technology. In addition, the country enoys nearly ubiquitous and extremely fast broadband. Still, one thing keeps South Korea from realizing its full online potential: Heavy-handed government regulation. This may be about to change. In South Korea, the…
LEXIE TUCKER WRITES – Everything you type can and will be held against you. Microblogging has become insanely popular over the past few years in China, much like Twitter here in the US. Many critics on these micro blog sites have become online superstars whose millions of followers read, debate…
