Thailand — Andrew MacGregor Marshall, the crusading journalist and scholar of Southeast Asia, writes sends this urgent notice out to the world: “The six Thai civilians killed at Wat Pathum Wanaram in the early evening of May 19, 2010, were shot from the Skytrain tracks by a squadron of troops from the 1st Battalion, 3rd [...]
JAPAN: Mayor’s ‘Comfort Women’ Remarks Shock Facebook
JEREMIAH FAJARDO WRITES – When hasty, controversial remarks find their way onto social media the result is rarely beneficial for politicians, as Osaka Mayor Tōru Hashimoto has come to learn. According to publications such as The Japan Times and Mainichi Daily, two of Japan’s prominent dailies, Hashimoto recently made flippant remarks regarding the perpetually sensitive ‘comfort [...]
VIETNAM: A Win for LGBT, but a Loss for Activism
YVONNE EPPS WRITES – International Day Against Homophobia and Transphobia on May 17th rendered positive results for the Vietnamese LGBT community, but the big picture still paints a losing battle for other controversial aspects of society. Viet Nam News reported about the event, where the UN praised the country for reducing discrimination through the local [...]
SINGAPORE: Supervisor’s Temper Tantrum Goes Viral
STEPHANIE GARCIA WRITES – Temper Tantrums are only socially acceptable during childhood. After that, they solicit police involvement and viral disapproval. A YouTube video posted on Friday, May 17 of a supervisor physically abusing an intern sparked a media frenzy over the weekend, ultimately compelling the 29-year-old victim to come forward and report the harassment [...]
TAIWAN: Death of Fisherman Sparks Tension with Philippines
BRIAN CANAVE WRITES – The tide rises in anger in the South China Sea between the Philippines and Taiwan. The latest to shake up tension between the two? During the week of May 13th, a Filipino Coast Guard shot and killed a Taiwanese fisherman in the strait separating these nations. Media all over the world [...]
NORTH KOREA: One Click from the Internet
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES – Internet access, or lack thereof, appears to be one of the biggest obstacles to solving many of North Korea’s problems. The hermit state has a computer network of its own, but the only sites North Korean citizens can access are those that meet the government’s approval. Further, the nation’s computers are [...]
Goodbye to the Asia Media Class of ’13!
Not everyone on the Asia Media magazine staff is leaving us at graduation soon. Most are remaining; and in fact five new staffers are coming aboard as we write. But the graduating seniors who are leaving us are a special cut of student: hardworking, committed and very fun to be around. The leadership of co-managing [...]
PHILIPPINES: Getting Away with Media Manslaughter
LAUREN CHEN WRITES- Hopefully this murder won’t become another unsolved media mystery. Recently, radio broadcaster Mario Vendiola, 33, was gunned down and killed in Kabasalan, Zamboanga Sibugay. On his motorcycle ride home, Vendiola was shot 3 times in the chest and was declared dead before reaching the hospital. He was an announcer for Manila Broadcasting [...]
PAKISTAN: List of Truth or Defamation?
JESSICA GADOMSKI WRITES – While some Pakistani journalists may be comfortable accepting money from the government, they are not accustomed to having their names made public- on the Supreme Court’s website no less! The Supreme Court’s recent decision to publish the names of journalists who allegedly received money from the Information Ministry’s secret fund has [...]
NORTH KOREA: American Tried for Treason
RYAN LIPPERT WRITES- Kenneth Bae, a Korean-American tourist, is currently awaiting trial in Pyongyang for allegedly planning to remove the North Korean government from power. If Bae is found guilty, he may be executed. The government-owned media in North Korea has been fairly tight-lipped about the specifics of Bae’s transgression. All they have revealed [...]
PAKISTAN: 2013 Elections Tainted by Violence
LIZA HERNANDEZ WRITES- With the recent outbreak of violence over the 2013 elections in Pakistan, a rather grim mood has settled over the event. The targets of the recent attacks have all been candidates running for office in this year’s election. In Peshawar, 2 bombs exploded in attacks that targeted the election offices of [...]
ASIA INSIGHT VIDEO NO. FOUR: STEPHANIE GARCIA AND HER VIEW ON AMERICAN JOURNALISM AND SINGAPORE
Professor Tom Plate meets with South-South News
Professor Tom Plate Goes Live With South-South News to discuss his book on UN Secretary General Ban Ki-Moon. Professor Plate reveals why he decided to write a book on Ban Ki-Moon -- and how the Western media stereotypes the Korean diplomat.
