As we noted during our discussions for the video presentation, China is often mentioned in all our media sources. For Japan, it is probably due in part to the geographic and politically significant proximity that China often appears in the news. However, as always, the Yomiuri Daily has reported on a foreign affairs event involving the Japanese, or in the case of the following article, the Chinese President's up-coming visit to Japan. The article even mentions the 2,000 year history between the two countries. Of course, it does also briefly list the controversial issues that the two are playing over.
The article starts out with Chinese President Hu's statement to use the visit to its full potential, followed by a brief mention of the previous president's controversial visit 10 years before. Then after an statement on the 2000 years of friendly relations between the two, the article lists issues that the two nation's have been working together on such as the investigations over frozen dumplings manufactured in China that gave a gave a number of people in Japan food poisoning. This is, on the other hand, followed by a second list detailing some topics of disagreement such as oil rights, Tibet, the Olympics...etc. It ends with the less controversial request by the Japanese for the lease of a Panda to the Ueno Zoo and Hu's assurance that they understand the Japanese people and their Prime Minister Fukuda have this strong wish.
Monday, May 5, 2008
Friday, May 2, 2008
U.K.: A Blog for every subject...
I have only just stumbled upon the vast selection of blogs The Times of London publishes on its website. Not being one to follow the opinion section very closely, I first discovered the tab listing its blogs today. The variety boggles the mind. With 32 blogs, The Times even outdoes The Guardian's 28, and the subjects range from motor racing to general news, motherhood to religion. There's an entire blog kept up by the Paris correspondent, which publishes as many cultural posts as ones commenting on politics (although the political analysis is nothing fresh - just a recap of recent events or sentiments that echoes and refers to other French media sources), as well as one kept by the Iraq correspondent in Baghdad.
An April 25 posting on the Inside Iraq blog delves into subject matter that might be buried if it were published in the print edition. It discusses recent gains by Iraqi soldiers in defeating Shia insurgents in Basra. Unlike U.S. coverage, which tends to report more about the American military, this blog includes interviews with Iraqi soldiers. It details the operation in Basra as one would expect to hear a battle covered during war time: by discussing the obstacles originally faced by the Iraqi army and how they overcame them. It does not sensationalize the situation. The article even goes so far as to contextualize the situation by explaining which subgroup the Shia militants are thought to have been linked to. Rather than utilizing the anti-war frame to discuss U.K. involvement, the reporter blogs from the perspective of the Iraqi army and their role in bringing stability back to their country.
An April 25 posting on the Inside Iraq blog delves into subject matter that might be buried if it were published in the print edition. It discusses recent gains by Iraqi soldiers in defeating Shia insurgents in Basra. Unlike U.S. coverage, which tends to report more about the American military, this blog includes interviews with Iraqi soldiers. It details the operation in Basra as one would expect to hear a battle covered during war time: by discussing the obstacles originally faced by the Iraqi army and how they overcame them. It does not sensationalize the situation. The article even goes so far as to contextualize the situation by explaining which subgroup the Shia militants are thought to have been linked to. Rather than utilizing the anti-war frame to discuss U.K. involvement, the reporter blogs from the perspective of the Iraqi army and their role in bringing stability back to their country.
U.K.: More from the horserace
The Guardian has a lengthy article today summing up the past week of campaigning for Barack Obama. In 25 paragraphs the U.S. bureau chief discusses Obama's fatigue, Reverend Wright's recent remarks, Obama's subsequent renunciation of his pastor, the Senator's appearances with his wife this week to emphasize his working-class background and family values, opinions from the locals in Indiana and North Carolina, and how Obama and Clinton stand in relation to one another in terms of delegates.
The British press accept the same frames that are put forth in the American media. They follow the horserace just as carefully, and having already explained the roles of superdelegates much earlier in the campaign season, British media can now ponder the importance of such details without providing context. Much of the article is biased towards the frames of the candidates' fatigue, the invocation of the "race card" by Reverend Wright, and the assumption in the press since the Pennsylvania primary last week that the tide has turned in Clinton's favor. However, the media are manufacturing this very tone themselves, and this article alludes to that by using a reporter on the Obama trail as a source:
"'He is in the middle of a shit storm,' one of the journalists travelling with him said."
Overall, the piece seems subjective. For the most part, it attributes analytical comments about the campaign to various sources and spokespeople, but comments such as the ending clearly show the influence of the press in the race: "In a bad week for him [Obama], it was a rare boost" to have superdelegate Joe Andrew announce his support for the Illinois senator this week.
Still, The Guardian does a good job getting so many quotes and writing such a lengthy article, considering the fact that the bureau chief who authored this article has had one to two bylines each day this week.
The British press accept the same frames that are put forth in the American media. They follow the horserace just as carefully, and having already explained the roles of superdelegates much earlier in the campaign season, British media can now ponder the importance of such details without providing context. Much of the article is biased towards the frames of the candidates' fatigue, the invocation of the "race card" by Reverend Wright, and the assumption in the press since the Pennsylvania primary last week that the tide has turned in Clinton's favor. However, the media are manufacturing this very tone themselves, and this article alludes to that by using a reporter on the Obama trail as a source:
"'He is in the middle of a shit storm,' one of the journalists travelling with him said."
Overall, the piece seems subjective. For the most part, it attributes analytical comments about the campaign to various sources and spokespeople, but comments such as the ending clearly show the influence of the press in the race: "In a bad week for him [Obama], it was a rare boost" to have superdelegate Joe Andrew announce his support for the Illinois senator this week.
Still, The Guardian does a good job getting so many quotes and writing such a lengthy article, considering the fact that the bureau chief who authored this article has had one to two bylines each day this week.
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