4 ms·

> most western news organizations skimp on translation services now and don't really follow Russian/Mandarin/Farsi/etc language media By what standard are they

> most western news organizations skimp on translation services now and don't really follow Russian/Mandarin/Farsi/etc language media By what standard are they 'skimping'? Did they used to translate those sources? In the past I've done a lot of looking into non-English journalism and never found many translations, unless it was done by the publication itself (e.g., it might translate some articles or have an English edition).

alephnerd 3y ago
American (and also British, Canadian, etc) News Bureaus used to have Foreign Offices in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, etc that had staff that spoke the regional language and would monitor regional language news. All this changed due to cost cutting in the 2000s-2010s. Most foreign news is now contracted out to freelancers or Press Bureaus like Reuters (who also use freelancers).
- wolverine876 3y ago
  I see what you mean. As a minor addition: The major national / international journalism orgs, such as the NY Times, CNN, etc., still have them. The NY Times publishes a Chinese-language edition. https://cn.nytimes.com/ https://cn.nytimes.com/
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    > major national / international journalism orgs, such as The NY Times Barely. The NYT's Beijing bureau has maybe 10-11 people total, of which only 4-6 are actually editors and journalists, and half of them are Westerners. Most of the China related content is made in their HK outpost which itself only has like 13 reporters and editors, of whom almost all are Westerners. Most of their China sourcing comes from their parntership with the SCMP for printing and publishing the NYT in Mainland China and HK [0], and most of NYT's China and HK staff are concurrently employed by the SCMP. It's a similar story in their Russia (4-6) and India (4) bureaus. These numbers are barely enough to report on a small town, let alone federalized countries in the hundreds of millions or even billions Even the NYT depends on unnamed freelance reporters to source stories. The person who's name is on the byline basically stitched the research the freelancers did for them. It's the same story for WaPo, CNN, BBC, Guardian, WSJ, etc. For anything Asia, I prefer reading Japanese, Singaporean, or HK sourced business news as organizations like Nikkei/FT, Straits Times, and SCMP have a massive presence across Asia, and built networks since the 1970s when Japan began it's "Flying Geese" policy. [0] - https://corp.scmp.com/scmp-enters-printing-deal-with-international-new-york-times/ https://corp.scmp.com/scmp-enters-printing-deal-with-interna...
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      Thanks for the indside knowledge. Are you in that field? > SCMP Do you still believe in them? They must comply with CPC at this point, I expect. > The person who's name is on the byline basically stitched the research the freelancers did for them. When I read about the NYT coverage of sexual violence on Oct 7, the story said a NYT reporter had two locals doing the legwork. Maybe that's efficient, but I'd think an experienced, high-skill reporter would find things that the freelancers might not. In the past I looked hard for quality English non-Anglo journalism. It's tough anywhere; most news is of course in local languages and I also want high-quality journalism that fits my priorities (e.g., not the local mayor's scandal) - not a criticism of local journalism, it's just my narrow requirements. There were some good independent ones in the mainland in the 2000s but it seems nobody can be independent there anymore. Sinocism is pretty good, but it's written by a westerner and they left Beijing years ago.
      - alephnerd 3y ago
        > Are you in that field? Not anymore but I am friends with people who have climbed up the ladder of business journalism to Bureau Chief or Editor. > Do you still believe in them? They must comply with CPC at this point, I expect. I recognize where the biases may lie. I steer clear of op-eds, but I'd still trust it for non-controversial domestic news. Chinese language media can actually get quite heated in their opposition. So long as you don't advocate the overthrow of the CCP and make sure your criticism has a "constructive" tone, Chinese reporting is good enough. Who knows if that somewhat openness will exist in the next 5-10 years though. For example, Russia in 2019 was way more open a society than Russia in 2024. I just cross validate with friends who still live there and work there. > I'd think an experienced, high-skill reporter would find things that the freelancers might not Imo, sourcing and recognizing what is a story and what isn't matters more, and you don't need someone at NYT doing that when freelancers are clearly equally as competent. > quality English non-Anglo journalism Reuters, Axios, Politico, and a couple niche trade papers and regional papers are more than enough. NYT's Washington Bureau is on point though and I can attest to that, but Politico sources way faster and gives more internal details.

alephnerd 3y ago

American (and also British, Canadian, etc) News Bureaus used to have Foreign Offices in Beijing, Moscow, Tehran, etc that had staff that spoke the regional language and would monitor regional language news. All this changed due to cost cutting in the 2000s-2010s. Most foreign news is now contracted out to freelancers or Press Bureaus like Reuters (who also use freelancers).

wolverine876 3y ago
I see what you mean. As a minor addition: The major national / international journalism orgs, such as the NY Times, CNN, etc., still have them. The NY Times publishes a Chinese-language edition. https://cn.nytimes.com/ https://cn.nytimes.com/
- alephnerd 3y ago
  > major national / international journalism orgs, such as The NY Times Barely. The NYT's Beijing bureau has maybe 10-11 people total, of which only 4-6 are actually editors and journalists, and half of them are Westerners. Most of the China related content is made in their HK outpost which itself only has like 13 reporters and editors, of whom almost all are Westerners. Most of their China sourcing comes from their parntership with the SCMP for printing and publishing the NYT in Mainland China and HK [0], and most of NYT's China and HK staff are concurrently employed by the SCMP. It's a similar story in their Russia (4-6) and India (4) bureaus. These numbers are barely enough to report on a small town, let alone federalized countries in the hundreds of millions or even billions Even the NYT depends on unnamed freelance reporters to source stories. The person who's name is on the byline basically stitched the research the freelancers did for them. It's the same story for WaPo, CNN, BBC, Guardian, WSJ, etc. For anything Asia, I prefer reading Japanese, Singaporean, or HK sourced business news as organizations like Nikkei/FT, Straits Times, and SCMP have a massive presence across Asia, and built networks since the 1970s when Japan began it's "Flying Geese" policy. [0] - https://corp.scmp.com/scmp-enters-printing-deal-with-international-new-york-times/ https://corp.scmp.com/scmp-enters-printing-deal-with-interna...
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    Thanks for the indside knowledge. Are you in that field? > SCMP Do you still believe in them? They must comply with CPC at this point, I expect. > The person who's name is on the byline basically stitched the research the freelancers did for them. When I read about the NYT coverage of sexual violence on Oct 7, the story said a NYT reporter had two locals doing the legwork. Maybe that's efficient, but I'd think an experienced, high-skill reporter would find things that the freelancers might not. In the past I looked hard for quality English non-Anglo journalism. It's tough anywhere; most news is of course in local languages and I also want high-quality journalism that fits my priorities (e.g., not the local mayor's scandal) - not a criticism of local journalism, it's just my narrow requirements. There were some good independent ones in the mainland in the 2000s but it seems nobody can be independent there anymore. Sinocism is pretty good, but it's written by a westerner and they left Beijing years ago.
    - alephnerd 3y ago
      > Are you in that field? Not anymore but I am friends with people who have climbed up the ladder of business journalism to Bureau Chief or Editor. > Do you still believe in them? They must comply with CPC at this point, I expect. I recognize where the biases may lie. I steer clear of op-eds, but I'd still trust it for non-controversial domestic news. Chinese language media can actually get quite heated in their opposition. So long as you don't advocate the overthrow of the CCP and make sure your criticism has a "constructive" tone, Chinese reporting is good enough. Who knows if that somewhat openness will exist in the next 5-10 years though. For example, Russia in 2019 was way more open a society than Russia in 2024. I just cross validate with friends who still live there and work there. > I'd think an experienced, high-skill reporter would find things that the freelancers might not Imo, sourcing and recognizing what is a story and what isn't matters more, and you don't need someone at NYT doing that when freelancers are clearly equally as competent. > quality English non-Anglo journalism Reuters, Axios, Politico, and a couple niche trade papers and regional papers are more than enough. NYT's Washington Bureau is on point though and I can attest to that, but Politico sources way faster and gives more internal details.