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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

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.
- wolverine876 3y ago
  Thanks again. I miscommunicated it seems: by "quality English non-Anglo journalism" I meant quality journalism from perspectives outside the Anglo sphere (UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ). Examples, though not necessarily current: The Hindu (India), Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post (Israel), ... Egypt had an explosion of them, but it's become a repressive state. The East African in Kenya is/was pretty good.
  - alephnerd 3y ago
    There's no point reading non-Western English language news if you don't know the owners and their biases. If you think political connected oligarch ownership of media is bad in the US, wait til you see Israel, India, Africa, ASEAN, etc. I just go straight to a handful of top think tanks and friends of mine who work in those markets if I want information. Personally, it's all useless tbh.
    - wolverine876 3y ago
      > There's no point reading non-Western English language news if you don't know the owners and their biases. You can see biases to a degree by reading different sources covering the same object. And I find the non-Western sources reveal the Western biases to a surprising degree, and there is much going on that isn't covered. My perspective on Israel and Africa are very different after reading some of the sources above. It's not that much harder than in the West: Rupert Murdoch's biases are clear but what are A. G. Sulzberger's? I can take a shot at some, but I don't really know much. > think tanks I read those directly too. One day I realized: instead of reading the NYT (or Washington Post or FT, etc.) article for a few paragraphs of expert knowledge, just read the think tank report - they are just as readable (a surprise to me, at the time), provide a whole different perspective, a different magnitude of knowledge, and do it much more efficiently. Still their biases can be hard to read - donors, etc. > There's no point ... it's all useless ... I've heard that too many times about everything in the last few years. I can't change the world by my lonesome self - nobody can - but people do change it. Plus, knowledge has a value in itself and understanding the world has applications to everything. And my mind is sharpened by reading the best - why waste that time on anything less? Great talking to you. I can go on if you like.

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.

wolverine876 3y ago
Thanks again. I miscommunicated it seems: by "quality English non-Anglo journalism" I meant quality journalism from perspectives outside the Anglo sphere (UK, US, Canada, Australia, NZ). Examples, though not necessarily current: The Hindu (India), Haaretz and the Jerusalem Post (Israel), ... Egypt had an explosion of them, but it's become a repressive state. The East African in Kenya is/was pretty good.
- alephnerd 3y ago
  There's no point reading non-Western English language news if you don't know the owners and their biases. If you think political connected oligarch ownership of media is bad in the US, wait til you see Israel, India, Africa, ASEAN, etc. I just go straight to a handful of top think tanks and friends of mine who work in those markets if I want information. Personally, it's all useless tbh.
  - wolverine876 3y ago
    > There's no point reading non-Western English language news if you don't know the owners and their biases. You can see biases to a degree by reading different sources covering the same object. And I find the non-Western sources reveal the Western biases to a surprising degree, and there is much going on that isn't covered. My perspective on Israel and Africa are very different after reading some of the sources above. It's not that much harder than in the West: Rupert Murdoch's biases are clear but what are A. G. Sulzberger's? I can take a shot at some, but I don't really know much. > think tanks I read those directly too. One day I realized: instead of reading the NYT (or Washington Post or FT, etc.) article for a few paragraphs of expert knowledge, just read the think tank report - they are just as readable (a surprise to me, at the time), provide a whole different perspective, a different magnitude of knowledge, and do it much more efficiently. Still their biases can be hard to read - donors, etc. > There's no point ... it's all useless ... I've heard that too many times about everything in the last few years. I can't change the world by my lonesome self - nobody can - but people do change it. Plus, knowledge has a value in itself and understanding the world has applications to everything. And my mind is sharpened by reading the best - why waste that time on anything less? Great talking to you. I can go on if you like.