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Category Archives: Media

The Critic in Winter

If I may take a break from my usual content, I’d like to direct your attention to this very moving profile of America’s finest film critic, Roger Ebert. Since a 2006 surgery, Ebert has not had a lower jaw. He has not eaten, had a drink of anything, nor spoken a single, solitary word since. [...]

Posted 19 February 2010 † matt_schiavenza § Film § Useful Links ‡ Comments (2) °

Quote of the Day

From the inimitable Christopher Hitchens: Wiser and older people tell you that the passions of your youth will dry up and that a more sere and autumnal condition will overtake you as maturity advances, but the thought of the Nixon gang in the White House still infuses me with a pure and undiluted hatred and [...]

Posted 30 June 2009 † matt_schiavenza § ‡ Comments (0) °

China and Western Media Bias

Writing in the Guardian, Timothy Garton Ash makes an important point about international media coverage of China: Hard though many Chinese may find this to believe, since their own media reflect the policy of their party-state, western governments have almost nothing to do with it. The main cause lies in the economics and professional dynamics [...]

Posted 25 April 2009 † matt_schiavenza § ‡ Comments (6) °

Fame and Fortune

It isn’t often that flipping through the pages of a week-old China Daily provides a moment of delight. But it was so, when notified by a friend, I found that in a narrow column called “Your Say”, snippets from this Lost Laowai post I wrote about a month ago were used. Of course, being lumped [...]

Posted 03 April 2009 † matt_schiavenza § Me § Self-Promotion ‡ Comments (1) °

Wikipedia Is Amazing

The Wikipedia entry for John Edwards’ extramarital affair, an event Edwards admitted to roughly two weeks ago, has over 100 citations. Think about that- either someone took the time to compile the article himself, or enough people collaborated and cobbled together what was a very well-researched, thorough explanation. Either way, it’s just amazing. While we’re [...]

Posted 19 August 2008 † matt_schiavenza § US Politics ‡ Comments (0) °

Why Chinglish Exists

In 1984, the American television journalist Lesley Stahl produced a report that rebutted several of President Ronald Reagan’s re-election campaign talking points. Not long after the special was aired, she received a call from one of Reagan’s advisors. Expecting him to be angry at her negative coverage, she was stunned when the advisor thanked her. [...]

Posted 16 August 2008 † matt_schiavenza § ‡ Comments (4) °

The Earthquake and the Media

I spoke with a Chinese friend yesterday who is frustrated with how slowly the Chinese media reported information about the earthquake, especially in comparison with foreign news agencies like Reuters and AP. To me, though, the Chinese media has acquitted itself rather well this time. Articles I’ve scanned in national dailies (Xinhua, etc.) and Kunming [...]

Posted 14 May 2008 † matt_schiavenza § Current Events ‡ Comments (1) °

No Movies in San Francisco?

Four years ago, after boarding a flight from Milan back home to San Francisco, I discovered that the in-flight movie was The Princess Diaries. “Great,” I thought, “why can’t they ever have anything I want to see?”. But, as one does on a flight, I watched because there was nothing better to do. To my [...]

Posted 28 April 2008 † matt_schiavenza § Film ‡ Comments (0) °

A Survivor Fantasy

In college my roommates and I had a running joke that Survivor would get really interesting if they relocated their show in some of the world’s trouble spots. Instead of the Australian outback or some Pacific island, why not have Survivor: Chechnya? Or why not Iraq, or Afghanistan? In fact, perhaps the producers of the [...]

Posted 23 September 2007 † matt_schiavenza § ‡ Comments (2) °