Virtual China

More from Roland Soong at ESWN on how he does what he does.  In other words, tips on how to do cross-cultural media analysis.  Here he’s describing how he works with the Hong Kong media offerings on a daily basis–all of which he does online, by the way:

I begin by reading the English-language South China Morning Post and The Standard, and I try to remember their major stories.  Then I sweep through the Chinese-language newspapers.  There are two things that I look for.  First, is there any story that the English-language media totally missed?  This is usually some blood-and-gore story that our still-colonial-minded media feel that their readers should not have their beautiful minds soiled with. That is when I pounce and show you all the glorious details such that you puke your guts out at the sight.  Secondly, I am looking for contradictions among all the newspapers, no matter whether they are in Chinese or English.  Here, I am asserting a citizen’s right for the facts (and nothing but the facts).  As a citizen, I am outraged by the fact that I am presented with multiple versions of the same event that are completely irreconciliable.  I do not know what the truth is.  I can only document the various incompatible versions.  I leave it up to the media
  to explain why they report whatever they report.  You will have to trust me when I say that they have plenty to answer for.

Link (it’s comment no. 056)