About Us
What is AsiaMedia?
AsiaMedia
is a daily electronic publication that delivers news about all aspects of the media in Asia, including its role in regional and national economies, societies, and political debate. In addition,
AsiaMedia
publishes commentary by a range of journalists, scholars, and policy makers.
AsiaMedia
is not an institution. It is not a foundation. Rather, it is an intellectual exchange network headquartered at UCLA, with a geographical and intellectual reach extending from the West Coast of California to East Asia, South and Southeast Asia, and on to Australia and the Pacific Islands.
AsiaMedia
subscribes to no one nation, government or ideological view. It is a nonpartisan news network based on one critical belief: The East and West, joined by the media, can build mutual understanding which leads to solutions of shared problems.
AsiaMedia
is a publication that focuses sustained attention on the media's critical role, and thus the region's political and cultural life.
Why was it formed?
Because throughout the world, the media is powerful. It is the news media that drives political debate, forming regional and national perceptions along the way. Yet Americans know precious little about Asian media. The reverse is also true. Thus in this global universe, our best efforts to establish perspectives, policies and public awareness of issues related to the Asia Pacific are seriously stymied.
AsiaMedia
helps break that barrier. It creates a new, cross-cultural, cross-continental media -- and, thus, a new community of ideas and information. To do this,
AsiaMedia
gathers top opinion makers and communicators with both expertise in and access to major media institutions on both sides of the continental divide. This is something that no other Asian or Asia-Pacific studies organization has done. Or tried to do.
When was AsiaMedia created?
AsiaMedia,
then called the Asia Pacific Media Network, was founded in 1998 by Tom Plate, an experienced columnist on Asian issues. Along with its sister publication
Asia Pacific Arts
, it moved to the
UCLA Asia Institute
in 2002 and was renamed
AsiaMedia
in 2004. It moved to the University of Southern California (USC) in fall 2009.
Who funds AsiaMedia?
AsiaMedia
and its sister publication
Asia Pacific Arts
have received significant and much appreciated support from a number of prominent
media organizations
and individuals. We rely on donations from people and institutions that find the publication useful and appreciate its commitment to fostering discussion of the place of the media and how the work of journalists can be improved.