Every day, Alex Dai, one of my full time employees, spends about an hour an a half looking for stories for the next day’s news feeds. He needs to find about 14 to 15 potential story ideas, based on local newspapers, press releases, government announcements, and similar sources. Then he sends them to Chicago for […]
Feeding the news appetite with RSS Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. You can’t spit in the street in Shanghai these days without hitting a venture capitalist trying to give out money. The economy is growing so far, and there are so many
Venture capitalists prowl Shanghai with sacks of cash Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post (and comments). Nobody becomes a print journalist to make money. Even the world’s most talented writers probably make more money from the movie rights to their articles and books, or from
It’s not about the money. Yes it is. Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post (and comments). Tonight, at our weekly drinking session, a fellow journalist called me on the fact that I was planning to name names and point fingers at companies that gave money
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. If you’re in town in Shanghai on a Thursday night — and now you have an excuse to come visit — join us at Cotton’s Bar on the corner of Anting
New journos hangout in Shanghai Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. The initial inspiration for me to become a war correspondent was to be like Hemingway. I wanted to drink, smoke, and write novels. I tried doing some of this while in
Why I’m not Hemingway Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. Tomorrow night, Shanghai journalists will be continuing a long-standing tradition of foreign correspondents everywhere: they will go out to a bar and drink. It’s a regular Thursday night event for us
Drinking the night away in Tsinghua beer ville Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. Last week, Scott Adams posted an eye-opening piece in his Dilbert Blog, “Today I Will Improve Your Sex Life.” (My sex life hasn’t improved — it’s as bad as when I
Sex and Sales in Shanghai Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. From reading my post yesterday, I guess some people got the idea that it’s all bad news for journos looking for overseas assignments. (Yes, I mean you, Fons — http://www.chinaherald.net/2007/03/how-to-become-foreign-correspondent.html.) That
It’s not all bad news Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. I’ll write more on this topic later, but right now I’d like to point everyone to a fantastic post by Michael Yon about how he started as a war correspondent. It’s
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post. Robert Near is trying to break into journalism in Shanghai. In a recent posting, he writes that my account of the difficulties of getting started resonates with him. He teaches English,
Down and out and about in Shanghai Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post (and comments). I get asked this question a lot “how do you become a foreign correspondent”? I’ve answered it a lot as well (one of these answers is posted here: http://maria.trombly.com/FAQ.htm#correspondent).
How to become a foreign correspondent Read More »
I’ve answered it a lot as well (one of these answers is posted here: http://maria.trombly.com/FAQ.htm#correspondent). But my perspective on this has changed over time as I gained more experience in the field, and as the industry has changed. Traditionally, there have been two main ways to become a foreign correspondent: Wait for the newspaper to
How to become a foreign correspondent Read More »
Note: This blog post also ran in the Society of Professional Journalism’s “Journalism and the World” blog. Click here to see the original post (and comments). Dan Kubiske, chair of the SPJ’s International Journalism Committee, suggested that I blog about my experiences running a bureau out here in Shanghai, so this is it. Some background
Greetings from Shanghai, China Read More »
