Digital Asia Rising

Ying ChanJournalism and Media Studies Center

The University of Hong KongHong Kong, China

Digital Asia Rising

• World’s largest telecom and ICT market

• World’s fastest growing telecom market

• ICT industries major players in global markets – 3G, mobile applications

• Recognized models of independent media

• Proliferation of individual and alternative forms of media production

• Emerging civil society in cyberspace

Internet Penetration in Asia (Dec 2005)Source: Internetworldstats.com

Top 20 Countries in Broadband PenetrationSource: Telecompaper

Asia/Pacific Semiannual Fixed-Line Telecom Services MARCH 2003

                                                                             

                      

 

 

International Corporations Retreating from Journalism

• Asiaweek (2001, Time Warner)

• Far Eastern Economic Review (2004, DJ)

• STAR TV (2005, News Corp)

• Business Week International Edition (2005)

• Asian Wall Street Journal (2005, DJ)

• Time magazine (2005, Time Warner)

Alternative Media Forms Challenging traditional Media

• Ohmynews

• Malaysiakini

• Philippines Center for Investigative Journalism

• EastSouthWestNorth

• Blogs, portals

The Paradigm Change

`

• Mainstream media vs. alternative media

• MSM vs new media

Or

• Corporate media vs independent media

• Party/state media vs independent media

Challenges Ahead

• Bridging the digital divide inside Asia and within countries; lowering costs, increasing access

• Combating censorship and state control

• Capacity building, creating sustainability for independent media

• Fostering the independent/citizen media model – SPREAD THE GOSPEL!

Digital News Environments

Embryonic – East Timor, Afghanistan

Emerging – Nepal, Bangladesh

Negotiating - China

Intermediate – India, Philippines

Mature – Australia, New Zealand

Advanced – Japan, South Korea

(Madanmohan Rao)

Digital Access Index

• Infrastructure: fixed tel lines; mobile/100 households

• Affordability: cost of Internet access

• Knowledge: literacy, school enrollment

• Quality: bits per capita

• Usage: Internet users/100 people

Creating the Fifth Estate

• “The answer (to corporate media) is simple. We have to create a new estate, a Fifth Estate, that will let us put a civic force against this new coalition of (media) rulers.”

John Pilger, British Journalist and author of Tell Me No Lies, Investigative Journalism

that Changed the World.

Forward to the Fifth Estate

• “ Creating international association of journalists, academics, newspaper readers, radio listeners and television viewers that operates as a ‘counterweight’ to the great corporations monitoring, analyzing and denouncing them.” John Pilger

THANK YOU

Ying ChanThe University of Hong Kong

Shantou University, PRCyychan@hku.hk