A Note from the Guest Editor for This Issue

Dear Colleagues:

Welcome to the Fall 2005 issue of Global Media Journal, with its focus on Asian and Asia-related mass media. As editor of this issue, I am pleased to present four papers in the "refereed" papers category, five in the "invited" papers.

Among the refereed papers, Prof. Doreen Weisenhaus (University of Hong Kong) in her paper, Newsgathering Practices: Hong Kong Journalists’ Views and Use of Controversial Techniques, says that there has been a dramatic rise worldwide in concern over journalistic practices. Her study examines the views and actual use of some of these controversial newsroom practices in Hong Kong through the results of a survey of more than 400 journalists and considers some of the implications of these practices.

Another refereed paper, Media Globalization and Localization: An Analysis of the International Flow of Programs on Ghana Television (GTV), contends that television in Ghana has transitioned from the role of development to that of reflecting the global and local phenomena in this age of media globalization. Prof. Kekeli K. Nuviadenu (Bethune-Cookman College) found that most of the global programs in the categories of news, sports, sit-com, soap/drama, and action/adventure are from the USA though others come from Europe, Asia, and some African nations. 

Prof. Zixue Tai (Southern Illinois University–Edwardsville), in another refereed paper, studies News Events, News Values and Editors’ Judgments: The Cases of China, Taiwan and Japan. Dr. Tai’s study compares the rankings of the top 10 world and domestic events by three prominent Asian news agencies, the Central News Agency from Taiwan, the Kyodo News Service from Japan, and the Xinhua News Service from China, from 1992 to 2001. The author found that the "good news" syndrome with Xinhua and the "bad news" mentality with Central News and Kyodo in their approaches to domestic news were unmistakable.

The fourth refereed paper, Common Enemy Rationale: An Attempt to Apply Concepts of Cognitive Consistency to the Portrayals of the United States in the Foreign Press, by Joshua Woods, co-director of the World Attitudes Project, examines whether there is a reciprocal relationship between a foreign country’s press portrayals of the U.S. and its views of international terrorism.

In the invited paper category, Prof. Dharma N. Adhikari (Geogia Southern University) in his paper Media and Democracy in Nepal: A Case for Public-Oriented Journalism argues that Nepal’s heterogeneous national identity, its faltering sense of citizenship, and the lack of strong civic culture provide a basis why public-oriented journalism could be an asset in the process of democratization. The paper emphasizes the pragmatic value of public-oriented journalism in a developing, struggling democracy.

Jeffrey K. Lyons, a faculty member at Hawai'i Pacific University, in his invited paper Media Globalization and its Effect upon International Communities: Seeking a Communication Theory Perspective argues that while there are many theories that address mass communication, his paper highlights the need for new theories which specifically address media globalization and the unique aspects which convergence and new digital technologies offer to the media-user.

Prof. Tahereh Saheb (General Applied and Scientific University, Number14, Iran) in her invited paper, ICT, Education and Digital Divide in Developing Countries, examines how Information Communication Technologies and digital revolution have influenced the educational system in Iran. She analyzes the advantages of the new system of learning produced by the ICTs.

The next invited paper comes from Dr. Mira K. Desai (S.N.D.T. Women’s University, Mumbai-India). Her paper, Intra and Inter-Cultural Diversities in the era of Globalization: Transnational television in India, examines the influence of transnational television on value orientations of individualism and consumerism across two linguistic communities in western India. Her findings do not support the premise of cultural-media imperialism in the context of India.

Starting with this issue of Global Media Journal, we offer the first of a four-part invited paper under the umbrella title of Emotional Intelligence in Peace Journalism. Authored by Dr. Gabriele Fröhlich, the first part of the series is titled, Emotional Intelligence and Trauma in Journalism. This paper examines the benefit of linking the two relatively new concepts of "Emotional Intelligence" and "Peace Journalism". The aim is to explore how media people, media interest groups and the general public, together, can influence the current media culture through an increased awareness about the impact of media productions, reporting styles, journalistic conventions, and the risks affecting journalists today.

My thanks to manuscript reviewers and my special thanks to all the contributors to this special issue on Asia.

Sincerely,