To double down on your western readers perspective, it IS so interesting😄, and helpful/generous of you to provide this advice from a Malayan, former journalist and global news enthusiast perspective. I have a folder of potential global news sources in English (being unfortunately monolingual). It will be a good project to figure out which to have on rotation. Now to go read your perspective on the Olympics. I didn’t watch, but
Hey, you should read these two books called "Amusing ourselves to death" and "Trolling ourselves to death" to help you get a more interesting perspective on choosing what media to follow.
I tend to choose boring news. The more boring the presentation the better. No talk show hosts, no screaming pundits and squabbling talking heads.
The anchors are not celebrity anchormen but historians, academicians, experienced businessmen, diplomats and economists. Of course these people have their biases too, but I like their non-drama ways as it helps me not get sucked into anger/annoyance which tends to impact your logical side.
For eg, I differentiate who I listen to in regards to China with the info they're citing and their practical experience. A lot of times, pundits who are so-called experts have not even visited China or dealt with people there personally. I cross these people out immediately. If they have ivory-head knowledge and no real-world experience, I know that they will be easily influenced by propaganda.
I like listening to South-East Asian thought leaders like George Yeo, Kishore Mahbubani, Gita Warjaman because they come from the school of SEA diplomacy ;P. Also, most of them were working diplomats at one point so they know what they're talking about.
“This skill (multi-lingual skill) is priceless in an increasingly multi-polar world…”. Very true and glad you pointed this out. Speaking and understanding another language literally alters perception.
Indian here, married to a Malaysian of Indian origin. I could relate to everything you say here. My husband’s worldview is indeed influenced by the diverse backgrounds of his friends and colleagues, being exposed to western and national media, so I always turn to him to make sense of big headlines or breaking news on the global stage. He usually has an unsensational and pragmatic take on even the most polarising topics.
In India (I shuttle between KL and Bangalore) the media scene is very similar. We are a multi lingual country (familiarity with 5 languages is fairly common). Even seemingly non-partisan media outlets are owned by politicians. So we consume news with a healthy dose of critical analysis and cross-referencing with friends.
Pragmatic is the word! We have no choice as a small country. We can't swagger and toot our horn like the superpowers 😅. So, we have to choose the most practical route even if it's not the most ideal one. Idealism is for the privileged
Funny you mention BFM, because I just remembered their existence today. They're also a bit more... in between alternative and mainstream, right? Or was. I have a feeling they're playing it a little more safe these days, at least when I remember to tune in.
I suppose it really does help that Malaysia is historically a crossroads for people of many languages. At least your point stands strong because Singapore's media is really run by the government in various guises...
As a Singaporean, I had two ah-ha moments when travelling overseas: back in the day, picking up newspapers in the UK or US and realising how they hardly covered events outside their own country. Whatever you might think of the Straits Times, its coverage is international. The other ah-hah moment was getting into cabs in Germany/UK and it suddenly hit me how monolingual their countries are, unlike Singapore where even now there are still taxi uncles that prefer not using English. That realisation how much of the West has no exposure to anything other than their own internal navel gazing was enlightening. And of course with that realisation came the further realisation that this bred an attitude in them that their view was the only view that could possibly exist.
A fascinating post, Elizabeth. It made me reflect on how imperial powers are often monolingual and language is an instrument of imperialism. Linguistic diversity can be seen as a kind of defence or way of undermining the power narratives we are fed.
To double down on your western readers perspective, it IS so interesting😄, and helpful/generous of you to provide this advice from a Malayan, former journalist and global news enthusiast perspective. I have a folder of potential global news sources in English (being unfortunately monolingual). It will be a good project to figure out which to have on rotation. Now to go read your perspective on the Olympics. I didn’t watch, but
Hey, you should read these two books called "Amusing ourselves to death" and "Trolling ourselves to death" to help you get a more interesting perspective on choosing what media to follow.
I tend to choose boring news. The more boring the presentation the better. No talk show hosts, no screaming pundits and squabbling talking heads.
The anchors are not celebrity anchormen but historians, academicians, experienced businessmen, diplomats and economists. Of course these people have their biases too, but I like their non-drama ways as it helps me not get sucked into anger/annoyance which tends to impact your logical side.
For eg, I differentiate who I listen to in regards to China with the info they're citing and their practical experience. A lot of times, pundits who are so-called experts have not even visited China or dealt with people there personally. I cross these people out immediately. If they have ivory-head knowledge and no real-world experience, I know that they will be easily influenced by propaganda.
I like listening to South-East Asian thought leaders like George Yeo, Kishore Mahbubani, Gita Warjaman because they come from the school of SEA diplomacy ;P. Also, most of them were working diplomats at one point so they know what they're talking about.
Good luck on your journey!!
“This skill (multi-lingual skill) is priceless in an increasingly multi-polar world…”. Very true and glad you pointed this out. Speaking and understanding another language literally alters perception.
Indian here, married to a Malaysian of Indian origin. I could relate to everything you say here. My husband’s worldview is indeed influenced by the diverse backgrounds of his friends and colleagues, being exposed to western and national media, so I always turn to him to make sense of big headlines or breaking news on the global stage. He usually has an unsensational and pragmatic take on even the most polarising topics.
In India (I shuttle between KL and Bangalore) the media scene is very similar. We are a multi lingual country (familiarity with 5 languages is fairly common). Even seemingly non-partisan media outlets are owned by politicians. So we consume news with a healthy dose of critical analysis and cross-referencing with friends.
Pragmatic is the word! We have no choice as a small country. We can't swagger and toot our horn like the superpowers 😅. So, we have to choose the most practical route even if it's not the most ideal one. Idealism is for the privileged
Haha! We have a grandma’s proverb . Philosophy is for those with a full tummy. :)
My husband’s take on politics is — everything makes sense if you watch the money trail.
We have a saying too, in Hokkien: You are eaten until you are full, so now you are too free. 😆
*have eaten
😂
Funny you mention BFM, because I just remembered their existence today. They're also a bit more... in between alternative and mainstream, right? Or was. I have a feeling they're playing it a little more safe these days, at least when I remember to tune in.
I suppose it really does help that Malaysia is historically a crossroads for people of many languages. At least your point stands strong because Singapore's media is really run by the government in various guises...
It is really a bit ironic that our media is much freer than Singapore's 😅
A Singaporean's bound to point out they gave up media freedom in return for a "better" country.
As a Singaporean, I had two ah-ha moments when travelling overseas: back in the day, picking up newspapers in the UK or US and realising how they hardly covered events outside their own country. Whatever you might think of the Straits Times, its coverage is international. The other ah-hah moment was getting into cabs in Germany/UK and it suddenly hit me how monolingual their countries are, unlike Singapore where even now there are still taxi uncles that prefer not using English. That realisation how much of the West has no exposure to anything other than their own internal navel gazing was enlightening. And of course with that realisation came the further realisation that this bred an attitude in them that their view was the only view that could possibly exist.
Insightful. Thank you for the post.
A fascinating post, Elizabeth. It made me reflect on how imperial powers are often monolingual and language is an instrument of imperialism. Linguistic diversity can be seen as a kind of defence or way of undermining the power narratives we are fed.