Asia Sentinel
Encyclopedia
Asia Sentinel is a web-based Asian regional publication focused on news, business, arts and culture. The site was launched in August 2006.
"Asia Sentinel was created to provide a platform for news, analysis and opinion on national and regional issues in Asia. It is independent of all governments and major media enterprises. It is open to contributions not only from journalists but from professionals in fields such as finance, diplomacy, science and the arts. It has no ideology other than a belief in the benefits of a free media. It will not publish editorials but give free rein to diverse opinions," says the founders' statement on the site.
, it was founded by four senior expatriate journalists with long experience in the region. The editor, John Berthelsen, is a former correspondent with the Asian Wall Street Journal who was also the Managing Editor of the Standard in Hong Kong
. Consulting Editor Philip Bowring is the former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and a regular columnist for the International Herald Tribune
. Executive Editor A. Lin Neumann, the former Executive Editor of the Standard, also represented the Committee to Protect Journalists in Asia for many years. The fourth founder, Anthony Spaeth, is a former Time Magazine Asia regional correspondent who left the Sentinel shortly after its founding to go to work for Bloomberg.
Kevin Phillips, the International Business Director, was formerly Head of Equities in Hong Kong and Tokyo
for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, the investment bank.
The editors have lived in or covered most of the countries in Asia, including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Indonesia.
, which was shut down by Time Magazine in 2002; and the Far Eastern Economic Review
, which went from being a weekly news magazine to a monthly journal when Dow Jones & Co. was cutting costs in 2004.
The correspondents for the site are drawn from journalists around the region and the site says it is always looking for contributors.
The site has delivered strong coverage of Hong Kong, with a series of stories on the power structure and tycoon-friendly development policies of the territory; Singapore
, with a series on the authoritarian rule of the city-state; and Thailand
, as it has published stories probing the role of the Thai King in political events, a subject often off limits to mainstream journalists due to the country's lese majeste laws.
The site also carries reader comments with each story and some threads — for instance about racial politics in Malaysia — have grown into spirited, months-long debates kicked off by an article or series of articles.
"Asia Sentinel was created to provide a platform for news, analysis and opinion on national and regional issues in Asia. It is independent of all governments and major media enterprises. It is open to contributions not only from journalists but from professionals in fields such as finance, diplomacy, science and the arts. It has no ideology other than a belief in the benefits of a free media. It will not publish editorials but give free rein to diverse opinions," says the founders' statement on the site.
Establishment
Headquartered in Hong KongHong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
, it was founded by four senior expatriate journalists with long experience in the region. The editor, John Berthelsen, is a former correspondent with the Asian Wall Street Journal who was also the Managing Editor of the Standard in Hong Kong
Hong Kong
Hong Kong is one of two Special Administrative Regions of the People's Republic of China , the other being Macau. A city-state situated on China's south coast and enclosed by the Pearl River Delta and South China Sea, it is renowned for its expansive skyline and deep natural harbour...
. Consulting Editor Philip Bowring is the former editor of the Far Eastern Economic Review and a regular columnist for the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
. Executive Editor A. Lin Neumann, the former Executive Editor of the Standard, also represented the Committee to Protect Journalists in Asia for many years. The fourth founder, Anthony Spaeth, is a former Time Magazine Asia regional correspondent who left the Sentinel shortly after its founding to go to work for Bloomberg.
Kevin Phillips, the International Business Director, was formerly Head of Equities in Hong Kong and Tokyo
Tokyo
, ; officially , is one of the 47 prefectures of Japan. Tokyo is the capital of Japan, the center of the Greater Tokyo Area, and the largest metropolitan area of Japan. It is the seat of the Japanese government and the Imperial Palace, and the home of the Japanese Imperial Family...
for Dresdner Kleinwort Wasserstein, the investment bank.
The editors have lived in or covered most of the countries in Asia, including Vietnam, Malaysia, the Philippines, Korea, Hong Kong, China, Thailand and Indonesia.
Response to shrinking Asia coverage
The site is a response to the shrinking coverage of Asia in regional western-owned publications, notably AsiaweekAsiaweek
Asiaweek, the English edition, was a news magazine focusing on Asia, published weekly by Asiaweek Limited, a subsidiary of Time Inc. Based in Hong Kong, it was established in 1975, and ceased publication with its December 7, 2001 issue due to a "downturn in the advertising market," according to...
, which was shut down by Time Magazine in 2002; and the Far Eastern Economic Review
Far Eastern Economic Review
The Far Eastern Economic Review was an English language Asian news magazine started in 1946. It printed its final issue in December 2009. The Hong Kong-based business magazine was originally published weekly...
, which went from being a weekly news magazine to a monthly journal when Dow Jones & Co. was cutting costs in 2004.
The correspondents for the site are drawn from journalists around the region and the site says it is always looking for contributors.
The site has delivered strong coverage of Hong Kong, with a series of stories on the power structure and tycoon-friendly development policies of the territory; Singapore
Singapore
Singapore , officially the Republic of Singapore, is a Southeast Asian city-state off the southern tip of the Malay Peninsula, north of the equator. An island country made up of 63 islands, it is separated from Malaysia by the Straits of Johor to its north and from Indonesia's Riau Islands by the...
, with a series on the authoritarian rule of the city-state; and Thailand
Thailand
Thailand , officially the Kingdom of Thailand , formerly known as Siam , is a country located at the centre of the Indochina peninsula and Southeast Asia. It is bordered to the north by Burma and Laos, to the east by Laos and Cambodia, to the south by the Gulf of Thailand and Malaysia, and to the...
, as it has published stories probing the role of the Thai King in political events, a subject often off limits to mainstream journalists due to the country's lese majeste laws.
The site also carries reader comments with each story and some threads — for instance about racial politics in Malaysia — have grown into spirited, months-long debates kicked off by an article or series of articles.
External links
- Asia Sentinel official site
- John Berthelsen on the Future of Asia Sentinel
- Why Asia Sentinel will survive, opinion piece reviewing the Asia Sentinel