It's rare to find a piece of China reporting this in-depth, sound rich, and pleasant to listen to. Journalists don't often do a good job reporting on rural issues, and especially on China, their reporting runs the risk of coming off as patronizing or unsympathetic. This piece also touches on difficult political issues without demonizing the Chinese government, another pitfall.
I'm a fan of its pacing -- it's voiced slowly, with several longer passages of Mandarin, which I think is interesting, even to audiences who don't speak the language. The majority of the voices are of women -- and the degree of connection formed between the reporter and subject is apparent. I'm curious about the circumstances of the interviews and wonder if this level of work would be allowed for full-time journalists in the country.
China is the story of our time and what happens there in the next decade or so will surely shape the world we live in.
I think all journalism about China is incredibly important and this story adds quite a lot to what little I know about the people and the country. This piece could run cut down or perhaps as a series during Morning Edition or ATC; news pegs abound. It could use some smoothing out -- the naration and ambient levels were off in places.
Comments for City Lights
Produced by Jennifer Dunn
Other pieces by Jennifer Dunn
Rating Summary
2 comments
Will Thomson
Posted on December 20, 2004 at 07:48 AM | Permalink
Review of City Lights
It's rare to find a piece of China reporting this in-depth, sound rich, and pleasant to listen to. Journalists don't often do a good job reporting on rural issues, and especially on China, their reporting runs the risk of coming off as patronizing or unsympathetic. This piece also touches on difficult political issues without demonizing the Chinese government, another pitfall.
I'm a fan of its pacing -- it's voiced slowly, with several longer passages of Mandarin, which I think is interesting, even to audiences who don't speak the language. The majority of the voices are of women -- and the degree of connection formed between the reporter and subject is apparent. I'm curious about the circumstances of the interviews and wonder if this level of work would be allowed for full-time journalists in the country.
Mary McGrath
Posted on April 02, 2004 at 07:54 AM | Permalink
Review of City Lights
China is the story of our time and what happens there in the next decade or so will surely shape the world we live in.
I think all journalism about China is incredibly important and this story adds quite a lot to what little I know about the people and the country. This piece could run cut down or perhaps as a series during Morning Edition or ATC; news pegs abound. It could use some smoothing out -- the naration and ambient levels were off in places.