ShanghaiDaily's blog

A girl's dream comes true

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Mon,13 Oct 2008 16:13:36 +0800

AS a freshman who has just walked off the campus, I am really grateful at being able to join Shanghai Daily as a journalist with the Metro section.

Since I was a little girl I dreamed of being a journalist. To achieve this goal, I have been preparing for years.

I have learnt lots about journalism theory at the Journalism Department in Fudan University and had a year's internship experience in local Chinese media before I came to Shanghai Daily.

But there were big challenges for me when I finally become a real journalist at Shanghai Daily. The gap between being a young journalist and being a good journalist is huge, which brings me to my next goal: to be a good journalist.

Apart from the language barrier, I feel I lack experience and professional knowledge and my responses and learning need to be improved.

Moreover the methods of local Chinese media and Shanghai Daily are quite different. I have to adapt myself to a stricter and more demanding job.

Luckily, I have met lots of experienced journalists and strict but kind foreign editors who teach me new skills every day. I am happy that I am learning and making progress.

The life of a journalist has many similarities to the life of a student: I have to learn new things and work hard every day.

But the biggest difference is that I am no longer learning for myself. It is now my responsibility to ask more and learn more to empower our readers.

Keeping the principle of wanting to be a good journalist in mind, I find myself with the energy and and enthusiasm needed to overcome any difficulties and setbacks at work.

A different, busy and exciting job

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Fri,10 Oct 2008 15:12:16 +0800

Editor's Note: Shanghai Daily has just recruited some new reporters to help the newspaper develop. To keep our newsroom transparent to our readers, which is the main purpose of this blog, the online department has asked these new recruits to introduce themselves to you. Here's the second piece, Dong Hui.

Journalists are often criticized for being name-droppers who know what happened but don't really know how or why.

A reporter's job is not as glamorous as I had thought it would be. It is really labor-intensive work which involves racking your brain for a few original lines and chasing after people to verify just a bit of a whole story.

But reporting social and economic news in China is more exciting than anywhere else in the world.

So many changes are taking place. When I was still a sociology major freshman, our professors told us that nearly every sociologist dreams of coming to China for research because the nation is in transition and at a pace no other country has experienced.

This applies also to journalism. Changes attract reporters and keep them excited, and for me, nothing is more exciting than to witness a country's rapid growth and work for my own country.
I have been an intern for the Shanghai Daily for nearly half a year, joining the paper as as a reporter. The best thing about Shanghai Daily is that I work with Chinese colleagues of about my age as well as experienced foreign editors and polishers.

I have challenges and a strong sense of accomplishment when people around inspire me to seek a new topic, encourage me to dig up a story, and finally to turn an idea into accurate writing and analysis.

Shanghai Daily is about to turn 10 years old. The paper is growing and maturing every day, and I will am more than willing to be involved and do the best for our readers.

Something about myself: I am Dong Hui, from Shanghai and I graduated from Fudan University with a major in Sociology. I am now a reporter on the Metro section of Shanghai Daily.

A whole new world in New Zealand

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Thu,09 Oct 2008 11:16:45 +0800

I have been in Wellington for a month on a media exchange program with The Dominion Post assisted by the Asia New Zealand Foundation, or Asia:NZ for short.

My stay here has been exciting and interesting so far except for the weather, which was rough, especially during my first few days in the harbor city when I was not used to it. It was rainy, windy and chilly – actually a little bit too cold for me who just arrived from Shanghai where summer had not yet ended.

My first impressions of New Zealand are very good. Vehicles will stop and wait at pedestrian crossings to let people cross the street. Cars turning at intersections will also give way to vehicles going straight.

Maybe this is not new for people who have been to Europe. Perhaps it is the law in New Zealand. But when I first noticed this in Auckland, a stopover on the way to Wellington from Shanghai, I was really impressed by the driving manners of Kiwis. This is unlikely to happen in Shanghai, which is such a crowded metropolis.

Fortunately, my homestay in Wellington was arranged with a Kiwi family. This gives me a chance to live a typical New Zealand lifestyle. I am indebted to Catherine Birch, the owner of the house I stay, for her kindness and care.

I have tried typical Western breakfasts such as cereals that I had never eaten in China. Catherine also stopped me when I started to peel a kiwifruit, and she showed me the way New Zealanders eat kiwifruit. They cut the fruit into two halves and spoon out the flesh.

I have also joined in a lot of social activities. I went to a farewell party at a pub for The Dominion Post reporter Jenny Ling on my first Friday in New Zealand. The Post colleagues told me that drinking in a pub is a common activity on Friday nights in the country. I was forced to drink a lot of beer by my new newsroom colleagues – Kiwis seem to be as keen on beer as Germans – but I enjoyed it. It was actually my first ever pub experience.

On a Saturday last month, I was invited to Catherine's sister's birthday party. It was a joyful, interesting occasion, very different from any Chinese birthday party.

Chat was a big part of Saturday's party. I talked to Catherine's family, played with their cute children and had lots of fun. To be frank, the food was simple, compared to a Chinese round-table meal. But almost everything, including the cake, they made themselves. Maybe this is what they feel is important.

A birthday party in China can be a sumptuous feast in a restaurant, as eating is such a big part of Chinese culture. I don't know which is better because I enjoy both. But it's interesting to experience the differences.

I also watched an A-League football game between Wellington Phoenix FC and Central Coast Mariners FC. Before I came to New Zealand, I had already learned that rugby and cricket are the dominant sports here. But I was told that more and more New Zealanders were becoming interested in soccer. On my way to Phoenix's home, Westpac Stadium, I felt increasing enthusiasm for soccer – the world's biggest sport. I saw thousands of people from all over the country swarming into "the cake tin," the local nickname for the stadium, to cheer on Phoenix. It created an overwhelming festive ambience. It was the only occasion that I have seen so many people in one place ever since I was in New Zealand.

Kiwi friends told me that Phoenix is the only professional football team in New Zealand, so everyone here hopes it survives in the A-League, which has eight teams. The other seven are Australian clubs.

There is a Chinese player on Phoenix. It was a happy experience to talk to Gao Leilei, who is from Beijing. The 28-year-old was easygoing and cooperative, different from the poor impressions given by many football players in China. Although Phoenix is struggling near the bottom of the league table, I expect the play-making midfielder to help his team bounce back.

Compared to Shanghai, Wellington is small and quiet. There are few people in the streets when it turns dark. You can easily walk around the CBD.

But walking in Wellington can be a tough job. To be precise, it's mountaineering. I have to trek along a number of uphill and downhill paths – some are quite steep – during my 30-minute walk to the newsroom from where I live. What good exercise! I guess one reason why I sleep well.

I am grateful to Shanghai Daily, Asia:NZ and The Dominion Post for the opportunity to live away from Shanghai – the vital, busy and beautiful city I have been used to – and to taste something new and different. I believe this will be a memorable trip.

Upgraded server ensures better performance

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Mon,06 Oct 2008 11:51:35 +0800

Readers of ShanghaiDaily.com can now enjoy a better browsing experience after its server underwent a major upgrade last week.

With the constant addition of content to the Website, the capacity of the server, as configured at the Website's launch, was close to its limit. The result was slow responses especially while using the search function.

The upgrade package considerably expands the server's capacity and performance. We are optimistic that the improved performance will last for a long period before the next upgrade becomes necessary.

The problems reported by a small group of overseas subscribers who had failed to open the Website frequently were also solved by switching to a new domain name service (DNS) provider.

Winny looks forward to a wedded bliss

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Fri,26 Sep 2008 18:37:55 +0800

OCTOBER is always a happy month, not just for the reasonable weather, the National Day or the golden week holiday, but also for the happiness of numerous newly married couples.

Our newsroom also has a beautiful bride who will hold her wedding on October 1.

“The wedding day was actually not chosen by me. It was just because all the other days have been booked,” said Winny Wang, one of our business journalists and a former founding member of the online department.

Her wedding will be held at a five-star hotel on Nanjing Road W. Her husband, Eric Yang, is an employee of an airline company’s logistics department.

The wedding is eagerly awaited, but preparations are a headache, she said. Although the wedding is only days away, Winny is still working hard every day writing business reports. Even the interview for this story was delayed for a day because she was too busy working.

The “big things,” such as the wedding ceremony and banquets, the candies and the bridal veil didn’t concern her very much as they’ve signed a wedding arrangement company to take care of them. Instead, things such as the clothes, curtains and decoration details at their home on the Big Day are costing the couple a lot of time and effort, she said. Winny also just had her hair waved for the wedding last evening. It took three hours and cost 530 yuan (US$77.71).

“Just as what my colleagues have taught me, ‘compromise’ is the very essential to wedding as well as marriage,” she said.

However, Winny said she was rather looking forward to the honeymoon, which will be in Bali, one of the world’s most attractive and romantic resorts.

Let’s wish Winny a successful wedding and a life-long happy marriage.

The 20th issue of e-magazine is out now!

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Fri,26 Sep 2008 10:58:54 +0800

The issue has 9 sections: Cover Story, Macro Economy, Finance, Auto, Food and Beverage, Metal and Energy, Technology and Economic Figures, which have been re-typeset in the magazine.

Our e-magazine is specifically designed for business readers and is mainly based on issues discussed in the Business Insight pages of Shanghai Daily.

Officially launched in January 2007, the magazine is published every month and is free to download during its trial.

You can download the magazine via PDF files from our Website (http://www.shanghaidaily.com/emagazine/). or you can subscribe to our Insight Newsletter by typing in your e-mail address in the box at the bottom of the front page. The readers on this list will be e-mailed when a new version of the magazine is published.

National Day holidays notice

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Tue,23 Sep 2008 17:02:25 +0800

Shanghai Daily will have limited publication from September 30 to October 6 because of the National Day holidays.

Live updates of the Website will still be available during the holidays, but inevitably fewer stories will be published than under normal conditions. Normal updates of the Website will resume on October 6.

The print-edition will be reduced to 16 pages from September 30 to October 4 and 32 pages on October 6. The "Sunday" edition on October 5 will still keep its 32-page layout. Normal publication will resume on October 7.

New domain name for Shanghai Daily

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Fri,19 Sep 2008 16:47:20 +0800

If you experience problems with the shanghaidaily.com domain name, you can now also reach the Website with www.shanghaidaily.org.

Recently a small group of overseas subscribers using local area networks to connect to the internet has reported frequent problems in accessing the website.

Detailed research into this issue revealed that these problems was related to the configuration of the domain name. ShanghaiDaily.com has just changed the setting of its domain name to speed up overseas browsing experience. However, the new setting seems not well supported by our current domain name service (DNS) provider's current system setting.

We apologize for this inconvenience and we are now working with a new domain service provider to solve the problem. The first step is to set up an alternative domain name. If this tests OK, we will transfer the "www.shanghaidaily.com" service to the new provider.

The new domain name "www.shanghaidaily.org" is now in trial service. If you can't open "www.shanghaidaily.org" either, please report to us at online@shanghaidaily.com

Monthly award winners unveiled

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Fri,19 Sep 2008 11:34:35 +0800

Shanghai Daily’s “Best Story” and “Best Page” Awards for August were announced yesterday.

The Best Story of the month went to Ni Tao for the article “Unified performance highlights power of the individual” on the Opinion Page of August 28 for his outstanding grasp of English-writing and logical thinking. “His application of language reveals an unexpected excellence,” said Wang Yong, the chief of the Opinion Department and one of the judges. “Ni explored deep into such a big topic.”

The Best Page Layout was undisputedly awarded to the Olympic Pullout Section, which was published from August 8 to August 25 during the Beijing Olympics. Judges reached a consensus to show appreciation on the efforts and insights of the team that covered the eye-catching global event.

Li Xinran, a reporter in the news writing department who is now on a training program in India, was awarded the Best Web Articles for his article “Olympic sex scandal rocks soccer team.”

“He picked a unique translation angle into the original Chinese version,” said Jiang Jianjun, managing deputy editor-in-chief and one of the judges. “The whole story boasts independent thinking and delicate material selection.”

The Best News Photo Award was handed to Zhang Suoqing for his splendid work on the Olympic fireworks rehearsal in Beijing over the National Stadium.

“The crowd in front of the stadium, which was not scene in many other news agencies’ photos, successfully created a festive and joyful atmosphere,” said Wu Zheng, deputy editor-in-chief and one of the judges.

Once a dreamer now a journalist

online@shanghaidaily.com(admin) — Fri,12 Sep 2008 16:59:57 +0800

Aloha. My name is Pan Xiaoyi from Shanghai Daily. You can call me Joyce for short.

I was once a young girl full of dreams. I wanted to be a painter, a dancer, a singer, or a teacher. After 16 years of campus life, I come here as a freshman on my first job. Even after I had been interviewed, had signed the contract and taken the job I could scarcely believe it. I am a journalist. A JOURNALIST!!!

On television journalists always stay in the limelight, shining and glorious. They go to parties and conferences in every corner of the country carrying a Prada or LV handbag.

All right, wake up and face reality. You can't assume that television has it right. Journalism means both opportunities and challenges.

Now I have become used to being a professional journalist, I can feel the bitterness and the sweetness of the work. It is not easy. I have to struggle with deadlines. Sometimes I feel completely lacking in words when I pick up a pen or click the keyboard on.

But when I read the story in print everything seems to have been worthwhile. What is important for me is that I get a chance to engage with people and stories from all over society and every part of the world. This certainly helps my natural curiosity and my passion for learning.

During my honeymoon period with Shanghai Daily, I visited galleries and exhibitions and wrote my virgin essay for Scope. This was a truly memorable experience. After while I was transferred to the business section and found I had become a new Joyce, professional and fashionable.

"Tomorrow is another day" as they say and I firmly believe there is always something wonderful in store for me after my studies and struggles. I enjoy my life here and life with all of you, my colleagues and readers.