Home › Media Watch

You could say Don Birch is leaving on a high note, after six years of helming the region’s leading GDS, and that his timing could not be better, as Yeoh Siew Hoon writes.

The US election may have only just begun, but Luke Clark is already wondering how long the politicians must sing this song.

Author of The Naked Ape, Desmond Morris, has firm views on why women should rule the world, and why man's playful instincts will keep us going. Yeoh Siew Hoon catches him on television.

As Abacus International unveils its new president and CEO, Robert Bailey, Yeoh Siew Hoon speaks with the departing boss, Don Birch.

As a TV soap opera whips air hostesses in Thailand into a frenzy, Yeoh Siew Hoon wonders whether the girls in silk should stop worrying about fiction and start working on their real image.

Having trouble keeping up with your friends' travel schedule. Get them to sign up to this new social networking site for those always on the move.

An online competition run by Macquarie Dictionary Down Under aims to find the Aussie Word of the Year 2007.

Luke Clark takes us on a tour of the year that was in Media Watch - and hands out a few awards along the way.

Shangri-La's China Insider Guide gives the lowdown on the Olympics and shares a couple of consumer trends in what is destined to be the world's largest economy.

Yeoh Siew Hoon catches the debate “live” as environmentalists get stuck into each other, and finds that what makes good television may not necessarily be what you witness.

Media Watch is getting positively viral about a cool new ad from Guiness.

Neil Diamond has revealed the inspiration for his smash hit and karaoke favourite Sweet Caroline.

Luke Clark wonders what life would be like, if it started behaving more like his favourite software.

Hot news from the communities - Google and friends take aim at the Facebook army, while Saga Zone offers a mature allure.

Luke Clark reflects on a brief meeting with a personal hero, rock star Dave Grohl.

Yeoh Siew Hoon is watching virtual worlds this week - from a Japanese guide to virtuality, to the idea of passport-free travel online. Mind-bending stuff indeed.

Yeoh Siew Hoon goes where girls fear to tread – the rugby pitch – and writes about the week that was in sports.

BBC World buys Lonely Planet, Tripfilms sets up to offer “informative and entertaining” videos. The race is on to see which channels will emerge in the online travel video world. Yeoh Siew Hoon reports.

There are three things dominating conversation in Hong Kong these days – Anson Chan, Macau and oh yes, Macau.

Guest writer Carl Griffith attends a conference on virtual worlds and tells us why we should take the phenomenon of World of Warcraft, Second Life and 2D community-based sites seriously. They fulfill a fundamental human need.

What would you do if you were left $12 million? One dog shares his fantasies. Meet Prince Charming with a bite.

From Fleet Street’s finest to New York’s meanest, Yeoh Siew Hoon finds there’s a lot to be said about death.

Between the showers, Yeoh Siew Hoon has time to think about bad weather and the bad habits that cause it.

Where does your brand fit in the Love/Respect matrix, as shared by Kevin Roberts, Global CEO of Saatchi & Saatchi, at the Global Brand Forum.

Yeoh Siew Hoon shares the Al Jazeera story as related by Nigel Parsons at the Global Brand Forum.

Calling travel brand owners: research by Tamar.com shows a clear need for you to embrace social networks, and understand how your brand is discussed.

How do you know when you're hot property in new media? You find yourself in court. Luke Clark looks at 23-year old seemingly unbothered by the bright lights.

As Yeoh Siew Hoon writes, if we were you, we’d keep watch over this development unfolding in Australia. It could be coming to a website near you.

Luke Clark takes a sobering look at the horizon, thanks to a group of long-winded economists.

Luke Clark looks at the reaction to the weekend's failed bomb attempts in Britain - and wonders if post-crises, Asia needs its own TIER of travel information.

Were you hanging with David Bowie at this month's Webby Awards? Neither was Media Watch. But we've gathered some coverage for those poor souls for whom - like us - the invite got lost in the mail.

What are the key actions to avoid with the media? In 4hoteliers, PR professional Judy Hoffman shares four of them.

In the past, Britain's ruler might have responded to criticism with, "Off with their heads". Now in his last days, its current leader addresses his biggest critics - his nation's media - in a more mannerly but no less pointed way.

Hillary wants a song, Lord Sebastian Coe needs sympathy while Paris Hilton does cell time – everyone's looking for love in the wrong places.

As with anything concerning the actress, a media storm is developing around the new Angelina Jolie movie, A Mighty Heart. But as Luke Clark writes, the real star of the story is the film's protagonist.

China's brave new world has a soundtrack. Media Watch speaks to Alastair Hunt, a music industry pioneer in China about what's making toes tap in this rapidly-growing market.

The knives are out for air travel. But should people really stop flying altogether and are people really going to listen, asks Justin Francis, co-founder of Responsibletravel.com.

Luke Clark looks at the shivers sent through the media industry, following bids for Dow Jones and Reuters.

The media has been abuzz with calls to stay away from air travel. Now, an airline has answered back. Lufthansa's chairman and CEO says it's time to put a little perspective in the air.

Now we have user-generated content, do we really need channels, writers or directors any more? Luke Clark goes looking for the beef.

How would you summarise your successful web business in five clever words? Click here to see if you have to.

Luke Clark left wars, climate crises and extreme poverty aside briefly, and delved into the sick and depraved world of TV reality shows. Some content may offend.

For those keen to try travel writing, either full-time or part-time, there are a raft of ways to get started. And possibly even more people telling you not to bother. Here are a few words of advice.

What are the new rules for advertising in new media channels? In this first part of a new Spotlight series, Media Watch talks to someone who has been buying, selling and consulting on new media for nearly a decade.

As circling media sharks circle the Bob Woolmer story, Luke Clark has some tips if you find yourself in a feeding frenzy of your own.

Welcome to the new media. Have blog, will travel. Before you drive down the blosophere highway of life, Luke Clark has a light-hearted cocktail survival guide... with a few serious notes thrown in.

A young gambler in Macau has ignited a media storm, and a healthy casino debate, as Jennifer Welker reports.

Ian Jarrett runs an eye over some of the more offbeat stories that made the international media this week.

This week, we look at media darling Richard Branson, who's just placed a second bet on Macau. Jennifer Welker explains.

Yeoh Siew Hoon watched with interest the reporting at the ASEAN Tourism Forum this year. After all, most of the time, it’s the media who reports but this time, it was the media being reported upon.

Should it be possible to pay a writer to fix your information on Wikipedia? This week, the debate raged on.

One Time with fewer people. One Britney with a lonely problem. And one iPod still rocking the charts. There's only one Media Watch.

It is January, and the slate is clear. So we launch into one of those great media endeavours - the "Hot or Not" of 2007, as we predict them.

Private equity groups are on a buying spree around the world and for indigenous Australians seeking better education and health care, the buy-out of Qantas may have unexpected consequences. Ian Jarrett reports.

How to mangle the English language, and how the French suggest English-speakers can be less arrogant and more loved. Does this sound like controversy in Media Watch? You bet.

Fancy writing 50,000 words in a month and oh, while you're at it, why not try and win the Literary Review Bad Sex in Fiction Award?

Yeoh Siew Hoon reports from the BMI lounge at CDG.

The travel writer who took her matrimonial angst to Virginia; who got zembic’d; and who wrote his final chapter at 86.

Media Wrap looks at the growing influence of blogs and user-generated content, and how both newspaper and TV organisations are harnessing their power to deliver news and opinion.

Having not been to Manila for a few years, Yeoh Siew Hoon was intrigued to find out what’s being said in newspapers. Here’s a day in the pages of the Philippine Star.

Rich man, poor man, spies in the sky, and people who just wanna talk. They’re all here in Media Watch this week.

More Murdoch, more Google... but mercifully more great books too. We balance the force this week at Media Watch.

We've looked at travel writers of late - do they tell the truth while being being dined and bedded like rock stars? Today, we find one writer who was hauled before a complaints commission for speaking his mind.

One man goes from 100% PURE to South Pacific while another gets slapped with US$50,000 damages, the first US blogger sued for libel. And then there's monkeys reading the news. Whatever next?

Navel-gazing to ad watching to star-gazing, Media Watch takes a magical mystery tour of movies on belts, humour amid terror and planetary disobedience.

Will travel writers go the way of the travel agent, the dinosaur as bloggers rise to power? Media Watch looks at the rise of social networking sites, plus shares what surviving travel writers really want from press trips.

Instead of being hailed a hero for being, if not the best, then most diligent host, Singapore is being lambasted by international media for its unflinching stance on outdoor protests. What are the lessons that can be learnt, Yeoh Siew Hoon asks.

Some tips to get great content onto your websites, a plea for all of us to enjoy flying again and finally, some numbers to crunch on – that's on the menu in Media Watch.

Spit less, worry less about cash - and be nice to your Blackberry. These are the morals at the end of the story that is this week's Media Watch.

Guess what was the first thing Yeoh Siew Hoon did when she got into Sydney Monday evening? She explains, and shares a truly Aussie story.

Insecure, inadequate, afraid and paranoid? Forget travel fears, Yeoh Siew Hoon is recovering from reading a women's magazine.

The heat is on as a terrorist plot is foiled and temperatures rise across the globe. What are the implications for Joe and Jane Traveller? Yeoh Siew Hoon examines.

The secret is out – the French are more blog-obsessed than anybody else. They write more blogs and they spend more time visiting blogs, than the Germans, Britons and, yes, even Americans. Here are the numbers. 60% of French Internet...

A look at the lagging of copyright online, a cautionary tale on the dangers of blogging, the truth about what bloggers write most about - and an enlightening reminder on the joy of books.

Young people's ears, China's trendy yet tradional teens, and the story of a rich red paper clip - an eclectic mix of media snaps to start your weekend rocking.

Turbulence overload - falling mountains, space tourism and vengeful football Mums. Media Watch head-butts its way around the planet's media stories... to finish up in the midst of a 'brothel battle royale'.

From Singapore brown-outs to saving a great liner from a scrapyard in India, from a once-in-a-lifetime tour of North Korea, to mind-boggling blogs in China, Media Watch keeps an eye open for the unusual.

From new Checkouts to Dating Tours, Essex girls to Angelina Jolie, Media Watch has been Googling your past and future.

Middle East media heat, Martian colonies, the paperless news and surly European staff. So much changes, yet so much stays the same – it's all in our Media Watch.

Aging nomads, hot Middle Eastern cities, fast-rhyming Filipinos and naked British bike riders. Our weekly check of the world's papers has it all.