Michael Anti (journalist)
Encyclopedia
People's Republic of China
China , officially the People's Republic of China , is the most populous country in the world, with over 1.3 billion citizens. Located in East Asia, the country covers approximately 9.6 million square kilometres...
journalist and political blogger, known for his posts about freedom of the press in China
Media of the People's Republic of China
Media of the People's Republic of China primarily consists of television, newspapers, radio, and magazines. Since 2000, the Internet has also emerged as an important communications medium....
.
Born in Nanjing
Nanjing
' is the capital of Jiangsu province in China and has a prominent place in Chinese history and culture, having been the capital of China on several occasions...
, Michael Anti became famous when Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
deleted his blog
Blog
A blog is a type of website or part of a website supposed to be updated with new content from time to time. Blogs are usually maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary, descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video. Entries are commonly displayed in...
at the end of 2005. His case made headlines around the world and contributed to ongoing debates about the role of Western companies in China's censorship system. Michael Anti himself, while angry at the deletion of his blog, argued that the Chinese are better off with Windows Live Spaces than without it.
Michael Anti has broad experience with both American and Chinese journalism. He worked as a researcher at The New York Times
The New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
Beijing bureau. He graduated from Nanjing Normal University
Nanjing Normal University
Nanjing Normal University , is a normal university located in Nanjing, Jiangsu, China.Nanjing Normal University was originally named Sanjiang Normal Institute, which was established in 1902 by Zhang Zhidong, the Governor-General of Jiangsu and Jiangxi...
in 1995 where he majored in Industrial Electrical Automation, but turned to newspapers in 2001. He has been a commentator for the Huaxia Times, correspondent of the 21st Century World Herald, war reporter in Baghdad in 2003, researcher at The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
Beijing Bureau, columnist for the Southern Metropolis Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily
Southern Metropolis Daily is a daily Tabloid newspaper published in Guangzhou, sister to the Southern Daily and part of the giant Southern Media Group. It circulation is mainly in the Pearl River Delta area, contains Guangzhou, Shenzhen, Hong Kong and Macau....
, and publisher of the Far and Wide Journal. He is a recipient of a Wolfson press fellowship at Cambridge University and Nieman Fellowship
Nieman Fellowship
The Nieman Fellowship is an award given to mid-career journalists by The Nieman Foundation for Journalism at Harvard University. This award allows winners time to reflect on their careers and focus on honing their skills....
at Harvard University
Harvard University
Harvard University is a private Ivy League university located in Cambridge, Massachusetts, United States, established in 1636 by the Massachusetts legislature. Harvard is the oldest institution of higher learning in the United States and the first corporation chartered in the country...
.
He delivered a seminar in Journalism and Media Studies Centre, The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong
The University of Hong Kong is the oldest tertiary institution in Hong Kong. Its motto is "Sapientia et Virtus" in Latin, meaning "wisdom and virtue", and "" in Chinese...
, on 12 April 2007, in which he talked about the ways to survive as a journalist in China by introducing two concepts of news reporting: Propaganda
Propaganda
Propaganda is a form of communication that is aimed at influencing the attitude of a community toward some cause or position so as to benefit oneself or one's group....
and Professionalism.
In the seminar, he suggested that propaganda is the way used by Chinese journalists nowadays, which lead to the "death" of journalism in the country. He pointed out the only way of "saving" the dead journalism in China is to promote Professionalism by setting up journalistic NGOs and/or professional communities with the cooperation among Universities.
Most recently, he worked as project director in "Cheung Kong School of Journalism and Communication" of Shantou University
Shantou University
Shantou University is a provincial level University in the Guangdong city of Shantou. It was authorised and established in 1981 by the State Council and Guangdong Government under the “Project 211” program. Mr. Li Ka-shing, a global businessman and philanthropist, contributed HK $3.1 billion to...
from September 2008 to March 2009, but his journalistic education work could be traced to 2002, when he wrote the famous web post ""Manual for New Journalists""(Chinese).
His account was deleted from Facebook in a controversy that is still ongoing. His account was disabled because Michael Anti is a pseudonym.
Michael Anti was awarded the “M100 Sanssouci Media Award 2011” in Potsdam, Germany on 8 September 2011.
External links
- Michael Anti on the China Digital Times
- Interview on Cambridge Student (2008)
- Interview on EastSouthWestNorth (2005)
- Google's China Problem Interview with Michael Anti (Zhao Jing) begins at the last paragraph of page five (2006)
- Microsoft removes Michael Anti's blog - IFEXInternational Freedom of Expression ExchangeThe International Freedom of Expression eXchange , founded in 1992, is a global network of around 90 non-governmental organisations that promotes and defends the right to freedom of expression....