SCMP Reporter Who Interviewed Jack Ma Accused Of Editorial Tampering, Resigns [CORRECTION]

Jack Ma in the shadows
The SCMP reporter who got Alibaba chairman Jack Ma on record comparing his leadership decisions with Deng Xiaoping's during the 1989 Tiananmen crackdown has resigned after being accused of editorial tampering. In a statement released on its website, SCMP claims its reporter, Liu Yi, surreptitiously "accessed the system and replaced the editor-approved article with an altered version in which Mr Ma's reference made in relation to June 4th was removed."

Here’s Video Of A Korean News Presenter Saying “It Is A Relief” Asiana 214 Victims Were Chinese

Korean broadcaster says relief Asiana 214 victims were not Korean
The Wall Street Journal has a follow-up to a Chinese state media article we linked to yesterday, in which a South Korean broadcaster, while trying to express relief that the two girls who died on Asiana flight 214 from Shanghai to San Francisco via Seoul were not Korean (as if nationality matters in these tragedies), used utterly regretful phrasing.

The Independent’s Front Page Identifies Random Dude In Red Shirt As Edward Snowden

Edward Snowden in The Independent
We don't really have an explanation for this. Edward Snowden is back in the news in a big way -- he left Hong Kong and is traveling to either Cuba or Ecuador via Moscow -- but check out what the Independent did with the front page of its newspaper, which hits newsstands today. The caption reads: "A red-shirted Edward Snowden, the man who leaked classified documents revealing US internet surveillance, among passengers at Moscow's Sheremetyevo Airport yesterday after he flew in from Hong Kong. Reports say Mr Snowden has asked Ecuador for asylum. BARCROFT MEDIA."

It’s Not A Sin To Work For Global Times

Is it a sin to work for Global Times?
“Is it a sin to work for Global Times?” asks the headline to a recent SCMP blog by Amy Li that launches into an account of a recent, unpleasant and viral Weibo exchange between a reporter from the English version of GT, Zhang Zhilong, and a scribe for a more liberal paper, China Business News, Wang Wai. Zhang had contacted Wang under the unspoken “we’re all journalists together” pact in hopes of getting more police information about a taxi accident involving his parents and doing a story about it.

Chinese Government Is Really Sick Of Its Publications Falling For Satire, Bans Quoting From Foreign Media

No reblogging
The “falling for satire” bit is our little extrapolation, but what other funny way to explain this? Via SCMP: “All kinds of media work units may not use any unauthorised news products provided by foreign media or foreign websites,” according to a notice issued by the General Administration of Press, Publication, Radio, Film and Television. This came... Read more »

BBC Actually Aired This? John Sweeney’s Unethical, Horrible North Korea Hack Job

John Sweeney on his North Korea trip
Just about anyone not holding a select diplomatic or South Korean passport can travel to North Korea. All it takes is money, which you give to a tour agency. They’ll even take you to the countryside if that’s what you’re after. It’s only the hucksters who try to dress up their North Korean trip as... Read more »