Research (Week 1): Newspapers

I officially began my research on Wednesday, June 1st.

Findings on Chinese Newspapers:

Horizonte Chino - Taiwanese owned, published since 1984. Managing editor, Wu Xiaorong is from Taiwan, but staff is a mix of mainland Chinese and Taiwanese. They have also recently published the first comprehensive directory for Chinese people, Guia de la Colectividad China en Argentina. Their target audience is mainly older immigrants. 1/3 of the material is self-produced, and 2/3 is pulled from various Chinese news websites. Circulation is 1500 per week. "We are not backed by any government and we do not take any political position," Wu said. Archives are available, but this entails sifting through unorganized piles of papers from the past 20 years in a small warehouse.

Seminario Infomundo - Taiwanese owned, published since 1996. Managing editor, Lee Chia-Lin is from Taiwan. Staff seems to be 100% Taiwanese. "We don't accept donations or fundings from any political entity. We're completely independent," Lee said. However Lee mentioned that 90% of their ad revenue comes from mainland China companies. Two reporters translate, take photos, and write articles about local events. The rest is gleaned from the internet. Circulation is 2000 per week. Archives are available dating back to 2006, but not guaranteed to be complete. Also entails sifting through unorganized past papers in a warehouse.

Seminario Nuevo Continente - Mainland owned, published since 2003. Previous two papers believe that they are the mouthpiece of the People's Republic of China. Meeting scheduled with editor on Tuesday, June 7.

Interesting tidbits:

"If you are brave enough, you should write about the Chinese mafia." - Lee Chia-lin (I'm not going to, don't worry.)

"Immigration to Latin America is different from the United States. People often don't see this as their final destination." - Wu Xiaorong

"Out of 10 Chinese, 9 of them are their own bosses. It's not worth coming here to work for others." - Wu Xiaorong