New York Times (May 24)
For today’s dictator, “soaring approval ratings are a more cost-effective path to dominance than terror.” While a few violent dictators still remain, there has been a sea change in methods. “A new brand of authoritarian government has evolved that is better adapted to an era of global media, economic interdependence and information technology.” So-called ‘soft’ dictators like Turkey’s Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Peru’s Alberto Fujimori and Malaysia’s Mahathir Mohamad “concentrate power, stifling opposition and eliminating checks and balances, while using hardly any violence.”
Tags: Approval, Authoritarian, Cost-effective, Erdogan, Fujimori, Government, IT, Mahathir, Malaysia, Media, Opposition, Peru, Soft dictators, Terror, Turkey, Violence
Los Angeles Times (October 26)
“North Korea is, by all accounts, on the brink of enormous change. It is a failed state, isolated and mostly reliant on foreign aid. It exists in an ideological reality that is anachronistic and contradictory. Discontent is growing.” Yet those of us in the west often remain ignorant of how deep the discontent runs because the media presents an inaccurate picture of the hermit kingdom.
Tags: Anachronistic, Change, Contradictory, Discontent, Failed state, Foreign aid, Hermit kingdom, Isolated, Media, North Korea
Wall Street Journal (July 23)
“Vladimir Putin’s war on Ukraine continues as usual.” Except for instilling outlandish hopes, the shoot-down of Malaysia Airlines Flight 17 changed nothing. “The world’s media hang on any hint of conciliation from President Putin, as if he will suddenly turn into Vlad the Peacemaker. He won’t change until he concludes that the cost of his aggression is too high to sustain. So far the costs have been minuscule, and Mr. Putin is reacting with predictable contempt.”
Tags: Aggression, Costs, Flight 17, Malaysia Airlines, Media, Putin, Shoot-down, Ukraine, Vladimir Putin, War
Wall Street Journal (September 18)
Japan is “flirting with irrelevance.” Americans are increasingly unaware of major events in Japan, including the recent election or the yen’s new highs. It would help if Japan’s political leaders were more aggressive in “showing their faces to the world.” Corporate leaders also need to do a better job. Some companies feel avoidance of the media is the safest strategy to avoid mistakes or being misunderstood. In reality, media avoidance only ensures that companies are not understood.
Tags: Japan, Media, Perception overseas
Forbes (July 22)
The media falsely created “the runaway-Toyota scare.” Fact checking is now showing there were very few actual cases of sudden acceleration. And most of these were caused by sliding floor mats or drivers mistakenly hitting the gas pedal. The media alarmed car buyers and Congress, reporting that anywhere from 52 to 93 crashes had been caused by sudden acceleration. The National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA) now believes only 5 deaths were linked to an acceleration defect.
