China Live : People Power and the Television Revolution

In China Live: People Power and the Television Revolution, Mike Chinoy provides an insider's view of two of the most important forces shaping our era—the rise of global satellite news and the rise of China. Exploring not only how events shape television, but how TV can shape the news as it unfolds, Chinoy describes his personal and professional journey through key political dramas, from armed conflict in Northern Ireland, Lebanon, Indochina, and Afghanistan, to the "people power" revolution in the Philippines and the ongoing crisis in North Korea. The core of the book is Chinoy's lifelong involvement with China. As CNN's first Beijing bureau chief, Chinoy recounts a riveting tale of covering the China beat, especially the momentous events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. CNN's unprecedented live broadcasts of the student uprising and army crackdown marked a turning point in modern journalism and played a critical role in shaping international perceptions of China. Revised and updated to include such recent events as the death of Deng Xiaoping, the handover of Hong Kong, the turmoil in Indonesia, and the continuing debate over the legacy of Tiananmen, China Live remains a compelling account of the life of an award-winning foreign correspondent and a revealing glimpse inside the world of television news. China has been feared, shunned, and found endlessly fascinating by the people of the West. It is now an economic force of vast proportions, become even greater by the acquisition of Hong Kong. Nevertheless, today's China continues to loom as an international question mark, its politics uncertain, its intentions unclear, its people and its leaders always offering surprise. Mike Chinoy has been reporting the China story since the mid-1970s. As founder and head of CNN's Beijing Bureau, he was at Tiananmen Square in May 1989, bringing to the world the unfolding saga of revolution and reaction, live, up close, and as it happened. Now Chinoy has written China Live, a story of Asia in our times, from the 1970s to the 1990s, from the death of Mao, to the reforms of Deng Xiaoping, through the crackdown following Tiananmen, to the disturbing present. It is both a living history and an intensely personal story about an evolving love affair with China - from initial infatuation, to growing disenchantment, to maturity of understanding. This uniquely penetrating and poignant portrait of a nation and its people is also the story of Chinoy's personal quest and quiet courage. It is also a memoir of raising a family in turbulent Beijing, through periods of enlightenment, tension, and violence. An insider's view of two of the most important forces shaping the era - the rise of global satellite news and the rise of China. It explores not only how events shape television, but how television can shape the news as it unfolds. The book highlights Chinoy's lifelong involvement with China. As CNN's first Beijing bureau chief, Chinoy recounts a tale of uncovering the China beat, especially the momentous events in Tiananmen Square in 1989. CNN's live broadcasts of the student uprising and army crackdown marked a turning point in modern journalism and played a critical role in shaping international perceptions of China A unique insider's view of the most important forces shaping our era--the rise of global satellite news and the rise of China