Assignment China: An Oral History Of American Journalists In The People's Republic

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The China beat is one of the toughest in journalism- and one of the most important. How the U.S. media has covered the country has profoundly influenced American government policy and shaped public opinion, not only in the U.S., but also, given the clout and reach of American news organizations, around the world.
 
Assignment China, a remarkable new book by former CNN Beijing Bureau Chief Mike Chinoy, is the story of the American journalists who have covered China—from the Communist revolution of 1949 through the COVID-19 pandemic—told in their own words.
 
Described by Judy Woodruff of PBS as "riveting reading for anyone who wants to understand China, or cares about how great reporters do their work," Assignment China provides important insights about China, journalism, and Sino-American relations at a critically important time.

Join Asia Society Northern California and Asia Society Center on U.S.-China Relations on Monday, March 13 from 5:00 p.m. - 6:30 p.m. Pacific for an in-person or virtual conversation in San Francisco with Mike Chinoy about Assignment China. The session will be introduced by Mary Kay Magistad, Deputy Director, Center on U.S. - China Relations, Asia Society and moderated by award-winning writer and former foreign correspondent and editor at the Washington Post John Pomfret. 

The event will be on-the-record, recorded, and posted to our YouTube channel. Our in-person audience will be given priority for audience Q&A. Virtual attendees will not appear on camera and will not be able to ask live questions.

After the discussion, Mike Chinoy's book will be available for in-person purchase and book signing from 6:45 p.m. - 7:00 p.m.

PRO-TIP

For additional context, view "Assignment: China", USCI's series on American reporting on China written by Mike Chinoy.

AGENDA

Date: Monday, March 13, 2023 from 5:00 p.m. - 7:00 p.m. Pacific

Venue: Bechtel Conference Center, San Francisco

All guests are encouraged to bring a mask.

SPEAKER BIO

Mike Chinoy is a Non-Resident Senior Fellow at the U.S.-China Institute at the University of Southern California. He spent twenty-four years as a foreign correspondent for CNN, serving as the network’s first Beijing bureau chief and senior Asia correspondent. Before joining CNN, Chinoy worked for CBS News and NBC News. He won Emmy, Dupont, and Peabody awards for his coverage of China.

Mary Kay Magistad is Deputy Director of Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations, and an award-winning journalist who lived and reported in East Asia for more than two decades, including in China for NPR (1995-99) and PRI/BBC's The World (2003-13), and in Southeast Asia for NPR, The Washington Post, and others (1988-95). She has created two critically acclaimed podcasts, On China’s New Silk Road (2020) and Whose Century Is It? (2015-18), and has taught international reporting and audio journalism at UC Berkeley.

John Pomfret is an award-winning writer and former foreign correspondent and editor at the Washington Post. He is the author of From Warsaw With Love: Polish Spies, the CIA and the Making of an Unlikely Alliance (2021) and Chinese Lessons: Five Classmates and the Story of the New China (1996). His book, The Beautiful Country and the Middle Kingdom: America and China, 1776 to the Present (2016) was awarded the 2017 Arthur Ross Award by the Council on Foreign Relations. John was awarded the Osborn Elliott Prize for Journalism in Asia by the Asia Society in 2003 and the Shorenstein Award by Harvard and Stanford universities for his lifetime coverage of Asia.

OUR EVENT PARTNER

In partnership with Asia Society’s Center on U.S.-China Relations