A Cosmopolitan Conversation on digital and print media with Evan Osnos

The prize-winning China correspondent for The New Yorker, Evan Osnos, joins the "Cosmopolitan Conversations" with Jeffery Wasserstrom at Glamour Bar to talk about writing versus new media reporting in China. Both speakers write for both print and online media, making them keenly aware of the different channels for covering China -- and where they intersect.

CNNGo grabbed a few minutes with Osnos to get a preview of what’s going to be discussed.

CNNGo: You’ve covered everything from war zones and the Middle East to the aftermath of the 9/11 attacks. Why move to China now? Is something going to happen here that we don’t know about?

To me, China is the most interesting story on the planet. It was also luck, in a sense, that it also happened to be the place that I started studying in college and had always intended to work. The Middle East was a fascinating detour, but not the destination.

Get your pinyin correct or people will write to you. — Evan Osnos

CNNGo: Everyone has been talking about the shift to online media and its effects on print media. Since you write for both media, how do you see this balance? 

What I write exclusively for the web is a snack; what I write for the magazine is the meal -- but I don't see the distinction as being between the web and print, but, rather, between short and long, or quick reporting versus deep reporting.

The printed page is not the issue; I read many magazines now on my Kindle or iPhone.

I think people should be paid for their work, so I'm all in favor of the pay wall. Readers, it turns out, will pay for things that they can't get elsewhere. At The New Yorker, much of the long writing every week is behind a pay wall, and is the only way to ensure that this work gets done.

CNNGo: In your experience, does China face the same print versus digital media issues that we see in the United States and Europe?

No, at least not yet. The media business is at a different stage of development, but the same pressures are inevitable. But, for the same reasons, they will be manageable.

CNNGo: This topic of your talk with Professor and blogger Jeffery Wasserstrom is looking at the “different channels for covering China, and where they intersect.” So, where do they intersect?

Without spilling all the beans, I can say that there are stories that benefit from -- and, indeed, require -- both quick reporting and deep reporting. Often, I find myself writing a long profile of an interesting person, then returning to the subject online in the weeks and months that follow as the story develops.

CNNGo: What lessons have you learned about blogging in China?

To me, China is the most interesting story on the planet ... The Middle East was a fascinating detour, but not the destination. — Evan Osnos

Get your pinyin correct or people will write to you.

CNNGo: Which China blogs do you read regularly?

I always avoid making lists because I'm sure to forget some I respect, but it's safe to say that the world of English and Chinese-language blogging on China is terrific, and I wouldn't be able to do much of my job without them. 

CNNGo: A lot of people talk about the “Chinese Internet” and the “English Internet” as two separate places. What’s your view on this?

I can see why some people might bridle at the idea of a distinction, and, indeed, more sites are popping up that try to speak to both audiences. But, on a literal level, the Chinese and English Internet spaces have not only their own language-based audiences, but also different mores and tribes.

Some of the subcultures that exist on the Chinese web -- whether it's the 50-cent party or "the elites" (a codeword, usually, for liberal voices) -- they don't have as much resonance on the "English Internet."

CNNGo: What’s the most interesting “China story” to you in the news in the moment?

I'm interested in the degree to which the Chinese middle class and intellectual class chooses to engage or not engage with politics.

CNNGo: Now the most important question: as someone who has lived in China so a number of years, if you could only eat one Chinese dish for the rest of your life what would it be and why?

[Laughs] No way am I picking a fight on this one!

July's other Cosmopolitan Conversations at the Glamour Bar (all events are RMB 65 and include a drink):

“Broadway in Shanghai: David Henry Hwang and Leigh Silverman,” Saturday, July 24, 4 p.m.

“Writing China, Blogging China with guest speaker Evan Osnos,” Sunday, July 25, 2:30 p.m.